Tech Data, Ingram place bets on hybrid cloud with Red Hat

Open source cloud services may be the next big seller for the local channel after Red Hat appointed two new distributors and pumped more resources into ANZ. 

Tech Data and Ingram Micro have been appointed as distributors for the Red Hat Certified Cloud and Service Provider (CCSP) program and will work with Red Hat to qualify, recruit and on-board partners as CCSPs.

Red Hat said the new local push comes in response to increased interest in managed, multi-hybrid cloud solutions in Australia and New Zealand.

Wendy O’Keeffe told CRN the distributor had seen a “good proportion” of customers consuming hybrid cloud.

"Expanding Tech Data’s relationship with Red Hat to include cloud solutions will allow its partners to take advantage of next-generation open source cloud services," she said.

“[The] reality is cloud-based subscriptions are happening right as we speak.Hybrid cloud is what people are doing; everyone has a strategy or they need to get one.

"We will be boosting our pre-sales resources specifically to support our partners with this transition,” O'Keeffe added.

Ingram Micro senior vice president and chief country executive, Felix Wong, said the company was "excited to further expand business with Red Hat."

"This program will provide our channel partners with new means to strengthen their cloud focus and create new offerings for customers,” he said in a statement.

Ingram Micro and Tech Data will verify partners as CCSPs based on their ability to host and resell Red Hat's portfolio of technologies.

Channel partners will be awarded as CCSP when they meet testing and certification requirements to deliver a scalable, supported and consistent environment with security features designed for enterprise cloud deployments.

Red Hat ANZ director, partners and alliances Garry Gray said cloud provider models had expanded beyond simple, multi-tenant public clouds to include multi-hybrid cloud build-outs, Linux container-based infrastructure and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions.

"As customer needs evolve, Red Hat has invested in its regional channels so that partners receive training, enablement, service excellence, and robust benefits to deliver flexible Red Hat subscriptions and technologies."

"We are excited to have Ingram Micro and Tech Data on board to help expand the Red Hat CCSP program in Australia and New Zealand and drive further open hybrid cloud innovation,” he added.