Apono Launches Partner Program to Expand Cloud-Native Access Control Adoption

Cloud environments have changed. Infrastructure is no longer static. Workloads are short-lived. Identities, both human and machine, request access to critical systems dynamically, often without human involvement. Today, traditional privileged access management (PAM) tools can’t keep up. They were built for a slower, more predictable infrastructure model.

Apono has been tackling this head-on with a cloud-native approach to Just-in-Time (JIT) and Just-Enough Access (JEA). Now, it’s extending that reach through a new global partner program. The goal is straightforward: empower service providers, cloud consultancies, and system integrators to help customers automate and secure privileged access across distributed cloud environments, without manual processes or ticket queues slowing things down.

“Apono was built cloud-first to secure today’s dynamic, cloud environments, where both human and machine identities require real-time, automated access, unlike legacy PAM tools built for static infrastructure,” Boone Quesnel, VP Cloud Alliances at Apono told ChannelE2E. “Our platform integrates seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines and cloud-native operations, enabling partners to offer developer-friendly, future-proof solutions.”

Built for Partners Supporting Modern Cloud Operations

The Apono Partner Program is structured around enablement and scale. It’s a full-fledged initiative with technical training, sales enablement, and co-marketing baked in. Partners get access to certification paths for cloud architects and DevOps engineers, deal registration incentives, and hands-on labs that help them get up to speed with the platform quickly.

For go-to-market support, Apono offers everything from campaign kits and market development funds (MDFs) to joint integration roadmaps with platforms like AWS, GCP, Azure, GitHub, Snowflake, and MongoDB. This isn't just for resellers - it's also designed for tech alliances and services firms that want to embed JIT access capabilities directly into their offerings.

“To support this, Apono is launching a dedicated partner enablement and badging program that helps partners uplevel their capabilities for the new world of dynamic cloud PAM,” Quesnel added. “Combined with tiered incentives, deal protection, and co-marketing support, this program equips partners to accelerate growth and stand out in a rapidly evolving market.”

The partner program also opens up access to Apono’s API and SDK ecosystem, so partners can build their own automations and custom integrations. That means more flexibility for partners, and more relevance to customers trying to fit privilege management into fast-moving CI/CD pipelines and hybrid environments.

“Apono is prioritizing partnerships with Value Added Resellers (VARs) and cloud and boutique Systems Integrators that operate at the intersection of DevOps and Security, where access decisions have the greatest impact on both agility and risk,” Quesnel said. “These partners are typically involved in cloud migration, platform engineering, and DevSecOps initiatives, making them ideal ambassadors for Apono’s just-in-time, automation-first approach to privileged access.”

Why This Matters

Organizations are being pushed to move faster, adopt AI, and scale their infrastructure, often all at once. But access control remains a bottleneck. Overprivileged identities, manual approvals, and static access policies are still the norm in many companies, creating both risk and drag.

Apono’s approach - automated, contextual, and integrated with how cloud teams already work - solves this by embedding access workflows into the fabric of the environment. Partners now have a clear path to help their customers move away from reactive access models and towards real-time, policy-driven control that actually aligns with how cloud systems behave.

“Our partner enablement program will help up-level partners with Apono’s modern Just-in-Time and Just-Enough access solutions, equipping them to accelerate the zero trust environments their customers are striving for, with the technical depth and confidence to deliver securely at scale,” said Quesnel. “The Apono Platform enables customers to move to zero standing permissions, which allows them to achieve Zero Trust customer initiatives.”

This shift is especially urgent for customers in regulated industries or those undergoing cloud migrations. It's no longer enough to audit access quarterly or rely on VPNs and static roles. Teams need guardrails that flex with the environment, and the ability to prove that access was granted securely, intentionally, and only when needed.