As an enterprise platform vendor operating on-premises and cloud describe the ongoing regional market opportunities for channel partners and partner programme .
EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
Why cloud channel partners are important for enterprise solutions
Paul Abi-Chahine at SUSE explains why cloud channel partners are becoming increasingly important in the region .
As an enterprise platform vendor operating on-premises and cloud describe the ongoing regional market opportunities for channel partners and partner programme .
Suse has four main product offerings for the software defined datacentre and zero downtime environments that are key for the era of digital transformation . The four solution areas are : mission critical Enterprise Linux , private cloud , storage and Linux management . There is a healthy appetite for open-source solutions and SUSE has a major role for about 25 years , in offering enterprise-ready open source solutions for our customers . SUSE was the first Linux provider to bring Linux to the mainframe for IBM System Z .
It is SUSE ’ s priority , together with our partners , to offer a variety of solutions for enterprises . Customers face common challenges in the digital age : they are looking to modernise and standardise their IT infrastructure , leverage cloud computing and software-based storage solutions , and make use of new technologies like big data , while achieving zero-downtime environments . SUSE ’ s business grew 18 % in the last fiscal year with growth across all routes – direct , channel , OEM and cloud .
The SUSE channel partner programme launched in September addresses channel partners that resell open source enterprise
Paul Abi-Chahine is Regional Director Emerging EMEA at SUSE
technology from SUSE . The programme focuses on four SUSE solution areas : enterprise Linux , software-defined storage , OpenStack cloud , and systems management .
The SUSE Partner Ecosystem also encompasses cloud providers such as AWS or Azure , technology partners like Intel , IBM , HPE or SAP . The channel partner programme reflects that enterprise IT customers need to be able to adapt quickly to changes in their markets , and so do their technology providers .
With this new programme , SUSE provides channel partners with a programme that is focused on business success and helps them provide better value and support to their customers . It is mostly focused on what partners need , to be successful in their daily business with their customers . Clearly , this includes three major points : training , support and profitability .
The cloud business model , private , hybrid or public is fast growing concept for enterprises in the region . For several years now BPS Middle East has been focused on cloud distribution models for various technology vendors in the region . The partnership with BPS Middle East as a cloud distributor for Middle East , will be a benefit for our current SUSE customers as well as new and prospective customers who consider partnering with regional cloud providers for running mission critical workloads on-demand .
Focusing initially on enterprises in telecom , utilities , banking and public sectors , across UAE , Saudi Arabia , Oman , Bahrain , Kuwait , Qatar , Jordan , Lebanon , Egypt and Pakistan , BPS will be responsible for building a cloud service provider channel model in the region . This will include SUSE Linux Enterprise Server , SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP , SUSE High availability and Management Extensions , SUSE OpenStack Cloud and SUSE Enterprise Storage .
BPS ’ s experience will be leveraged to offer technology-on-demand offerings as an opportunity for cloud service providers , to develop innovative delivery methods which in turn will help them become more competitive and to offer a unique value proposition to enterprises .
SUSE web site partner locator lists the following in UAE : Data Taag , Integra Technologies , Mideast Data Systems , Versata , RAS Infotech , New Horizons Computer Learning Center , Ingram Micro .
54 Issue 03 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS