Five Companies That Came To Win This Week

For the week ending Jan. 19, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their ‘A’ game to the channel including Red Hat, Veeam, AWS, Snyk and Pax8.

The Week Ending Jan. 19

Topping this week’s Came to Win list is Red Hat for unveiling an extensive overhaul of its channel program that provides partners with more flexibility around their go-to-market strategy and offers a new product demonstration platform.

Also making the list are Veeam for its own partner program expansion plans, Amazon Web Services for a multibillion-dollar expansion in Japan, cybersecurity provider Snyk for a strategic acquisition in the data capture technology space, and cloud distributor Pax8 for the global availability of its marketplace application that makes it easier for solution providers and MSPs to serve their clients anywhere, anytime.

Red Hat 2024 Partner Program Changes Include Accelerator, Product Demo Platform

Red Hat is working on a series of updates to its partner program, including a new accelerator program and upgraded partner engagement model, that the software provider says will offer partners greater simplicity, choice and flexibility, the company said this week.

Red Hat is also developing a new product demonstration platform and upgraded cross-collaboration tools for partners and is vowing greater transparency and easier partner access to technology, training and resources.

The new partner program framework, slated to launch in the second half of 2024, corrects the previously too-linear program that was based on partner type and geography, Red Hat senior vice president of partner ecosystem success Stefanie Chiras told CRN. The more modular design of the updated program will make it easier for partners to get the resources that correspond with their business model or models, allowing them to more easily move between sales motions and routes to market.

The company is promising more accessibility to Red Hat resources, expertise and open-source products and services. Partners will see improvements in partner certification and credential pathways on the Red Hat Partner Training Portal and expanded visibility for co-created solutions in the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog.

Partners will also have updated incentives and rebates available based on program participation. And during the first and second quarter the company is streamlining deal registration to make that process more consistent globally.

The new Red Hat Partner Practice Accelerator Program, a component of the overall partner engagement transformation, is focused on identifying, enabling, validating and incentivizing partners within the commercial segment. The program is designed for a select group of eligible partners, currently by invite only, who are empowered to manage the full commercial customer lifecycle with such products as Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Red Hat OpenShift.

The Red Hat Demo Platform, expected to be available in May, will provide partners with demos on demand, product step-by-step instructions, scripted workshops and customer talking points.

Veeam Expands Partner Program With Focus On Incumbency, Training

Staying on the topic of partner program expansions, Veeam scores points this week for expanding its channel partner program with improvements to how partners earn – and continue earning over time – through sales of the data protection and management software developers’ products.

Veeam is improving the front-end margin partners get via deal registration and is changing its incumbency program so that when a contract comes up for renewal, the original partner can maintain the relationship.

The company is also offering expanded sales and technical training and enablement programs, along with new competencies and certifications, to go with its expanded emphasis around cyber resilience. That includes teaching partners how to talk with customers about how Veeam fits into their security conversations.

The program improvements align with what Veeam is hearing from channel partners about what they are looking for in terms of more predictable profitability and a global framework with improved deal registration and incumbency, Larissa Crandall, vice president of global channels and alliances, told CRN.

AWS Invests $15B To Expand Cloud, AI Services In Japan

Asia in general – and Japan in particular – are crucial fronts in the global competitive battle between the cloud giants. This week AWS made a major move with its unveiled plans to invest $15 billion over the next three years to boost its cloud infrastructure, computing services and AI services capacity in the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka.

One of the key drivers for the investment is boosting the availability of AWS’ generative AI services for Japanese businesses. Amazon Bedrock, the company’s flagship GenAI offering, became available in the Tokyo region in October.

The expanded service capabilities will also make it possible for customers to use data in Japan without moving it to overseas facilities, improving cloud service performance with very low latency.

AWS also launched a support program that provided some customers with technical AI training and is making a $6 million investment in the form of cloud credits for Japanese customers to build and train large language models (LLMs).

Snyk To Acquire Application Data Capture Startup

Cybersecurity company Snyk makes this week’s 5 That Came to Win list for its acquisition of a startup that specializes in capturing security-relevant data from live applications.

The addition of technology developed by the startup, Helios, will bolster Snyk’s capabilities around correlating code security scans with signals from runtime applications. Snyk described the strategic acquisition as a milestone in the advancement of its application security posture management (ASPM) offering.

Capabilities from Helios will enable Snyk to offer comprehensive visibility across an app environment, more effective prioritization of risk, and collection of “full-stack” runtime data, according to the company.

The acquisition follows Snyk’s recent launch of a major update to its ASPM offering, AppRisk. The debut of Snyk’s AppRisk Essentials tool provides automatic discovery of app assets that are code-based as well as management of security coverage and prioritization based on risk.

Pax8 Marketplace Mobile App Goes Live

Cloud distributor Pax8 wins applause this week for launching its global marketplace mobile application that will make it possible for MSPs and solution providers to search and view products on the Pax8 linecard – including pricing – for their clients.

The application, which soft-launched in September, makes it easier for Pax8 channel partners to do business anywhere, anytime.

MSPs can also use the app to view invoices and support tickets in process, modify and view subscriptions, and share feedback through the app. But functionality for submitting tickets, making payments and ordering products is currently not available. Push notifications for notes, like upcoming renewal dates and status of support tickets, along with an “add to cart” function will soon be rolled out as additional features.

Pax8 says it will continue to deliver on the app to improve the partner experience. “Our focus is really helping our partners grow,” Elizabeth (Libby) McIlhany, Pax8 chief product officer, told CRN. “They need the tools, they need the insight. We can make their lives easier and we think the mobile app is one way that we're doing that.”