Techaisle Blog

Rodney Clark, SVP of Partnerships and Small & Medium Business, Cisco, and Elisabeth De Dobbeleer, SVP of Cisco Partner Program, Cisco are on a mission. At the recently concluded Cisco Partner Summit 2024, Cisco unveiled its new partner program, the Cisco 360 Partner Program, which aims to redefine how partner value is recognized and rewarded. This program fosters shared success, enhances partner profitability, and simplifies the partner experience. Cisco is streamlining its partner structure by transitioning from four roles (Integrator, Provider, Advisor, and Developer) to two main tiers: Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner. This change is not due to a lack of recognition of partners' diverse roles or a disregard for the ecosystem. On the contrary, Cisco is enhancing its focus on the ecosystem, acknowledging that partners can fulfill multiple roles. This simplified structure allows partners to achieve the Preferred Partner status through a value index that recognizes metrics spanning various business models.

Cisco currently boasts a best-in-industry partner program, recognized for its strong market presence, trust, and reliability. However, the program's complexity and operational challenges are hindering its effectiveness. The multifaceted benefits, while encouraging partner adoption, can take time to manage and track. As Cisco looks to evolve its partner program, it focuses on simplifying the process and shifting towards outcome-based metrics. By focusing on profitability and operational efficiency, Cisco aims to ease the transition for partners and ensure a smooth evolution of the program.

IBM and Microsoft have an established and successful strategic partnership, marked by significant collaborations like ARO (Azure Red Hat OpenShift). In 2021, the general availability of Red Hat OpenShift on Azure evolved into Azure Managed OpenShift on Azure. In 2023, IBM achieved Partner of the Year recognition with over 13 accreditations across the Microsoft portfolio and seven in 2024.

ARO has been a cornerstone of this partnership, offering businesses a comprehensive hybrid cloud solution that seamlessly integrates Azure services with Red Hat OpenShift. This partnership has also driven IBM’s expansion on the Azure cloud marketplace, where IBM’s technology offerings have gained substantial traction.

In a significant initiative to enhance their long-standing relationship, IBM and Microsoft are expanding the partnership by bringing additional IBM solutions to businesses through the Azure Marketplace. This strategic move aims to provide businesses with a more streamlined and integrated experience, allowing them to access a broader range of IBM software and services directly within the Azure ecosystem.

Both IBM and Microsoft stand to benefit from this partnership, as Techaisle’s research indicates a growing momentum towards Azure Marketplace. 47% of businesses consider it to be secure, 45% find it well-understood, 44% utilize it due to its extensive footprint, and 41% perceive it as a mature platform. These positive perceptions highlight Azure Marketplace’s increasing appeal to businesses seeking reliable, comprehensive cloud solutions.

Expanding IBM's Offerings on Azure Marketplace: A Strategic Partnership

There are few absolute certainties in technology – but one subject that is beyond debate is that the cloud has permanently changed how technology is deployed and consumed within businesses, and AI is the latest disruptive technology. We know that AI is everywhere, but having arrived in a hurry, the changes made in response to its adoption will not leave abruptly.

Techaisle research shows that 72% of SMBs, 97% of midmarket firms, and 100% of enterprises believe technology is critical to business success. However, IT efficiency can be challenging to achieve. As the business pressures increase, the greater is the need for automation and orchestration. Business unit leaders seek inputs from IT to help achieve business goals. In straightforward terms, in 86% of firms, IT is expected to do more and is even seen as a source of innovation. In 79% of firms, IT is expected to deliver business outcomes faster. However, 80% of IT’s time is spent on support and maintenance; in 65% of organizations, IT is left with little time for innovation.

One of the key highlights of this expanded partnership is the introduction of Apptio Technology Business Management (TBM) software to the Azure Marketplace. Apptio, an IBM company, is recognized as a market leader in TBM and FinOps. It empowers organizations to make data-driven technology investment decisions and optimize costs across cloud and on-premise environments.

The roll-out of Apptio's product suite on Azure Marketplace will occur in phases, beginning with IBM Targetprocess on October 29^th, 2024. Targetprocess is an Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) software that integrates with Azure DevOps, facilitating better budget planning and management across diverse technology environments. IBM also plans to bring its flagship IT financial management solution, IBM Apptio Costing and Planning, to the Azure Marketplace in the first quarter of 2025. These initiatives highlight a commitment from both IBM and Microsoft to provide businesses with a comprehensive suite of solutions to manage and optimize their technology investments within the Azure cloud platform.

Techaisle research shows that channel partners seek enablement and simplifications that support their growth objectives, enhance their competitive edge, and improve their operational efficiency. Lenovo has taken significant strides to streamline and strengthen its partner framework in the ever-evolving technology landscape. By consolidating eight disparate partner programs into a single global framework, Lenovo has simplified its operations and created a more efficient and effective system for its partners. This article delves into the key aspects of Lenovo's partner framework, highlighting its structure, benefits, and future initiatives.

A Unified Global Framework

Lenovo's partner framework has undergone a remarkable transformation. The company has reduced the number of incentive programs from over 2,000 to approximately 750, achieving a 63% reduction. This consolidation has made it easier for partners to navigate and benefit. The new global framework has significantly increased the number of active certifications from 6,800 to more than 42,000, covering various portfolios, including PC, infrastructure, and services.

Lenovo 360 Solutions Hub

One of the standout features of Lenovo's partner framework is the Lenovo 360 Solutions Hub. This platform offers 50 cross-portfolio solutions with associated marketing materials and guided selling tutorials. According to Techaisle’s research, 51% of partners consider marketing and sales tools essential for driving growth. The Lenovo 360 Solutions Hub is designed to enable partners to deliver end-to-end solution capabilities, making it a crucial tool for partners to stay updated with Lenovo's vast portfolio.

Generative AI is revolutionizing how businesses operate, offering unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. As per Techaisle’s research of 2400 businesses, 94% are expected to use GenAI within the next 12 months. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is at the forefront of this transformation, guiding business leaders through the adoption and implementation of generative AI technologies. AWS emphasizes the importance of understanding the potential of generative AI and identifying relevant use cases that can drive significant business value. By leveraging tools such as Amazon Bedrock, AWS Trainium, and AWS Inferentia, businesses can build and scale generative AI applications tailored to their specific needs. These tools provide the necessary infrastructure and performance to handle large-scale AI workloads, ensuring businesses can achieve their goals effectively. Moreover, AWS highlights the critical role of high-quality data in the success of generative AI projects. A robust data strategy, encompassing data versioning, lineage, and governance, is essential for maintaining data quality and consistency, enhancing model performance and accuracy. Additionally, AWS advocates responsible AI development, emphasizing the need for ethical considerations and risk management. Businesses can establish clear guidelines and safeguards to ensure their AI initiatives are innovative and responsible. Real-world success stories, such as those of Adidas and Merck, demonstrate the tangible benefits of generative AI, from personalized customer experiences to improved manufacturing processes. As businesses continue to explore and implement generative AI, they must prioritize adaptability, continuous learning, and a commitment to ethical practices to fully harness this technology's transformative power. AWS is taking a pivotal role in guiding businesses through the adoption and implementation of generative AI by encouraging business leaders to consider the possibilities if limitations were removed.

AWS’ Roadmap for Generative AI Success

Despite widespread GenAI adoption plans, Techaisle found that 50% of businesses struggle to define an AI-first strategy. Most businesses, from small to large corporations, struggle to define specific GenAI implementation strategies. This is particularly evident among small businesses (81%), midmarket firms (45%), and enterprises (41%). As Tom Godden, AWS Enterprise Strategist, said, “The question on every CEO’s mind is ‘What is our generative AI strategy?” To facilitate this journey, AWS outlines a clear roadmap encompassing several key stages: Learn, Build, Establish, Lead, and Act.

In the Learn phase, AWS recommends understanding the possibilities of generative AI and identifying relevant use cases. They offer resources like the AI Use Case Explorer, which provides practical guidance and real-world examples of successful implementations. Moving to the Build stage, AWS stresses the importance of effectively choosing the right tools and scaling. They provide a range of infrastructure and tools, including Amazon Bedrock, AWS Trainium and AWS Inferentia, Amazon EC2 UltraClusters, and SageMaker. These tools help businesses balance accuracy, performance, and cost while developing and scaling generative AI applications.

The Establish phase centers around data, a crucial component for successful generative AI implementation. AWS highlights the need for a robust data strategy that includes data versioning, documentation, lineage, cleaning, collection, annotation, and ontology. This ensures data quality and consistency, which is essential for optimal model training. In the Lead stage, AWS emphasizes the importance of humanizing work and using generative AI to empower employees rather than replace them. They recommend redesigning workflows to leverage AI effectively, adopting successful AI governance models, and preparing the workforce for new roles through upskilling and reskilling.

Finally, the Act phase focuses on building and implementing a responsible AI program to ensure generative AI's ethical and safe use. AWS advises proactively addressing potential risks and challenges, establishing clear risk assessment frameworks, and implementing controls and safeguards to prevent misuse. They also emphasize the importance of providing training and resources to ensure security and compliance teams are confident in the organization's AI practices.

AWS provides a comprehensive approach to guiding businesses through the adoption and implementation of generative AI. AWS helps leaders navigate this transformative technology and unlock its immense potential by offering a clear framework, practical tools, and real-world examples.

Amazon Bedrock: A Comprehensive Platform for Generative AI

Building upon this foundation, Amazon Bedrock emerges as a pivotal tool for businesses seeking to harness the transformative power of generative AI. By providing a curated selection of foundation models and simplifying their implementation, Bedrock empowers organizations to experiment, iterate, and scale their AI initiatives rapidly.