Rackspace is offering partners access to an online "Academy" to help them keep abreast with new products and solutions from the cloud infrastructure provider.

The Rackspace Partner Academy is presenting on-demand training on a wide variety of the company's programs, which partners can access in a way that best fits their interest and experience, said Grant Irons, channel partner training manager.

"We started in September and we are adding content as we go," said Irons.

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Partners can log into Rackspace's partner portal and watch instructional programs on subjects such as tier structure, compensation, the partner portal and deal registration, as well as on positioning and selling Rackspace hosting services such as managed hosting, open cloud and SharePoint.

Also offered is reseller training for cloud and email control panels. The Partner Academy will offer more than 30 lessons across eight courses.

Irons said the Academy can augment Rackspace's partner program by giving solution providers and integrators information from a variety of fields in this fast-changing cloud market.

"If partners focus on selling cloud services, maybe they will spend a couple of hours with the program on the cloud and an introduction to the partner program," he said. "If partners are selling all of our products, they may spend six to eight hours with it."

Rackspace offers partnership levels of Member, Silver, Gold and Platinum, and partners from all of these levels can find courses that will help them, Irons said.

"In the Academy, we are talking about how to sell and position all our products," Irons said. "The courses are presented in the voice of the partners. They're told how they can talk about products with their customers. It's very partner-centric."

PUBLISHED NOV. 21, 2012