IBM Channel Chief: We’re Making Partner Engagement ‘As Easy As Possible’

Are there parts of the IBM portfolio where you’d like to see partners deepen their expertise?

So as you think about IBM‘s strategy, based around hybrid cloud and AI, I think the areas where I’d love to see our partners continuing to invest and grow – [I] want [them] to continue with the business we have today and investing in that.

But I think specific areas of our software portfolio where we can continue to invest to have our partners grow skills – so specific areas of our automation portfolio, data and AI portfolio, security portfolio, our sustainability software portfolio. And in particular, as we look at some of the acquisitions IBM has made in some of those areas over the past 12 to 24 months – Envizi, Instana, Turbonomic. Those areas where I think we can really accelerate with some of this very clear skilling, we can really accelerate both what our partners are able to do and, as an extension, IBM.

With IBM’s services acquisition spree, what’s the message to your services-led partners? 

So I think as we think about IBM with IBM Consulting and IBM technology, we want our partners – no matter how our partners are focused or how they‘re going to market - we want our IBM technology to be going to market with them.

And so I don‘t see conflict versus IBM consulting. I honestly don’t see that conflict. I think we want to be going to market with all of our partners regardless of what motion they‘re taking it through.