Launching NETGEAR Drive: A Partner Success Program Built for Your Growth

NETGEAR Enterprise has officially launched the Drive Partner Success Program, with a focus on driving success.  

As Eric Law (Head of Worldwide Sales), Pramod Badjate (President, Enterprise BU), and Thomas Schwab (Worldwide Channel Chief) shared, this isn’t a rebrand of a traditional partner program. It’s a more straightforward, more profitable, and more predictable way for AV integrators, VARs, and MSPs to win with NETGEAR across both Pro AV over IP and Enterprise Networking. 

Why NETGEAR, Why Now

Over the past 12 to 14 months, NETGEAR Enterprise has undergone a transformation, investing heavily in software, leadership, and customer experience. The result: a portfolio that combines enterprise-grade reliability and security with SME-ready simplicity and pricing, managed through NETGEAR Insight and extended by our acquisition of NETGEAR XCM for integrated SASE and firewall security.

On the AV side, we continue to lead the industry with plug-and-play AV over IP, featuring 500+ ecosystem partnerships, award-winning switches, and the NETGEAR Engage software that reduces deployment time (partners report up to 90% faster configuration). Our NETGEAR Academy has already trained over 30,000 learners and 10,000 installers, with more courses being rolled out. 

One Program, Three Tiers, No Revenue Gates

Drive brings AV and Enterprise Networking into one global program, with tiers aligned to your capabilities, not your revenue: 

• Ignite: Ideal for new or transacting partners. Self-service access to training, collateral, deal registration, demo/POC gear requests, and partner support. 

• Apex: Built for professional services partners who can design, implement, and support customers. Unlocks MDF eligibility, VIP rebates, tiered discounts, partner advisory forums, dedicated account management, and (coming) an enhanced Partner Finder. 

• Apex MSP: For managed services providers delivering proactive/reactive IT service management, with dedicated NOC and tooling. Adds partner-led support SKUs (higher discount when your customers call you first), advanced engineering access, and volume pricing advantages. 

Simple, Predictable, Profitable

NETGEAR is standardizing on Everyday Right Price so you can quote quickly from distribution, no hoops just to be competitive. Then you stack additional benefits: 

• Deal Registration: more margin on qualifying opportunities. The portal includes a BOM builder with regional price lists, so you instantly know if you meet the threshold. 

• VIP Program (H1 & H2 cycles): Hit your goals and receive an additional payout, with additional stretch-goal rewards. 

• MDF: Collaborative, plan-driven marketing funds (events, campaigns, demand-gen and more) for Apex and Apex MSP partners. 

Put together, the stack delivers a compelling profitability story, especially when combined with faster deployments, fewer truck rolls, and repeatable services. 

Your New Command Center: Drive Navigator Portal

Access everything at partners.netgear.com: 

• Register deals, track approvals, and monitor compliance. 

• Request demo gear and POCs. 

• View your tier, account manager, and benefits. 

• (Coming soon) Submit MDF plans and VIP claims in-portal. 

Already Academy-certified using a personal email? You can align your training history to your company profile inside Academy so your credentials count toward tier compliance. Certifications are valid for three years, with ongoing enablement (including the upcoming Network Connected Crew technical sessions).

Training That Differentiates You

Drive’s tiers are designed around sales, pre-sales, and engineering competencies—because customers value services that matter. New Enterprise Wired, Wireless, and Insight admin tracks join our proven AV curriculum (including AVIXA CTS credits). Earn CNE (Enterprise) or CNE-AV credentials to stand out in bids and on the forthcoming Partner Finder. 

Where You’ll Win

NETGEAR Enterprise is focused on education, distributed enterprise, retail, hospitality, MDUs, and MSP-led services, while our AV portfolio powers pro AV, broadcast, live events, UC spaces, and more. Real-world proof: schools switching from larger vendors have rolled out 25+ campuses on NETGEAR thanks to right-sized capabilities and affordability. 

Get Started Today (and Generate Pipeline)

1. Watch the 40′ summary of the Webinar recording to brief your team 

1. Apply or sign in to the Drive Navigator Portal: partners.netgear.com 

1. Explore program details & resources: netgear.com/drive 

1. Raise your first deal registration

1. Book enablement: Enrol your sales, pre-sales, and engineering teams to complete certification modules in the NETGEAR Partner Academy.

Webinar recording