Defining the SolarWinds Partner Experience
Reimagined how SolarWinds could market its Partner Experience to streamline the prospect-to-partner journey.
Overview
The Partner Experience on SolarWinds.com felt unclear and incomplete. During the discovery call, the Partner team sought to “simplify” the journey by consolidating multiple partner types and value propositions into a single page. But the real issue wasn’t content volume — it was strategy.
As the sole UX designer supporting partner initiatives, I recognized they needed to see what a cohesive experience could look like to understand why their initial request wouldn’t solve the core problem. To drive clarity, discussion, and alignment, I proposed a vision that reimagined how SolarWinds markets its Partner Experience — using storytelling and structure to guide users from prospect to established partner.
“Can you help us make our GSI page more effective — maybe add CSPs and clean up partner navigation?”
The Challenge
Current Experience
Multiple Goals
The new experience needed to address the needs of prospects, new partners, existing partners, and customers—helping each group achieve their goals while building a compelling story to increase overall engagement.
Limited Visibility into Partners
Each strategic partner has a unique story, yet none were effectively communicated on the site. Many partner types lacked representation altogether.
Disjointed Journey
SolarWinds lacked a centralized partner experience. Unlike competitors with a clear journey from partner introduction to specific channel engagement, SolarWinds only had a combined GSI and MSP page with mixed messaging, broken links, and disconnected partner resources. Beyond program participation, the broader partner ecosystem and alternative partnership paths were missing.
Current pages within the experience.
Principles
To ensure alignment and provide a clear north star for design and measurement, the following principles guided the partner experience redesign proposal:
Clarify and Streamline the Partner Journey
Ensure all users can easily understand their path, navigate content intuitively, and confidently take action.
Increase Engagement
Drive prospective partners to apply and join the partner program while also supporting customers in finding the best SolarWinds partners for their needs.
Support Segmentation and Scalability
Introduce a flexible content structure and template that accommodates multiple partner types (GSIs, VARs, CSPs, etc.) and allows room for future growth and expansion.
Proposal
Instead of consolidating, add dedicated pages to support all partner types
Outcome & Next Steps
The stakeholder loved the presentation and recommendations (visual to be added). He brought it back to his team, and they realized there was more work to do on their side. Shortly after, a new manager joined the team, so the project is currently on hold as they align on the partner story and ensure every piece of the journey is addressed.
While this project paused for now, it saved development time and prevented costly reworks. It helped stakeholders see the full vision and opportunities available with a comprehensive strategy. I appreciated the chance to zoom out and design an end-to-end experience, while also gaining buy-in from key partners invested in the future roadmap.
Lessons Learned
The value of truly understanding your stakeholders and being a strategic partner cannot be overstated.
Over time, I’ve built trust with the Partner team. They know I can quickly deliver templates if needed, but they also respect my commitment to providing impactful, meaningful solutions.
Knowing when to push back — and when to collaborate — has empowered my colleagues to trust my judgment, leading to stronger partnerships and better outcomes.