IBM making 'huge' investments in UK amid partner push

Alison Say says Big Blue is continuing to invest in its ecosystem, programmes and practices

IBM has made "huge investment" into its UK operations as it looks to grow its partner network, according to its UK and Ireland ecosystem vice president.

Alison Say says Big Blue is continuing to invest in its ecosystem, programmes and practices, which in turn "makes it easier for our partners to do business with IBM".

Say was recently appointed to the VP role in August after holding previous leadership positions at IBM UK&I.

She explained the leadership team she is part of made it "very clear" that investment should be driven to the "optimal degree" in the UK.

"We've made a huge investment, particularly actually in the UK versus some other markets," Say told CRN.

"Given the nature of the client relationships and the portfolio we have, it's really important in the UK that we make those investments and are really well supported."

As Big Blue continues to invest in the UK, it is also looking at bringing in new partners as the company pursues its hybrid cloud and AI strategy.

Say said that this is being done to help drive "that skill base and capacity into our clients."

"The way in which we're doing that is through providing support and resources, providing skilled technical teams into that partner and providing investment," she said.

"We go after targeted partners to fill gaps in our strategy in order to drive that hybrid cloud and AI solution into our client set."

In her new position, Say says part of her remit is looking at how to go to market with other vendors.

"I think that's something that IBM has done successfully in the past," she said.

"But certainly we have huge opportunity, both from a hyperscaler perspective, but also from niche solutions to bring that together.

"Having that open dialogue and dynamic, I think is quite refreshing for the IBM partner ecosystem."

Say added her three to five year ambition is to double the revenue of the business from an ecosystem perspective.

"So that investment in people, in skills, in moving more skills and people over to focus on ecosystem opportunity, in our broader programmes, in the funding we provide and support for partners, all of that is part of not only our global strategy, but then the execution of that into the UK."