11 years as a 5-star partner program

It’s a tremendous honor today to share that once again, RingCentral Reach has been named a 5-star partner program in CRN’s annual partner program guide. This marks our 11th consecutive year earning this distinction, a testament to how we continually evolve our partner support based on feedback from the channel community.

So, what does that mean in 2026?

AI and CX outcomes

Company-wide, this year we’re laser-focused on the tangible benefits of deploying RingCentral AI solutions. While the end goal is to obviously help customers harness the value of these new innovations, we’ve already seen other interesting use cases within our own operations.

By mastering tools like AI Virtual Assistant (AVA) and AI Conversation Expert (ACE) internally, our team learns first-hand how these tools can save time and free people up to do their most impactful work. In turn, partners can use these insights to deploy AI within their organizations as well, streamlining their own workflows.

This operates as a type of knowledge transfer: when partners understand the real-world outcomes and use cases our solutions can address, they are better positioned to bring them to customers. By using these new technologies to solve complex problems and drive meaningful outcomes, partners can fulfill their role as AI transformation experts, earning more clientele and transforming their own businesses as well.

Tailored support across all partner types

With more products to harness than ever, our 16,000+ global partner base is becoming increasingly diverse. But our goal remains the same: meet you wherever you’re at on your journey to help you grow.

That’s why this year we’re introducing new types of programming, like our regional AI and CX Partner Summits. If a partner specializes in agentic voice AI, or full lifecycle services, they deserve recognition that speaks to that, so we’re implementing new tiers, events, and perks across the RingCentral Reach program.

Right now we’re also focusing on in-person Partner Sales Kickoffs, where our Partner Managers bring new product innovations and partner enablement strategies to empower channel success. Needless to say, we’re hitting the ground running with tailored programming around the world, grounded in the relationships and collaboration that have been the hallmark of our program for decades.

Flexible, collaborative channel marketing

One of the best aspects of working with RingCentral: we offer the scale to invest in partner marketing projects, but more importantly, the individualized attention to ensure they’re successful.

When it comes to marketing development funds, we strive to remain flexible and evaluate each proposal on its own merit. We are always open to new ideas on how to help our partners generate leads, and we pride ourselves on being the industry’s most transparent and easiest Channel Marketing team to work with.

Again, rather than forcing partners to operate within a rigid structure, we seek to meet you on your terms.

Dare to deviate

Finally, one challenge I put to my team this year: dare to deviate. The channel landscape has always been dynamic, but with AI the pace of change is now faster than ever. What worked before may not work today.

Tying back to our 11-year track record as a CRN 5-Star Partner Program, to me, we can only continue to operate at such a high level if we constantly evolve and look for ways to improve, guided by partner feedback.

Whether that’s by finding new AI use cases, varying our partner support to meet diverse business objectives, or collaborating on lead-generating initiatives, I’m proud of the work our team has put in to achieve such a milestone.

If you’re interested to learn more about the benefits and opportunity in becoming a RingCentral Reach partner, visit https://www.ringcentral.com/partner/agent.html.