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IBM Launches Partner Plus Program to Spread Expertise Throughout Its Ecosystem

IBM is launching IBM Partner Plus, reorganizing and replacing PartnerWorld to enhance its engagement with its business partners and provide them with greater access to resources. The program is designed to help facilitate and fuel growth for new and existing partners by growing their expertise and accelerating time-to-market; it’s also a major part of the company’s AI and Hybrid Cloud strategy. However, partners will need to demonstrate a benchmark of their growing expertise to proceed through the Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels of the program.

The IBM Partner Plus program’s goal is to provide its partners with the same training materials its own employees use and other support to drive success and create value, according to Kate Woolley, general manager of IBM Ecosystem. Ideally, when a partner company interacts with a customer, their staff have the same level of expertise as the workforce at IBM. The program’s tier-based system is meant to create a competitive incentive for partners, as well.

The new program has already begun to be rolled out, with existing partners starting at their previous level, and with six months to demonstrate the expertise necessary to retain their status.