IBM at its annual PartnerWorld conference today announced it would now for the first time provide partners with access to same sales enablement tools it provides its internal teams via a new Seismic@IBM program based on a software-as-a-service application developed by Seismic, Inc.
That initiative marks for the first time all of IBM business units and partners will have access to the same sales enablement program. Previously, each business unit has its own program, none of which were shared with IBM channel partners. IBM is now committing to providing partners with access to 90,000 Seismic licenses, says John Teltsch, general manager for IBM Partner Ecosystem.
“We think this will be a game changer,” says Teltsch. “Whatever we do for IBMers we want to do for our partners.”
IBM will also be focusing much less of what type a partner may be in favor of the value that partner brings to the IBM ecosystem, says Teltsch.
“Partner types are not how you manage an ecosystem,” adds Teltsch.
In addition, IBM revealed a pilot program dubbed IBM Business Connect Partner Connect platform, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI) provided by IBM Watson platform to make it simpler for a partner to find other partners that have complementary skill sets.
IBM also launched a Managed Services Security Provider program (MSSP) to help partners build managed service using IBM products and existing managed services. As part of that effort, IBM also revealed it had added a Know Your IBM Security Sales Incentive which provides reloadable IBM Rewards debit cards to partners who sell new Security licenses and SaaS.
On the emerging technology front, IBM also announced IBM Cloud Paks, which are intended to accelerate the development and deployment of cloud-native applications built using containers that can be deployed on an instance of Kubernetes running on either IBM Cloud and IBM Cloud Private.
IBM has also enhanced its core channel programs to include a registration program for software sales, incentives for partners that sell solutions involving Linux running on a mainframe, additional incentives for consuming IBM cloud services, access to additional technical resources for cloud deployments, and is extending the co-marketing opportunities involving IBM software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings. IBM is also committing to define more application programming interfaces (APIs) through which partners can extend those offerings. Finally, IBM also announced it has made the PartnerWorld portal easier to navigate.
IBM is clearly trying to transform its channel to attract a new generation of partners that provide their intellectual property based on their own applications and complementary services. IBM revealed today it has added over 13,000 partners within the last 12 months that fit that profile, says Tetsch. IBM is also actively removing partners that only focus on fulfillment from the program, adds Tetsch.
IBM is also committed to reducing the complexity partners have historically faced when trying to onboard new partners, adds Tetsch. IBM is now trying to bring partners that already resell rival platforms onboard now in as little as seven days. In the last year, Tetsch also revealed he has turned over 85 percent of his direct reports as part of the effort to make IBM more responsive to channel partners by eliminating silos within the IBM channel management team.
It may take IBM a while longer to achieve the level of agility required to compete effectively in the channel today. But it’s clear there is a significant commitment to changing the people, processes, and programs that make up the IBM channel.
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