GitLab is gearing up to certify systems integrators as part of an effort to extend its channel reach. At a GitLab Commit Virtual conference today the provider of a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform also revealed it has added 175 partners, including allied vendors, to its partner program in the last year.
Via that technology alliance partner program GitLab has been piggy backing on the channel programs created by allies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google and VMware, says Brandon Jung, vice president of alliances for GitLab. New channel partners actively participating in the program are mostly boutique and regional systems integrators such as Avisi, BoxBoat Technologies, CI&T, Contino, D|OPS Digital, GitLabHost and SADA.
At the same time, partners such as 2nd Watch have built out managed services offerings based on the on-premises edition of the open source CI/CD platform. Commercial instances of the GitLab platform are delivered as a suite of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications managed by GitLab.
Channel partners typically receive a referral fee for helping to sell the GitLab platform, but Jung says there is also a rising nascent interest among partners that would prefer to resell GitLab services.
Jung says GitLab is working toward building deeper relationships with global systems integrators, many of which have already built their own custom DevOps platforms. In contrast, GitLab is making the case for a SaaS-based approach that costs less to operate and manage.
Jung says as GitLab continues to grow its clear the channel will play a larger role in its operations. The company appointed Michelle Hodges to be its channel chief earlier this year and then subsequently revamped its channel program.
It’s too already to ascertain what impact those changes might have had just yet, however as organization looks to partners to build and deploy applications faster it’s only a matter of time before best DevOps practices revolving around CI/CD platforms becomes a significant source of revenue for channel partners.
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