CDS at Cloudflare's SKO 2026: Building a Better Internet Together

Our Head of Sales and Marketing, Chris Whitehall, and Cloud and Security Strategist, Miguel Ferreira, recently attended Cloudflare's Sales Kick-Off (SKO) event, and what an experience it was.

With approximately 1,600 attendees from Cloudflare's partner and sales teams across EMEA, Americas, and APAC, the event was a powerful reminder of why Cloudflare continues to be such a strategically important partner for us at CDS.

Why we attended

At CDS, we believe the successful organisations of the future will be enabled and protected by Cloudflare, and the products and services of the future will be built on and powered by Cloudflare. It's not just about technology, it's about vision.

As an early adopter of Cloudflare in the enterprise space and their first Authorised Service Delivery Partner(ASDP) in EMEA, we've built a deep partnership over the years. Attending SKO was about showing our continued commitment to this relationship, building our reputation and visibility within Cloudflare, and nurturing more opportunities to deliver value to clients together.

To achieve this, awareness of CDS and our value among Cloudflare's partner and sales teams is critical. Being present at their SKO was a clear demonstration of our commitment and intent.

The Cloudflare culture: Authentic and differentiated

One of the highlights of the event was simply being immersed in the Cloudflare culture. This really is unique. The vision, mission, and passion from Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn isn't just corporate messaging, it's authentic and real.

Cloudflare is built on a mission of "helping to build a better internet," and they genuinely mean it. They lead with passion and understand the importance of culture in everything they do. This influences who they recruit, how they operate, and even the partners they choose to work with.

The result? An event with an excellent community feel that reflected the company's ethos.

Own it: Be fast, be first, be fearless

The main theme of SKO 2025 was "Own It – be fast, be first, be fearless."

This is a description of Cloudflare's entire approach: their ethos as a company, their approach to product development, and the value they deliver to customers.

It's this fearless, forward-thinking mentality that continues to position Cloudflare as the future of the internet.

Connecting with the community

Meeting old and new faces was a personal highlight for both Chris and Miguel. Spending time with people outside the usual work context and engaging in meaningful conversations created opportunities that we hope will translate into deeper collaboration.

Our stand certainly drew plenty of interest, particularly thanks to our F1 Lego car competition! It brought people over and sparked conversations, and we were thrilled to award the prize to David Bannister, a Senior Account Executive who recently joined Cloudflare. Welcome to the team, David!

Looking ahead

How does this strengthen our relationship with Cloudflare going forward? Our presence at SKO demonstrates our commitment and we're hopeful it will lead to more opportunities to partner together.

The continuous collaboration with Cloudflare's sales and technical teams that we experienced at SKO allowed for meaningful conversations that will hopefully drive further collaboration in the months ahead.

As one of Cloudflare's most certified partners and their first ASDP in EMEA, we're here to support their teams and customers on the deals that matter most, helping everyone progress with confidence.

Cloudflare really is the future, and we're proud to be part of that journey.

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