INTELLIGENT
CLOUD
IBM evolves PartnerWorld
to enable greater agility and
innovation with IBM Cloud
I
BM 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
its 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.” •
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT
TECH CHANNELS Issue 31 41