Netgate Builds Partner Vault for Growth and Predictability

From Obstacle to Asset

Netgate knows the importance of empowering its partners. Best known for its pfSense® Plus security firewall software, with over 10 million installations across all seven continents, a substantial portion of its revenue goes through the channel.

As order volumes grew and cloud services became increasingly important, it became obvious Netgate had outgrown its IT-managed partner portal. The portal's operational limitations meant partners couldn't register deals, forecast sales, or check live inventory. Updates relied on the IT team and lack of visibility made it tough for the Netgate's sales crew to proactively support partners, properly manage stock, or increase cloud-based software revenues.

Simplicity as a Strategic Advantage

Netgate deployed AllianceHub to build a new version of Partner Vault — its partner portal — on HubSpot. The company already used HubSpot for customer management, service, support, and its website and this strategic decision put the portal in the hands of the marketing team, allowing them to manage and update content without IT bottlenecks.

The new portal had one core principle in mind: simplicity.

The new deal registration process is a great example. It's a "first past the post" system that is quick, easy, and transparent. If a partner registers a deal, it's theirs—period. This builds trust and encourages partners to actively use the portal to secure their opportunities.

But the real game-changer is how AllianceHub lets Netgate handle cloud opportunities. Netgate's traditional hardware partners often need help to sell cloud services. The new portal makes it effortless. When a partner registers a cloud deal, it triggers Netgate's sales team to step in and help close the deal. This simple process is a highly effective way to ease partners into the cloud business and expand Netgate’s reach.

More Than Just a Partner Portal: A Hub for Growth

The AllianceHub-powered portal is about more than just deal registration. It's a comprehensive ecosystem that helps Netgate and its partners grow together. For the first time, partners can forecast deals, giving Netgate valuable data to manage inventory and plan for demand. 

The portal also serves as a central hub for distributing resources like sales collateral and software betas. Netgate even prompted us to find a clever way to handle file security in HubSpot, using time-limited private download links that prevent unauthorized sharing while remaining easy for partners to use. The partner program tiers are also reflected in their portal, giving Netgate the flexibility to provide specific content and opportunities to partners, based on their tier.

By deploying AllianceHub, Netgate has transformed a frustrating operational obstacle into a strategic asset. The upgraded Partner Vault has boosted partner engagement, improved sales forecasting, and provided a scalable platform that will support Netgate’s future growth for years to come.

Frictionless Upgrade

Netgate's partners were already familiar with the company's customer support portal, also built in HubSpot. That meant the launch of the new Partner Vault went without a hitch.

HubSpot's private content functionality uses the same set of user credentials across the entire platform. All the Netgate team needed to do was to send out the new partner portal URL and prompt partners to log in. Deal registrations started coming in straightaway.

Now, Netgate reseller partners can easily get the information and deal protection they need. From federal government RFPs to software downloads, it's all in this HubSpot-native partner portal.