By Stefanie Chiras, Senior Vice President of Partner Ecosystem Success at Red Hat
Early this year, Red Hat announced our ongoing work to transform the global partner engagement experience and offer greater simplicity, choice and flexibility to partners collaborating with Red Hat. Now, I am pleased to announce that we are delivering on that promise with the first wave of updates to the Red Hat Partner Program.
With the rise of industry trends in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtualization and more, the need for coordinated cross-collaboration across multiple technology vendors and solution providers is imperative. At Red Hat, we have been paying close attention to how these market dynamics are impacting partners and customers in order to better understand how we can help implement an ecosystem-driven approach to IT modernization.
The transformation of Red Hat’s global partner engagement experience is rooted in three key pillars:
- A globally standardized partner program that serves as the foundation for partners to transact more simply and transparently, guided by a consistent tiering framework based on partner engagement, expertise and performance.
- Streamlined partner incentives that are applicable across all partner types to help build and accelerate partner business pipelines.
- Enhanced digital experience to deliver unified tooling and accessibility to critical resources for partners via Red Hat Partner Connect.
Together, these changes will empower Red Hat partners to accelerate revenue realization, engage in collaborative activities and reduce friction through an enhanced partner experience in transacting, building and managing with Red Hat.
What’s new?
Red Hat Partner Program
Red Hat is implementing a modular design to its partner program, enabling partners to earn points for specific activities that align with their business goals. Now available, Red Hat is launching the first three modules for partners: Resell, Distribution and Sell With. Partners can self-select activities within each module based on their business priorities, helping them to accelerate business growth and profitability. In addition, the modular program design makes it easier for partners to engage in focused areas of business with Red Hat, whether they choose to engage in a single module or multiple.
This initial launch for Resell, Distribution and Sell With modules lays the foundation for the Red Hat Partner Program. New modules will become available throughout the year and beyond to support additional partner activities across build, sell and service business motions.
Partner Incentives
As partners earn points through the modules, they can qualify for access to additional benefits, tailored support and enhanced opportunities that align with their level of engagement. With this initial launch, Red Hat is applying a standardized deal registration process for partners globally, which allows partners to register opportunities to receive additional discounts and support. Furthermore, Red Hat has improved market development fund (MDF) tools and processes to make it easier for partners to receive additional funding based on their module activities.
Red Hat will continue to build out and deepen partner incentives and benefits throughout the year to help reinforce critical focus areas across the partner ecosystem.
Digital Experience
To support partners as they navigate new modules for Resell, Distribution and Sell With, Red Hat has upgraded the Red Hat Partner Connect portal experience with a new interface that streamlines user interactions and guides partners through module activities. With these enhancements, partners can gain increased visibility to deal registration and business opportunities. This includes real-time, more detailed, performance and reporting dashboards for opportunity management.
Get started today
With the launch of these new partner modules and benefits, Red Hat is establishing a unified global partner engagement experience founded on choice and flexibility to deliver optimal customer value. Partners can more easily collaborate with Red Hat across multiple engagement routes and unlock new rewards through a universal activity-based points system. As partners move through the modules, the transparent program structure offers clear pathways for collaboration, real-time reporting and greater visibility into business opportunities with Red Hat and the broader ecosystem.
