IBM 'Identified an Opportunity' with MSP Partner Program

IBM's interest in launching a new MSP program was inspired by its success with Partner Plus, which it launched last year as a complete redesign of its overarching partner program.

"We took a step back and looked at how we are working with a lot of different types of partners across the IBM ecosystem," Wooley said. "And we looked at how the MSP market is evolving. I mean, we work with MSPs today, we look at how that's evolving, looking also at IBM's product portfolio and where that's heading. And we identified an opportunity to do more there. We think there's a big opportunity for us to bring more value with our product portfolio to the MSP clients."

IBM is experimenting with a few pilot programs to ensure that MSP deals would work well, according to Woolley.

The MSP program will integrate a number of resources alongside those already available through the Partner Plus program, Woolley said. These will include access to IBM's technical engineering teams, easy onboarding, easy quoting and applicable pricing.

"Appropriate tools are very relevant to an MSP building their business," Woolley said. "So we want to make sure we've got all of those things in place as well."

One of IBM's most notable design decisions for the upcoming MSP program will draw from some of what Woolley has learned from helping other partners.

"We launched a separate track in our Partner Plus program for service partners," Woolley said. "So the MSP program [idea] was all about recognizing the fact that our service partners are trusted advisors to their clients and they play a very unique role around IBM's portfolio as to how decisions are made with their clients. That track was built around making sure that we had a program designed to meet the needs of how partners want to interact with IBM technology."

IBM is trying to bridge the gap for AI startups and developers by allowing products like watsonx's collection of assistants to fill in the gaps around AI data models in hopes of saving them time and money.

By using products such as watsonx or Granite to establish their AI technology, "[Startups] can leverage [IBM's] AI technology and put their R&D dollars in against doing something else within their software development road map," Woolley said.

Woolley plans to continue expanding IBM's partnerships and the supporting Partner Plus program in the next few months. One of the most notable launches will be the aforementioned MSP program, which the company expects to launch sometime in the third quarter.

"What does AI mean? How do we think about bringing generative AI into our enterprises?" Woolley asked. "And so we've announced Centers of Excellence with multiple service partners recently," including Wipro and MTT Data.

Optimizing the use of those centers will be a priority for Woolley and IBM in the future.

Woolley appeared confident in IBM's ability to work with partners to provide what they require, although some partners and customers are expressing concerns about keeping up with the pace of technology.

"The world of technology is moving really, really fast and with AI it's moving even faster," Woolley said. "That's why some of the questions we're hearing from our clients is how they get the right skills and enough skills in their organization, vendors or partners."

That lack of knowledge can occasionally lead to uncertainty and slow adoption of new technology. The IBM executive hopes that the company can provide sufficient resources through partners and other things to ensure that the companies have what they need.

"We want our partners to be an extension of IBM. We want our partners to have exactly the same skill set and and have access to all of that skilling and enablement."

One of the other barriers is trust among partners, clients and customers. The general public is both excited and skeptical of AI, which may lead to delayed adoption. IBM has a slight advantage due to what Woolley describes as established trust.

"All of our AI technology is built on trust," Woolley said. "We have what's next in regard to governance, which is focused purely on how we actually govern, and to make sure that we have clear visibility into what goes in to our AI technology, and therefore what any of the answers in the generative AI is based on."

The company also has been experimenting with generative AI longer than others, Woolley said, claiming years of experience over its competitors.

One of the other barriers is trust among partners, clients and customers. The general public is both excited and skeptical of AI, which may lead to delayed adoption. IBM has a slight advantage due to what Woolley describes as established trust.

"All of our AI technology is built on trust," Woolley said. "We have what's next in regard to governance, which is focused purely on how we actually govern, and to make sure that we have clear visibility into what goes in to our AI technology, and therefore what any of the answers in the generative AI is based on."

The company also has been experimenting with generative AI longer than others, Woolley said, claiming years of experience over its competitors.