IBM streamlines its partner program
Over the past couple of years IBM has been undergoing something of a transformation. While its mainframe and mid-range hardware offerings remain at its core, Big Blue has been looking to capture a slice of the $1 trillion hybrid cloud and AI market and help clients automate, secure and modernize their businesses.
Partnerships have been an important element of this and today the company is changing how it supports partners with the launch of a single, integrated experience that offers access to IBM resources, incentives and tailored support to deepen their technical expertise and help speed time to market.
The Partner Plus program is designed to fuel growth for both new and existing partners, including resellers, hyperscalers, technology providers, independent software vendors and systems integrators, by giving them greater control of their earning potential.
It uses a tiered approach so that by growing their technical expertise and demonstrating sales success, participants can progress through three levels -- Silver, Gold and Platinum -- which unlock specialized financial, go-to-market support and education benefits. In the new program, badging will become the standardized measure of skills and validated solutions will demonstrate expertise. An enhanced IBM Partner Portal consolidates and tracks all expertise, revenue and deals globally, offering each partner a clear view of their progression through the program.
"IBM Partner Plus introduces a new way for IBM to deliver value to new and existing partners by helping them gain skills, grow faster and earn more," says Kate Woolley, general manager, IBM Ecosystem. "We've heard from partners that they want a simplified experience that helps them win with clients. I'm confident these changes and our continued investment in our ecosystem will make IBM the partner of choice across the industry, and together we can drive growth for partners, clients, and IBM."
IBM also plans to increase its capacity to support partners by doubling the number of partner-facing brand and technical specialists to help them prospect and win additional client business. Partners will be offered the same training, enablement and selling resources available to IBMers, at no cost, to better equip them to win clients.
"The new IBM Partner Plus program provides an enhanced experience that sets our company up for success by offering employees access to skills and opportunities, so we can help more clients utilize IBM's technology portfolio to modernize their operations," says Bo Gebbie, president of Evolving Solutions. "IBM is more serious than ever about putting partners first. They've listened to our feedback, and it is reflected in the new partner experience that makes it easy for us to collaborate, rewards our investments and fuel growth."
You can find out more on the IBM site.
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