Red Hat’s Vision: Preparing Partners For The Next Wave Of Tech Innovation

AI and hybrid cloud are changing the way businesses operate, and staying ahead means embracing these shifts. Red Hat is working closely with its partners to provide the tools and strategies they need to grow and succeed.

CRNtv host Sydney Neely speaks with Stefanie Chiras, vice president at Red Hat, and Anurag Agrawal, CEO and analyst at TechAisle, about how Red Hat is empowering its partners to thrive in an evolving tech landscape.

Segment 1: Red Hat’s Commitment to Partners

Sydney: Stefanie, Red Hat has been really doubling down on its partner ecosystem over the past few years. What’s behind this strategy, and how are you seeing it make an impact with your partners?

Stefanie: I think the primary driver is really market expectation. Customers are expecting the ecosystem partners to come together, to have a solution when they show up and to have had their homework done to tackle these complicated challenges and opportunities that they’re currently facing. Things like, what can they do with Gen AI? So, I think it starts with customer expectation, and we as a platform company at Red Hat, we’re very used to being focused on pulling together an ecosystem in order to deliver value. We’ve been focused on the open hybrid cloud story for well over a decade now here at Red Hat.

Segment 2: Empowering Partners with Virtualization and AI

Sydney: Anurag, with AI and virtualization evolving so quickly, what should partners be thinking about as they look to stay competitive in this space?

Anurag: AI is reshaping the value partners deliver to customers while also disrupting the channel community. Our research shows 41 percent of partners currently offer AI solutions, with 89 percent expecting revenue growth. Partners are at an inflection point, deciding whether to specialize deeply or risk falling behind. Those who build strong ecosystems and invest in skills—like analytics, integration and AI capabilities—are better positioned to thrive. Deep skills are crucial, as shallow expertise won’t cut it in today’s environment.

Segment 3: Unlocking the Benefits of Partnering with Red Hat

Sydney: Stefanie, as Red Hat continues to evolve, how do you see the partner ecosystem growing? What can partners expect from Red Hat in the future?

Stefanie: They can certainly expect a continued dedicated investment and focus on a partner engagement experience. We will continue to drive an enhanced digital experience to allow simple and easy ways of working with Red Hat in order to help partners create and close business. Incentives will become more consistent and predictable, particularly as we move into our global model that we have announced in the Partner Program, getting back to that consistency and clarity that Anurag mentioned earlier. And we’ll continue to expand our partner benefits and the activities that unlock those benefits as we continue to add modules into this program that address new engagement models that partners need to have with Red Hat in this changing market that we work with.

For more information on how Red Hat can support your business, visit connect.redhat.com/benefits.