Many of our clients look to the channel programs of large vendors for leadership. Vendors like Microsoft, Cisco and IBM. Our ‘Four Minute Expert’ series is designed to get you up to speed with the structure of these key programs quickly and simply. In this ‘Four Minute Expert’ guide we’re looking at the IBM program.
PROGRAM HISTORY
• IBM has mixed direct and indirect routes to market, with around one quarter of all revenues going through indirect channels. Microsoft and Cisco for example, have around 90% of revenue through indirect channels.
• Major changes to the IBM PartnerWorld Program were announced early in 2017. The program moved from three tiers to four, and improvements to partner benefits were announced.
• The program features a wide range of partner levelling terminology, which can make it seem complex to outsiders. For example: Entry, Advanced, Premier, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Specialist, Expert, CMR, PGI. All these terms are explained below.
• IBM has around 160,000 partners worldwide. There have been changes in channel organisation leadership for IBM over the last three years. A refresh to the partner program is likely in the near future. This will pivot the program towards an ecosystem approach, with less emphasis on resell and more on developers and services partners.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
The IBM PartnerWorld Program is presented in three tracks, called ‘Build’, ‘Service’ and ‘Resell’.
The Build track is for developers and the Service track is for integration and consulting specialists. Both the Build and Service tracks offer four levels of engagement called Entry, Advanced, Premier and Enterprise. Partners pay to access the tools and support offered at each level.
The Resell track is different. This track offers three sub-tracks, called ‘Reseller’ and ‘Cloud Marketplace Reseller’ (CMR). Any IBM partner at any level in the program can become a Cloud Marketplace Reseller, which allows the partner to sell and make money on a defined portfolio of around two hundred IBM cloud offers.
Here we’re focusing on the Resell Track and the Reseller sub-track. Unlike the Microsoft partner program, for example, which has pivoted strongly away from resell towards build and service partners, IBM PartnerWorld retains a strong resell component.
Once a Business Partner Agreement is in place then the partner is Registered. They can immediately enrol and resell as a Cloud Marketplace Reseller if they wish. Above Registered there are three levels in the program called Silver, Gold and Platinum, which have increasing requirements for:
• Revenue, which can be resell revenue, recurring SaaS revenue or influenced revenue. Recurring SaaS revenue and influenced revenue count for less than resell revenue.
• Competency, see below, one Competency required for Gold, two for Platinum.
• Customer References, one reference required for Gold, two for Platinum.
PARTNERWORLD COMPETENCIES
In the IBM PartnerWorld program there are requirements and benefits associated with a partner’s level in the program (see above, Silver, Gold and Platinum) and there are requirements and benefits associated with achieving Competencies. Competency is also required to achieve program levels, so the two are interlinked.
Competencies come in two levels, called ‘Specialist’, then ‘Expert’. There are around thirty available competencies defined around the IBM portfolio, including for example Cloud Platform, Watson and Data Science. Qualification for each competency is based on three criteria which are:
• Skills Certifications, taking training and passing exams.
• Sales Success, showing a track record of relevant solution sales.
• Resources
and capability around technical support, sales and marketing.
Specific benefits are associated with Competencies. For example more co-marketing funds are available for Experts than for Specialists.
PARTNERWORLD INCENTIVES
Overlaid on the above is a range of incentive programs. For example, the Partner Growth Incentive (PGI) rewards partners who sell IBM hardware with rebates and training vouchers. These incentive programs have their own requirements and benefits.
RED HAT
Red Hat was acquired by IBM in 2019. Red Hat represents around 5% of all IBM revenues, but it represents a larger percentage of channel revenues as Red Hat is 80% indirect. The Red Hat channel program has to date been retained without integration into IBM PartnerWorld.
STAND OUT FEATURES
• Various features of IBM PartnerWorld indicate that the program is in transition. There is likely to be a pivot of the program further towards cloud, away from resell, and we might see integration of the Red Hat program over time.
• The Cloud Marketplace Reseller (CMR) status is best practice, offering partners at any level in the program access to resell a defined set of cloud solutions without the need for certification.
• IBM has to offer a program that meets the needs of a diverse partner audience selling a wide portfolio of solutions. This inevitably results in some program complexity. Major progress has been made by IBM to simplify PartnerWorld, particularly with the 2017 changes. The simplicity of the non-revenue requirements for Gold (one Competency and one Customer Reference) and Platinum (two Competencies and two Customer References) is a lesson for other vendors.
As with all large vendor programs, IBM PartnerWorld is sophisticated, offering a wide range of best practices for other vendors building out their partner models. At Kovendi we understand these best practices, and can help you apply them in your business. Contact us to find out more.