Red Hat is broadening its cloud partner programme

Red Hat is replacing its existing cloud provider programme with a revamped one it claims will help provide better support for distributors, managed service providers and systems integrators. The company said the move was in response to what it sees as a broadening ecosystem of partnerships in cloud.

The “Certified Cloud and Service Provider” programme will replace the existing “Certified Cloud Provider” initiative and broaden the types of members included. The company will  certify and provide technical support to vendors as well as service providers offering Red Hat-based cloud services for any type of cloud deployment.

The company said the move was driven in part by the continued adoption of newer technologies and platforms like PaaS and Linux containers, and the broadening of the ecosystem of potential partners.

“Much like enterprise IT itself, the world of cloud computing is constantly evolving, especially with the growing promise of hybrid cloud approaches and Linux container-based architectures,” said Michael Ferris, senior director, Business Architecture, Red Hat.

“The Red Hat Certified Cloud and Service Provider program is designed to encompass nearly all service provider models, spanning the public cloud to on-site managed services, offering our customers a secure, stable and trusted partner ecosystem upon which to build their next-generation IT projects using Red Hat solutions.”

Red Hat said the revamped programme will launch with about 13 of the 15 service providers recognised in Gartner’s oft-cited Magic Quadrant, and has grown close to 60 per cent from the previous year. The company has close to 50 cloud providers signed up to the programme so far.

Mark Enzweiler, senior vice president, Global Partners and Alliances, Red Hat said: “The Certified Cloud and Service Provider program is an important next step for one of Red Hat’s key channels. Our partners want to develop their businesses based on enterprise-ready open source technologies, and this global program delivers new opportunities for recurring revenue to a diverse set of participating partners to expand their business with Red Hat.”