IBM Aims to Double Its Revenue With Partner Program Expansion

As large enterprise partner ecosystems swiftly gain popularity, business leaders are watching IBM’s moves in this space. In early 2021, the Armonk, N.Y.-based company announced a $1 billion plan to “rapidly expand” its partner ecosystem and sharpen its focus on hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). Two top execs recently took the stage at the Channel Partners Conference Expo & MSP Summit in Las Vegas to talk about what the enterprise is doing to make good on its $1 billion bet, to a room full of palpable excitement.

IBM’s Road to Revenue Leads to Channel Partners

It’s not every day that a 110-year-old company says it wants to make doing business easier. But that’s the new mantra shared by Big Blue’s leadership and explained by newly minted channel chief Kate Woolley, formerly the IBM CEO’s chief of staff.

“We have to double our revenue, IBM ecosystem revenue, in the next three to five years. And that’s the way we do it. We’ve got to be easier to do business with and be essential to our partners,” she said. This shift in ways of doing business means enabling partners, sellers, and other systems integrators with the ability to plug and play with IBM products and services.

IBM’s partner expansion is also the top-of-mind focus for Inhi Cho Suh, Head of Global Strategic Partnerships. What drives her and her team is how to make IBM’s infrastructure and software solutions readily available across all the major cloud platforms, such as Azure and AWS. This new approach to innovation is about infusing innovation into the entire company culture.

“Our primary focus is ‘How do we make our technology more accessible through every platform available?’” Cho Suh said. “This also extends to making it possible to embed IBM’s technology capabilities and extending training and certification programs.”

IBM’s Partner Focus Creates Win-Win Scenario for Big Blue, Resellers

But the new IBM partner focus is more than just about cultural and digital transformation–it’s also about financial rewards for both sides. The idea is for every ISV and MSP to reap the benefits of IBM’s expanded ecosystem.

“For every dollar we’re thinking about that’s generated on the platform, we want every infrastructure partner to get $2,” Cho Suh said. “We want every software partner to get an additional $3. We want every services partner that’s participating in these platforms to get $5. Our desire is to build and grow an ecosystem that actually grows the aggregate pie.”

Looking Ahead to Industry Partnerships

The tech giant also is actively exploring where future investments should be made. For instance, it’s looking hard at 5G Edge, IoT, and other digital technologies and how to innovate in strategic partnerships with Cisco, Samsung, and other telecommunications companies. As Cho Suh noted, there are many use cases around industrial applications and devices at the edge, both offline and managed. However, those solutions require a complex level of data, security, and automation management.

Moving well beyond table stakes, Big Blue’s $1 billion bet to become the cloud industry’s leading partner ecosystem appears to be paying off. The tech giant continues to address today’s hybrid cloud market landscape, make significant investments in the channel, and empower future generations of ISVs and MSPs to grow their businesses and value with their customers.

To listen to the full session: IBM and the Future of the Channel: A Candid Conversation.