Private clouds have always represented a tantalizing opportunity for channel partners because they represent an opportunity to transform an on-premises environment. To make it simpler and more lucrative to tap into that opportunity ZeroStack today launched a Cloud Innovation Partner Program.
ZeroStack provides a ZeroStack Intelligent Cloud Platform built on top of instances of the open source Kernel-based virtual machine (KVM) that is designed to be deployed in a few minutes. The company’s inaugural channel program provides sales incentives, marketing tools and demo software intended to make it easier to train staff and enhance partner profitability, says Steve Garrison, vice president of marketing for ZeroStack. Other aspects of the channel program include deal registration and joint account planning.
There’s also a tiered pricing model for managed service providers that are hosting private clouds on behalf of their customers.
Garrison says on average an initial ZeroStack deal ranges between $15,000 to $20,000.
IT organizations that are becoming more interested in private clouds based on open source technology are starting to accelerate because IT organizations are becoming increasingly sensitive to commercial licensing fees imposed by rivals such as VMware, says Garrison. The internal IT organization is being required to provide the same agility as a public cloud while either reducing costs or not substantially increasing them, says Garrison.
Much of that savings can then be reallocated to the services being provided by the solution provider, added Garrison. That should appeal to the reseller that is looking to layer a software stack on top of a server they are trying to sell, says Garrison.
“Most of the partners in the U.S. are still box pushers,” says Garrison.
By providing resellers with an alternative approach to selling a private cloud that is 100 percent sold via the channel, Garrison says channel partners have an opportunity to remain more relevant versus continuing to see more workloads being lifted and shifted into a public cloud.
Naturally, private clouds are still a nascent opportunity. But ZeroStack is betting that given a viable alternative many more channel partners, and their customers, will be opting for a private cloud in 2018.
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