NetApp will enforce the rules of engagement through compensation to prevent NetApp reps from gaming the system, Strubel said.

"We're doing this at a timely point in the market," he said. "Our partners are already very excited. There's a lot of momentum right now within the NetApp partner community. As I go out and make public this week the implementation of a hard deck, I know that it's going to be very well received by our partners."

Between 72 and 80 percent of NetApp's overall Americas business comes via its channel partners, and a large portion of NetApp's business is in the enterprise. For the top 1,000 accounts, the percentage of business going through channel partners is probably about the same as the company's overall business, Strubel said.

"If anything, you could mathematically see an increase in our channel mix as we roll out the hard deck," he said.

In addition to the new program, NetApp is also taking a couple of specific potential customer lists to partners to seek their help in opening and closing business.

The first is a list of 50 accounts, half of which are in the Americas, for which NetApp has no significant business that it will use with partners as a way to increase its business in the top 100 global accounts, Strubel said.

"We are identifying a partner or partners to go with us in those accounts," he said. "The global 100 is a set of really large, complex accounts."

NetApp also has a second list, the "Acquirer 1200," which includes an additional 1,200 large customers the company plans to target.

"I'm incenting our partners with a net-new rebate to go after our business with us," Strubel said. "We also have a flash rebate if they sell flash (storage), and also a FlexPod rebate if they sell FlexPod. All three of those are stackable."