This strategy shift reveals critical lessons for many B2B alliance leaders.

Growth Challenge

After pandemic-fueled growth, Docusign faced slowing expansion. Revenue growth moderated to single digits in 2024-2025.

The solution? A two-pronged strategy combining a new AI product line with an aggressive partner push.

IAM: The Product Catalyst

Docusign's Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) platform launched as their most ambitious product expansion beyond e-signatures. IAM has quickly become "the fastest-growing new product in Docusign's history".

But this AI-powered end-to-end agreement platform is very different from their simple e-signature offering—and that complexity required a partner-led GTM.

Why Partners Became Essential

CEO Allan Thygesen explained the shift:

"Historically, we haven't had a huge relationship with SIs because it's been primarily about our CLM business, right?

Sign was so simple and easy to deploy for companies that there wasn't a lot of need for the kind of value added services that SIs provide. But with IAM that's a really change in the picture."

Numbers Validate This Strategy:

"Partner channel's contribution to the business continued to increase in Q4 and fiscal 2025, leveraging gains we've made with technology partners like Microsoft, SAP, and Salesforce, as well as growing interest from ISVs and global system integrators." - explained CEO.

CDW "achieved impressive triple digit growth with us last year."- he highlighted. Through alliances with Deloitte and SAP, DocuSign has "expanded our global footprint, and recently closed a major opportunity with a Fortune 500 company in the energy sector."

International Partner-First Strategy

Need for geographic expansion amplifies the partner imperative. Thygesen explained:

“Historically, Docusign's been a very direct first, second and third channel company. And even in markets where, frankly, we had very limited direct capabilities. And so, we try to get a lot crisper in top 10 markets or roughly that's where we're going to have direct first model.

And then other markets where we'll be partner-first or partner-only.”

Microsoft Azure Marketplace Play

Despite being still early-stage, DocuSign is leveraging cloud marketplaces strategically.

"As part of our growing strategic go-to-market partnership with Microsoft, we're delivering this IAM solution via the Azure Marketplace," Thygesen noted.

Complex AI Workflows Demand Partners

Even vendors like Docusign need partners and cloud GTM strategy for advanced AI products.

"Another area that we're investing in this year is deepening our work with partners for enterprise customers... Our work with the big SIs, for example, is a key focus area," Thygesen emphasized.

What's your experience with product complexity driving partnership strategy?