Tech Data Has The ‘Key Codes’ For Partners To Unlock The IBM Hybrid Cloud-AI Model
Tech Data has built its IBM-Red Hat portfolio to help partners overcome the “talent gap” that has prevented many of them from taking the hybrid cloud-AI plunge.
Tech Data’s breakthrough cloud offerings, including Practice Builder and Click To Run, are providing the firepower for solution providers to quickly unlock the value of the robust IBM-Red Hat software portfolio, said Tech Data President of the Americas John O’Shea (pictured).
“If you want the key codes, we’ve got them,” said O’Shea, speaking about the blockbuster IBM-Red Hat OpenShift hybrid cloud AI opportunity. “Come get them. We are going to help you make sure that you can navigate and really drive the opportunity.”
Tech Data has built its IBM-Red Hat portfolio to help partners overcome the “talent gap” that has prevented many of them from taking the hybrid cloud-AI plunge, said O’Shea. “The more we can make these solutions easily consumable-focused on the business outcome is really important,” he said.
That’s just what Tech Data has done with Practice Builder, Click To Run and its StreamOne cloud marketplace, said O’Shea.
For example, Tech Data has aligned its Practice Builder program—designed to accelerate growth in next-generation technologies for cloud and security—with the IBM Cloud Paks strategy, said O’Shea. “This is the road map for partners—whether they are a legacy IBM partner or not—this is the road map for them to go from zero to 100 mph to not just skill up, but to access all the resources we and IBM are bringing to the table,” he said. “It’s not just the manual on how to operate it. It is also the map that tells me where all the treasure, resource and skills are.”
The Tech Data Practice Builder methodology is designed to more quickly get partners to revenue and return on investment in high-growth next-generation technologies, said O’Shea.
One of the keys to the Tech Data-IBM partnership is that Tech Data’s $750 million investment in next-generation technologies (cloud, security, analytics, IoT and AI) line up hand in hand with IBM’s focus, said O’Shea. “That alignment is really, really clear for us,” he said.
Tech Data, in fact, has already put in place Click To Run pay-per-use solutions through the fast-growing Tech Data StreamOne Cloud Marketplace for its partners. That includes Click To Run For Data (the IBM Cloud Pack for Data on Azure); Click To Run For OCP (OpenShift Container Platform on Azure); Click To Run For Ansible On Azure; and Click To Run For Red Hat Enterprise Linux With SQL On Azure.
Tech Data’s Click To Run offerings have reduced the time it takes for partners to deploy the next-generation solutions for customers from weeks to just minutes, said O’Shea. “This is where the alignment and partnership becomes real,” he said. “I am so happy with the direction IBM is going because they realize we have these building blocks in place.”
O’Shea praised IBM–Tech Data’s Cloud Partner of The Year in 2020—for its partner commitment and for making the deep technical investments necessary to be successful. “We’re growing together and we are strategically aligned and making investments together,” he said.
Key to building the Tech Data-IBM-Red Hat offerings is the distributor’s deep knowledge of the unique challenges partners face in bringing digital transformation to their customers, said O’Shea, who spent nearly four years as president of managed services superstar Vology before rejoining Tech Data.
“One of the things I love is I have been able to leverage my background as a partner [at Tech Data],” said O’Shea. “As I sit in this chair now I am having conversations with the IBM folks and other vendors saying, ‘I know I’m here talking to you as one of your largest global partners as a distributor, but I have also been a VAR, a solution provider and managed services company that has been trying to incorporate your technology into those solutions.”