IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., is launching a series of initiatives to make it easier and more profitable for Business Partners of SoftLayer, an IBM Company to develop, market, and sell cloud†services to their customers.
With its new sales incentives, marketing programs, and training courses, IBM is building on its support for SoftLayer and IBM Business Partners to help them capture the growing cloud market opportunity. It is also combining best practices from the SoftLayer partner program and IBM PartnerWorld†to enable Business Partners to improve margins, build skills, and drive demand.
Partners can expect:
- Improved margin opportunities,†with richer earned-volume discounts for SoftLayer Business Partners without requiring a prior commitment.
- A new SoftLayer Services and Solution Provider program that streamlines the SoftLayer hosting reseller and strategic partners program to improve clarity of eligibility requirement and benefits of the program.
- A co-marketing initiative as part of PartnerWorld to help SoftLayer Business Partners that join the program build their brands, generate demand for their services, and grow their marketing skills. Partners who join PartnerWorld, and existing IBM Business Partners who join the SoftLayer partner program, will have access to campaign design and creation tools as well as customizable campaign templates to minimize upfront work and deliver consistent messaging.
- Technical training courses†for both SoftLayer and IBM Business Partners to build skills that meet clients’ plans to use outside resources for delivering high-value cloud solutions. The free, two-day courses introduce SoftLayer solutions through hands-on activities delivered by Global Knowledge, one of IBM’s global training providers. Classes are held in 21 locations, including markets where IBM is expanding its global network of cloud hubs, in addition to several other key markets around the world, such as: Japan, India, China, England, and several locations across the United States.
SoftLayer’s cloud infrastructure expands to accommodate various workloads and offers a network architecture that optimizes global performance using a high-speed private network. Offering services on SoftLayer’s cloud enables Business Partners to take advantage of IBM’s investments in building out its cloud portfolio, including a recent $1.2 billion investment†to expand its global cloud footprint and its $1 billion investment†to develop a platform-as-a-service offering, codenamed BlueMix.
The new offerings build on IBM PartnerWorld’s existing cloud-related resources. These include cloud services mark, an IBM ingredient brand mark for cloud solutions and service that enables eligible PartnerWorld members to promote cloud services that run on IBM technologies such as SoftLayer; PartnerWorld Cloud Benefit Guide, a catalog of resources connecting PartnerWorld members with benefits for building, selling, and deploying cloud solutions; PartnerWorld SatScor, a free client satisfaction survey for promoting referral marketing; and Program Criteria to make it easier for cloud-based PartnerWorld members to achieve advance participation levels in the PartnerWorld program.
Partners can learn more about joining SoftLayer’s programs at www.SoftLayer.com†and about joining IBM PartnerWorld at http://bit.ly/1lRjlxI.
