Channel Insider content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

Informatica has been working with partners in the channel for some time, but this is the first time the provider of middleware that’s used to integrate applications wants to bring some structure to those efforts.

Previously, Informatica would engage higher-end partners on a individual basis, said Rodney Foreman, senior vice president for partner ecosystem at Informatica. “Every deal was an adventure,” he added.

Now, via a more structured two-tier channel program, Informatica is aiming to become more predictable in terms of how it engages and rewards partners, Foreman reported. The company is also extending its reach into the midmarket via its cloud service.

Informatica has a long history of providing on-premise middleware software to enterprise IT organizations, but the fastest growing part of its business is a cloud service that organizations subscribe to use. At the same time, via acquisitions, the company is extending its offerings into other areas, such as data governance.

Jeff Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies, a consulting firm that specializes in cloud computing, said that as a result of going private, Informatica has the flexibility required to drive a new business model that’s based on recurring revenues and takes the company into new markets.

“In the enterprise, Informatica is a dominant player,” said Kaplan. “But a lot of midmarket companies don’t have the luxury of having the skills to implement Informatica.”

He added that in the midmarket segment, line-of-business executives generally prefer to invoke a service, rather than invest in an IT project that requires full-time employees to run.

For the moment, at least, Foreman said that Informatica is mainly going to focus on helping customers make the transition to the cloud. But as cloud computing evolves, he added, Informatica sees a multi-cloud opportunity emerging for its partners, as organizations move to integrate data residing on-premises with data residing in multiple clouds.

In the meantime, Foreman pointed out that for the first time, channel partners can count on there being specific product offerings from Informatica that will be available only via the channel.