What partner types do you recommend a partner program consist of? How do I segment my partners in my program?

This really depends on what your goals are. I would recommend against having a bunch of different types just to have them. There are so many different types of partners a company can have: co-marketing partners, referral partners, affiliate partners, resell partners, integration partners, agency partners, developer partners, you name it. I'd recommend starting out with understanding your goals. Are you goaled on sign ups? MRR? New integrations? Retention? Free trials? Ideally you don't have more than one north star goal that you're trying to impact. Don't try to do everything at once. Find what programs are going to best help you reach your goal and focus on the ones that are going to be most impactful and easiest to get going. It's possible that you have a partner fit into several categories, which is okay, but their partner strategy should feel seamlessly integrated across all categories—you don't want partners getting confused.

Most partner programs have 3 tiers, as an example Silver, Platinum and Platinum plus. Each level should have entitlements/service levels and performance recognition.

How many partner types depends on your solution, how you reach customers, what influences buyer behavior, with accommodations for customer segment/vertical and geography. In a prior role with a SaaS company that was global and relied on technology and integration partners we essentially had three tiers of partners: integrations, alliances, and channel/distribution (resellers, GSIs, distributors, OEM and MSP). Creating too much overlap will lead to lack of focus, so my suggestion would be to focus on a curated list with the most influential segments. A mistake I made (and I see repeated), was going to broad to quickly, globally, and not having the resources or ability to show business impact. This is critical.

Depends on your business. Any route to market that is indirect (so not the sales or marketing team reaching out directly to prospects) should be considered part of the partner program. At Drata we segment into three categories: 1. Channel - MSSP, VAR, GSI, referral 2. Technology Alliances - ISVs, CSPs 3. Audit Alliances - we are a compliance focused business