Today we kicked off IBM Think 2024 in Boston with Partner Plus Day, a full day dedicated to our partners who are driving client innovation, business growth and scaling the adoption of transformative technology such as generative AI. It is also the perfect opportunity to reflect on the progress and success of the IBM Ecosystem, more than a year after we introduced Partner Plus, the program that embodies our new era of partner-first collaboration.

Our partners have generated remarkable business results for sure, but what’s been most inspiring is their shared commitment to working collaboratively to help drive client outcomes. This commitment was on display today, with 1,800 partners in attendance to sharpen their skills, learn from one another and hear from leaders including our Chairman and CEO, Arvind Krishna.

As General Manager of IBM’s Partner Ecosystem, I may be biased, but I believe that our ecosystem—comprised of ISVs, hyperscalers, resellers and distributors, service providers, technology partners, systems integrators and MSPs—is the very best in the business at solving real client challenges every day.

Announcing the IBM Partner Plus Awards Global Winners

The tremendous power of the IBM Ecosystem is exemplified by the 2024 IBM Partner Plus Awards, which recognize partners that demonstrate outstanding expertise, impact, innovation and partnership.

For the inaugural year of this awards program, we received hundreds of global submissions across six categories, from which our panel of judges selected 30 winners in each of five geographic regions. Those geography winners were automatically considered as finalists for the coveted Global Awards.

I am thrilled to announce today the following Global Award winners of the 2024 IBM Partner Plus Awards:

• AI for Business Category Winner: EY worked with a convenience store chain using watsonx AI tools to improve customer and associate satisfaction, seeing a 50% reduction in maintenance tasks and reduced downtime of critical machinery.
• Automation Category Winner: Habber Tec automated and optimized the administrative processes for a large bank using IBM Automation Workflow and Insights technologies; resulting in better prioritization of workloads and more efficient client response processes.
• Digital Defense Category Winner: Converge helped a financial services client manage their data security challenges using IBM Guardium, which significantly improved the client’s compliance, reduced the risk of data breaches, improved operational efficiency and delivered cost savings.
• Digital Labor Category Winner: Silver Egg Technologies is using watsonx.ai in its solution to evaluate resumes quickly and fairly against specific job criteria, potentially reducing the time required to extend a job offer by as much as 75%.
• Modernization Category Winner: Intercompany migrated their client to a modernized environment with IBM Cloud and Power Systems Virtual Server, increasing compute capacity and achieving significant gains in terms of security, reliability, and performance.
• Sustainability Category Winner: Wipro designed a solution using IBM App Connect, IBM TRIRIGA and IBM Envizi to help a retail client measure a 23% reduction in emissions, a 21% decrease in energy consumption, and a 32% decline in operating costs.

I’d like to congratulate all winners and nominees. These use cases are a fantastic representation of both the hard work partners put in to improve their clients’ business and the success our partners can achieve.

Building upon the momentum of Partner Plus

Our journey to support partners in achieving growth and successful outcomes has no end. We are continuously investing in the IBM Partner Plus program with enhancements, resources to build skills and new paths to support partners wherever they are and however they choose to transact. Highlights from the past few months include hitting a milestone of over 250,000 completed badges since launch, the introduction of a new Service track in Partner Plus, and collaboration with partners of all types to scale AI-powered client innovations.

In response to partner feedback, we are also doubling down on our commitment to the MSP community. MSPs have a unique opportunity in the market, so to make it easier for them to work with us, I’m pleased to announce that we will be launching an MSP program in the coming months. This program will be specifically tailored and focused on a set of MSP-ready offerings from our Automation portfolio to deliver differentiated value to clients of MSPs. Our MSP partners can expect simplified onboarding, resources and access to our benefits, all aligned to how they prefer to transact.

In an effort to help partners find new ways to earn more with IBM, we recently incorporated IBM Cloud Platform and Software Support Offerings within the IBM Partner Plus program. We’ll be doing the same with IBM LinuxONE in the coming weeks. These moves will better align the program to equip and reward our partners with the expertise to support client growth and opportunities to win.

Working together equals success

The power of our ecosystem comes from working together. Collaboration is not just an idea or an option, but an imperative, and the key to our mutual success. Partner Plus Day was a terrific opportunity for IBM and our partners to connect, exchange ideas, learn from one another and celebrate our success together.

The rest of the week at Think 2024 promises to be just as rewarding, so I encourage you all to tune in for the latest news and to hear our leaders, your fellow partners, and clients share everything you need to know to accelerate productivity and innovation, and to scale AI for business.

Thank you to our IBM Ecosystem partners for your commitment and collaboration. I’m so glad to be on this journey with you and I can’t wait to see what we build together next!