Orlando — After a two-year break, around 2000 channel partners and IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) executives descended on central Florida for the vendor’s 2011 PartnerWorld Leadership conference.
Partners were treated to an overview of IBM’s technology roadmap and were promised a consistent, predictable message that would give partners the stability and confidence to invest in and grow their business with the vendor.
Among the specific news announced were new specializations and authorizations around one of the hottest areas in IT today: cloud computing. IBM has also revamped its co-marketing programs, backed by a US$100 million investment, to help partners prospect in the midmarket. And on the services side, IBM is making a push to involve the partner channel more deeply in its formerly direct-focused global services arm.
Get the latest partner news from IBM in this CDN video report from Orlando:
Check-out CDN’s full IBM PartnerWorld 2011 coverage:
* Welcome Watson, our new supercomputer overlord: CDN on location at IBM Partnerworld, Day Two
* IBM Global Services to the channel: We need you
* IBM wants partners to specialize in the cloud
* Big Blue revamps co-marketing programs with $100 million investment
* CDN on location at IBM PartnerWorld: Day One
Follow Jeff Jedras on Twitter: @JeffJedrasCDN.