IBM has unveiled IBM Partner Plus, a new program that provides business partners with unprecedented access to the company’s resources, incentives, and support. The initiative is poised to offer resellers, hyperscalers, independent software vendors, and systems integrators more control over their earnings while driving growth for new and existing partnerships. As part of their Hybrid Cloud and AI strategy, this exciting opportunity empowers partners in playing an integral role in automating client businesses as well as contributing towards securing & modernizing operations around the world.
“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,” said 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.”
What the IBM Partner Plus program offers
Competitive incentives
- Partners have the opportunity to benefit from a range of incentives through tier advancement. The IBM Partner Portal offers real-time visibility into available incentives and predictive insights so they can maximize potential earnings.
- Furthermore, an automated deal share engine allows them access to over 7,000 high-value deals valued at more than half a billion dollars worldwide – this has revolutionized the way deals are registered and opens up new channels for demand generation supported by co-marketing campaigns and co-sell support from IBM itself.
Insider access
- IBM Partner Plus has achieved impressive success since the October release of its badging and selling enablement materials, completely transforming thousands of partners through 15,000 enrollments in sales and technical badges.
- By providing IBMers’ training resources free of cost to partners worldwide — as well as granting them access to seller tools for competitive pricing — they are equipped with every opportunity necessary to succeed.
- Furthering this journey into excellence is their ability to attend Sales Kickoffs quarterly alongside IBM sellers, plus join live training sessions or global advocacy events that allow upskilling while engaging expertly with complex technology solutions.
Enhanced support and benefits
- With IBM’s open hybrid cloud platform, partners can unlock their potential and revolutionize client experience. Leveraging technical experts from IBM, they can sharpen existing skillsets as well build sales expertise with technologies like AI security and cloud.
- They are also provided access to minimal viable products, proofs of concept, and custom demos which will help them gain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving market landscape.
- As partner businesses grow alongside those of IBM, additional benefits await them that would enable increased capabilities for further business expansion into new markets.
Benefits to partners
- By enrolling in IBM Partner Plus, partners gain access to a streamlined and modern experience. With successful technical skills development and sales success shown along the way, participants can ascend to three progressive tiers – Silver, Gold, or Platinum – unlocking specialized financial aid plus go-to-market support & educational benefits.
- The program also grants badging as an industry standard measure of skill progression alongside verification through validated solutions that demonstrate expertise. Additionally, the newly improved IBM Partner Portal facilitates global tracking of revenue data & deals for greater transparency into one’s journey within this initiative!
- IBM Partner Plus unites the entire partner program and provides a comprehensive ecosystem to draw on.
- Recently, IBM has opened new doors for partners in North America by allowing them the ability to resell IBM products through other cloud marketplaces; enabling independent software vendors an opportunity to integrate IBM Software into their solutions. These sales contribute towards progression within Partner Plus, highlighting its immense potential as an innovative revenue stream generator.
IBM has said that the new incentive program taking effect on April 1, 2023. Registered PartnerWorld members will retain their current tier through July 1, 2023. They can progress to the new tiering system during this time upon meeting the criteria.
Read next: Microsoft to remove legacy CSP seat-based offer partner incentives on December 31
