Okta’s Patrick McCue Named a CRN Channel Chief for 2020

We’re pleased to announce that Patrick McCue, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Partnerships, has been named a CRN Channel Chief for 2020. This exclusive honor is given to leaders in the channel who go above and beyond to drive growth and innovation within their partner communities.

In his two-year tenure at Okta, Patrick has led the charge to take our partner program, Okta Partner Connect, to the next level. “I am excited to be named among my peers,” he says, “I am proud of what the entire Okta Partner team has accomplished thus far, and I look forward to our next phase of growth in 2020 and beyond.”

At Okta, partners are fundamental in helping us to become the identity standard, and are a true extension of Okta, from the OIN to our Solution Providers and Technology Partners. Patrick and team remain focused on expanding Okta’s reach, by providing value to our customers through our partner ecosystem.

“We are investing in partners to help us scale by providing discounts that are significant to our ecosystem and customers. It costs less to book via a partner, and this practice results in higher renewal rates.” – Patrick McCue, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Partners, Okta

Under Patrick’s leadership, the Okta partner team has worked hard to become the go-to identity vendor for channel partners. The primary goal has been to ensure that Okta is both easy for partners to work with, and provides the means for partners to build a profitable identity-management business.

September 2018 marked the launch of Okta Partner Connect, a success-enhancing program that includes all partner types and standardizes recruiting, contracting and onboarding across the partner ecosystem. Okta Partner Connect replaced a margin-based system with a discount-based model that allows partners to build predictable revenue.

“It’s simple, yet profound: The more you sell, the more you earn,” says Patrick. “Now, our channel partners can give demos and sign multi-year agreements, which lets them earn higher margins and own the sales cycle.”

When asked what’s next, Patrick shared that, in the coming year, Okta marketing fund programs will be critical to partner success. Stay tuned for a menu of program offerings — email, social media, syndication, digital, call campaigns — that will allow partners to easily execute turn-key marketing campaigns that generate demand.

Okta’s charter in 2020 and beyond is to empower our partners to become trusted identity advisors that make our joint customers successful, particularly the world’s largest organizations. To join us, apply to be a partner here.