**Editor’s Note: Click here for a list of May’s important channel-program changes you should know.**

Converged data platform provider MapR Technologies has expanded and enhanced its global partner program to foster global alliances with select consultancies, platform and software providers, resellers and distributors.

The Converge Partners program is comprised of three tiers: Affiliate, Preferred, and Elite. With an expanded MapR ecosystem, customers can “select certified products and solutions to lower project risks and realize cost savings over custom-built solutions,” the company said.

Geneva Lake, MapR’s vice president of worldwide alliances, tells Channel Partners that, because of MapR’s growth and the expansion of big data from enterprise customers, the new program was created to “address and successfully fulfill expanding customer demand by building and leveraging a high-quality, world-class MapR global partner ecosystem and jointly going after these opportunities.”

MapR has more than 800 partners, ranging from consulting and systems integrators, software partners (technology, ISV, OEM), platform and cloud partners, and global distributors. Amazon, Cisco, Google, HPE, Microsoft, SAP and Teradata are all MapR vendor partners.

The Affiliate level is for new partners with demonstrated industry expertise, while the Preferred level is for established partners with regional presence and provides value-add and service sets. The Elite level is by invitation only and is represented by companies with significant global presence, a proven MapR track record, and “companies that impact and provide industry standards,” MapR said.

Expanded benefits include: new enablement, marketing and sales programs based on joint objectives including business planning; and updated and on-demand sales, technical and implementation training specific to joint strategic business goals.{ad}

Technology partners can receive product certification through detailed product evaluation and testing, which verifies interoperability with MapR.

“Based on partner feedback, the new program provides partners new and quicker enablement programs that accelerate their go-to-market strategies,” she said.

The MapR Platform includes distributed processing, real-time analytics and enterprise-grade requirements across cloud and on-premises environments — while using ongoing development in open-source technologies including Spark and Hadoop.