The Rackspace channel program continues to evolve as the provider of managed services providers continues to work with channel partners looking to rely on Rackspace to manage IT infrastructure on their behalf.
Updates to the Rackspace channel program span everything from building repeatable solutions that span multiple clouds to providing access to additional market development funds (MDF) and a simpler unified partner agreement.
That multi-cloud initiative is critical because Rackspace is gearing up for a spike in demand for hybrid cloud computing solutions in 2019, says Lisa McLin, vice president of channel sales and alliances for North America at Rackspace. Most organizations are already leveraging between five to eight different cloud services, notes McLin. To help partners uncover those opportunities Rackspace is now providing partners with a free cloud assessment tool it developed for its own internal sales teams, says McLin.
Rackspace has also developed a quoting tool running on a mobile device for partners that directly integrates into the customer relationship management (CRM) application that Rackspace uses to manage its operations, adds McLin. Rackspace has also revamped its partner portal to make more training and marketing resources available to partners as well.
Much of that content addresses the requirement of four vertical markets, financial services, healthcare, the federal government, and state and local government and education (SLED) that typically require a more structured approach to transitioning to the cloud because of various regulatory requirements.
Collectively, McLin says these tools represent the next phase of sales enablement for the channel being provided by Rackspace.
In general, McLin notes that many channel partners these days are finding it hard to fill full-time positions because there’s a chronic shortage of IT talent.
“It’s hard to find the technical resources,” says McLin.
Rackspace is also promising to be more forthcoming with its plans by providing quarterly updates on the state of the market, adds McLin.
It remains to be seen how many partners will be able to come to terms with partnering versus competing with Rackspace. But as is often the case in business, the decision to partner or not is usually situational.
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