Edge computing is a fundamental industry technology that delivers high value and fast payback, and represents a tremendous opportunity for system integrators (SI’s) to support end users, a programme has been developed to enable SI’s to develop edge computing competencies and deployment expertise.
The programme, developed by Stratus Industries, offers training, certification, and accreditation, which gives SIs the tools and support to develop edge computing technology practices to generate new revenue. The programme’s top partnership level, Stratus endorsed status, allows SIs to implement Stratus edge computing platforms using a repeatable and profitable methodology to ensure high quality solution delivery, and to bundle Stratus service offerings to provide ongoing end user support.
“Less than half of end user organisations have the expertise on how and when to deploy edge computing,” Mike Bradshaw, senior director of Global Channels and partner of ecosystem at Stratus, said. “More than 70 per cent of manufacturers therefore look to strategic partners to operationalise solutions. The global system integrator programme provides the curriculum and accreditation as well as the deployment methodology and service support SI’s need to successfully deliver value for their customers at the edge.”
“We help our industrial clients move from underperforming traditional technologies to modern, easy to manage, and highly available edge computing platforms.” Jeff Geiger, director of sales and marketing at Taurus Controls, said. “We find clients who may be apprehensive about new technologies are quickly convinced of the cost effective benefits of edge computing platforms. We have implemented projects ranging from the plant floor to a biomass steam generator, and clients are seeing massive improvements in the reliability and capability of their operations. SI’s working with Stratus are educating end users about the pain points solved by moving away from legacy architectures to modern edge computing solutions.”
The global systems integrator programme is available to join at no cost, and offers partners three levels of certification and accreditation, including access to not for resale (NFR) units for testing and development of proof of concept (POC) projects. The three SI tiers are, the registered level, the certified level and the endorsed level. Upon qualification, SI’s join the registered level and gain initial access to Stratus tools such as the partner portal, listing in the partner locator, and access to discounted demo units. Registered SIs who complete presales certifications and document examples of platform implementations gain insight via enhanced listing in the partner locator, previews of Stratus’ product roadmap, and other exclusive visibility.
Additionally, certified level partners can complete implementation certification and employ proprietary installation methodology to deliver reliability for end users. The leading certified SI’s are invited to join the endorsed level based on their success with regional channel partners. Endorsed level SI’s demonstrate multiple project implementations and receive a range of benefits including executive sponsorship and invitation to joint opportunity pursuits.
