Hyland Makes Partnership Payoff with New Referral Program

• A new route to partnership: consultancies, advisory firms, systems integrators and technology providers can now earn a success-based fee when an opportunity they introduce closes
• Rewards follow real contribution, so partners earn at the Advocate, Advisor, or Ambassador level, set deal by deal, not locked in at sign-up, with fees ranging from 5% of first-year contract value up to 10% of total contract value, subject to applicable caps; on a three-year agreement, up to three times what a typical first-year-only program pays, based on Hyland's analysis of six leading SaaS referral programs 
• Launching now in 37 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, with one simple agreement, no program fee, and published service-level commitments from day one

CLEVELAND, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyland, a global leader in driving enterprise scale content intelligence and automation, today announced the launch of the Hyland Referral Partner Program, a new way for organizations to partner with Hyland and get paid for the new business they help the company win. Advisors, consultants, and specialists frequently bring Hyland into a conversation months before a deal closes, yet have had no consistent, structured way to be recognized for it unless they signed up as a full reseller. The new program addresses this, recognizing partners for the role they play in bringing Hyland into the conversation early.

Opportunities for content and process automation are increasingly identified long before a vendor shows up, often by consultancies, advisory firms, or technology partners already active in the market. Many of these organizations want a flexible way to work with Hyland, without the commitments of a reseller agreement, while still being recognized and rewarded for the opportunities they help create.

Many non-traditional partners have long looked for referral rewards that reflect their efforts. Rewards are typically locked to a single tier the moment a partner signs up, regardless of how much work that partner actually puts into helping a deal succeed. The Hyland Referral Partner Program takes a different approach.

Partners sign one simple agreement and can earn at any of three levels on any given deal; Advocate, Advisor and Ambassador. 

"At a time when enterprises are evolving how work gets done, partners are no longer just routes to market, they're essential collaborators in the agentic enterprise," said Nanette Lazina, senior vice president of global channels and OEMs at Hyland. "With the Referral Partner Program, any organization that brings Hyland a new opportunity can be rewarded for the role it plays, whether that's making the introduction or supporting the opportunity through to close." 

The tier, and the fee, are set deal by deal, based on what the partner actually did to help the opportunity succeed, not fixed the moment they enroll. That means a partner can earn at the highest level on their very first referral. Fees range from 5% of first-year annual contract value up to 10% of total contract value subject to applicable caps, and are paid only once business closes, in step with customer payments.

That structure makes a meaningful difference in what a partner can actually earn. Hyland's analysis of six leading SaaS referral programs found they typically pay 5–10% of first-year contract value, often capped between $20,000 and $50,000 per deal. On a three-year agreement, Hyland's Ambassador-tier fee, 10% of total contract value, may pay a partner up to three times what a typical first-year-only program would .

Easy to Join, Easy to Work With

The program is deliberately built to remove friction for new and existing partners alike:

• One agreement, no program fee so organizations can register their interest and get started without complex onboarding
• Eligible opportunities include both net-new customers and inactive accounts that have gone 12 or more months without an active maintenance or subscription relationship with Hyland
• Published service commitments so referrals are decisioned within 5 business days, confirming the tier and fee within 15 business days of contract signature, and paying earned fees within 45 days of each customer payment

The program is also open to Hyland's existing reseller and systems integrator partners, giving them an additional way to engage opportunities outside their core focus area.

"Great customer outcomes often involve more than one partner," said Andrew Steane, vice president of global partners programs at Hyland. "The new Referral Partner Program makes room for each partner to play to their strengths, from the consultancy that identifies the opportunity to the reseller or integrator that carries it through implementation. We have the flexibility to recognize each partner for the role they play."

Why Join the Hyland Global Partner Network 

The Referral Partner Program joins Hyland's existing Sell partner track as a second way to engage within the Hyland Global Partner Network, Hyland's unified, global partner ecosystem spanning hundreds of partners worldwide. Built around the AI-native Hyland Content Innovation Cloud™, the Network gives partners a consistent structure, transparent benefits, and a shared path to help customers move from isolated automation to the fully governed, agentic enterprise, backed by more than three decades of Hyland's experience serving over 15,000 customers in more than 100 countries. 

For consultancies, advisory firms, systems integrators and technology providers that identify opportunities for Hyland, the Referral Partner Program offers a fast, low-commitment way to formalize that relationship and earn when the business they help create closes.

Organizations interested in joining the Hyland Referral Partner Program can register their interest through the Become a Hyland Referral Partner form.

Program eligibility, fee levels, and terms are governed by the Hyland Referral Partner Program agreement and may be limited or vary by customer type, product line, or region. Certain customers, including government entities, and certain products and offerings are not eligible. Hyland may modify or discontinue the program at any time.

For more information on the Hyland Global Partner Network, and the company's platform and solutions, please visit Hyland.com.

About Hyland  
Hyland is a leader in content intelligence and automation, empowering organizations to transform enterprise content into governed intelligence that accelerates decision-making and business performance. Trusted by thousands of organizations worldwide, including many of the Fortune 100, Hyland's open platform uses AI to turn content, data, and processes into trusted context that enables people, applications, and agents to automate work across the content-powered agentic enterprise. For more information, visit Hyland.com.

Media contact:
Jason Gerdon
jason.gerdon@hyland.com