IBM Looks to the Channel for Hybrid Cloud Help

IBM announced this week it has launched an initiative through which it will work with partners to build and deploy hybrid cloud computing platforms. The first partner to participate in the program is Infosys.

The goal is to make it simpler for partners to advance the adoption of hybrid cloud computing by leveraging technical expertise that will be made available to them by IBM, says Bob Lord, senior vice president for cognitive applications and ecosystems for IBM.

This program is needed because as IT environments are modernized by transitioning to cloud-native applications based on microservices many partners are finding they simply don’t have all the expertise required, added Lord. In fact, Lord notes that for the foreseeable future success among channel partners will be defined by how quickly they can adapt to new and emerging technologies.

“It’s now a learning economy,” said Lord.

Infosys for its part is now also making available the Red Hat portfolio of open source software available on the IBM public cloud to its clients.

In general, partners will need to collaborate more closely with cloud service providers as organizations move beyond simply lifting and shifting monolithic applications into the cloud, says Infosys president Ravi Kumar S. Those organizations are looking for help on everything from how to build and deploy cloud-native applications on container platforms such as Red Hat OpenShift to how to embrace best DevSecOps practices, says Kumar.

“This is about a lot more than shifting from a capex to opex model,” says Kumar.

Of course, most IT organizations are still a very long way from achieving anything that remotely looks like true hybrid cloud computing. They generally have multiple clouds in place but each of those platforms is managed in isolation. IBM via its acquisition of Red Hat is betting the management of those platforms will become increasingly unified. However, it’s unlikely IBM will realize that goal without first putting in place an ecosystem of partners that have actual hybrid cloud computing expertise.