IBM has announced at its Think Digital conference a reimagined business partner programme that gives partners the flexibility to engage in one or more pathways to success. IBM PartnerWorld now includes clear pathways for IBM business partners that create applications, develop code, integrate their intellectual property (IP) or deliver services with the IBM Cloud.
The new evolution of PartnerWorld expands the programme framework to three specialised tracks – build, service and sell – each with tailored offers that are designed to help business partners unlock meaningful benefits faster. By adding the new build and service tracks alongside the existing sell track, IBM aligns with the growing trend of partners shifting and expanding their models to better compete in a market driven by cloud adoption. With 58% of partner revenue now coming from their own IP, partners are increasingly focused on integrating and delivering cloud-based solutions and services.
This includes helping clients with their hybrid multi-cloud strategies as well. As IBM continues to enhance its systems portfolio with IBM Cloud, including Red Hat and IBM Cloud Pak solutions, clients look to partners to help them improve IT agility and bridge mission critical applications on IBM Z, Power and Storage Systems.
“The world looks drastically different than it did just months ago, and our current business environment has only advanced the trend toward business model flexibility,” said David La Rose, GM, IBM Partner Ecosystem. “During this time, our business partners continue to adopt cloud business models and strengthen their digital skills to serve clients, who are also facing new challenges. Our partners’ success is dependent on their adaptability and ingenuity when it comes to helping clients overcome these challenges, now more than ever. We’re counting on them to use IBM’s open, hybrid cloud approach to help clients discover new ways to solve problems during these uncertain times.”
Co-creating growth, innovation and value
IBM aims to capture the significant market opportunity around the shift to cloud and help partners develop new revenue streams as they create value for clients. Together, IBM and its business partners will focus on:
- Driving profitable growth through a new incentive structure that rewards business partners for delivering client value in cloud and systems.
- Enabling innovation through competencies that are aligned to the three PartnerWorld tracks, helping business partners deepen their technical expertise and achieve customer success across the industries and workloads that matter most to their businesses.
- Delivering value via new IBM Partner Packages that bundle cloud and cognitive benefits so that partners can quickly learn, develop and test solutions on the IBM Cloud.
“At IDC, we believe the new PartnerWorld programme framework gives partners the flexibility they need to succeed in the market rather than being relegated to a single partner type,” said Steve White, Programme VP of IDC. “These tracks are innovative, giving builders, sellers and service partners access to the benefits that matter most to them. The best part is, all partners can participate in these tracks, no matter where they’re at in their programme journey. In particular, the Partner Support Desk will be a huge help to partners navigating this new programme, enabling them to maximise on everything PartnerWorld has to offer.”