Red Hat unveils upgrades for partner autonomy & growth

Red Hat has announced a series of updates to its global partner engagement experience, introducing new programmes and tools designed to support partners with greater autonomy, clearer growth avenues, and enhanced customer lifecycle support.

Specialised Partner Programme

At the forefront of these developments is the Red Hat Specialised Partner Program, which seeks to acknowledge partners that have demonstrated significant expertise in advanced technologies such as automation, virtualisation, and artificial intelligence. The programme, formerly known as Partner Practise Accelerator, enables partners to earn validated recognition for their technical proficiency and service capabilities aligned with Red Hat's strategic technologies.

With this expansion, specialisations now extend beyond Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Red Hat OpenShift, to include additional products like Red Hat Enterprise Linux and RHEL AI. Existing specialisation for Red Hat OpenShift will be broadened to cover specific focus areas, including virtualisation, containers, and application development. Qualified partners will be recognised under titles such as "Red Hat Specialised Partner - Mission Critical Automation" or "Red Hat Specialised Partner - AI Platform," based on their technical strengths.

We encourage partners to reach out to their Red Hat partner account managers to explore these new specialisation opportunities and further differentiate themselves as leading service providers for Red Hat solutions.

Partner Demand Centre

Red Hat has also introduced the Red Hat Partner Demand Centre, an online platform aimed at providing partners with the capability to design and execute their own marketing campaigns. The self-serve platform enables partners to autonomously launch pre-built marketing campaigns, create registration pages for workshops and webinars, and jointly promote Red Hat solutions to their clients.

The core offerings of the platform include a dashboard for tracking campaign activities and leads, customisable content to allow partners to integrate their own branding, and a digital library featuring over 16 campaigns in nine languages. These features are intended to afford partners more control and insight into their marketing efforts, supporting flexible collaboration and tailored messaging.

This platform is designed to provide partners with assisted control over their marketing efforts, providing them with joint branding and messaging.

Simplified incentives and tooling

The ongoing redesign of the partner experience incorporates enhancements to Red Hat's rebate strategy. The company reports an extension of existing rebates and the introduction of new incentives, primarily targeting the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Red Hat OpenShift products, with the intention to boost partner profitability and accelerate product growth.

In addition, Red Hat is undertaking an overhaul of its digital tools, aimed at reducing complexity for partners, increasing visibility, and supporting smoother engagement. The new digital enhancements are expected to facilitate easier navigation and management of partnership requirements and rewards.

Business strategy and partner engagement

Stefanie Chiras, who contributed to the announcement, stated that the changes form part of a longer-term strategy to place the ecosystem at the centre of IT modernisation. Chiras wrote, "The epoch-making shift in the technology landscape, fueled by breakthroughs in AI and the dynamic world of virtualisation, is reshaping every industry. Red Hat's partner ecosystem is pivotal in helping customers navigate these seismic shifts and capitalise on emerging opportunities, which is why we are continuously refining Red Hat's global partner engagement experience with an ecosystem-driven approach to IT modernisation. Our transformation is rooted in three business enablers: a globally unified partner programme, streamlined partner incentives and an enhanced digital experience."

Chiras highlighted the goal of the new offerings: "With this transformation, we are providing greater autonomy for partners to benefit from more choice, clearer growth opportunities and stronger collaboration with each other and Red Hat."

Support and resources

Partners are advised to access the Red Hat Partner Connect portal or reach out to their partner account managers to learn more about these updates and check specific requirements or eligibility for the new programme and incentives. Information about rebates and training opportunities is available through the Red Hat Content Centre, and a revised Partner Engagement Experience Foundations course details the fundamental aspects of the partner programme.