How 16 Vendors Are Helping Partners Build AI Businesses

Who in the channel is helping partners build AI businesses? CRN looks at 16 established and emerging vendors that are providing the building blocks needed to build and run AI applications along with a wealth of partner resources to set up solution providers for success when working with customers.

A growing number of IT vendors are trying to help channel partners build AI practices and win customer deals between expanding product portfolios and a wealth of partner resources.

While several of these vendors have been offering AI products and services for years—such as Amazon Web Services, IBM, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, to name a few—demand for such technologies has reached new heights recently due to the hype surrounding generative AI.

These vendors and others, like Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and NetApp, are equipping partners with the building blocks necessary to create, optimize and manage AI applications.

These building blocks come in different categories: the chips needed to process AI workloads, the on-prem and cloud infrastructure needed to host applications, the storage and data systems needed to manage data pipelines, and the software needed to handle the full lifecycle of AI applications.

But these vendors, including Intel and Nvidia, don’t stop there. They also have partner programs meant to enable partners to sell these products and services to their best ability.

What follows are 16 vendors that are helping partners build AI businesses by equipping them with the products, services and the resources they need to succeed.

Amazon Web Services

Products and services: Seattle-based Amazon Web Services provides a wide variety of AI and machine learning services on top of its cloud compute instances to help partners build solutions for customers. This includes Amazon SageMaker, a managed service that lets partners build, train and deploy machine learning models through an integrated design environment or a no-code interface.

The cloud service provider also has services for specific use cases. Examples include Amazon Rekognition and Amazon Lookout for Vision for computer vision, Amazon Lex and Amazon Polly for language AI, and Amazon Textract and Amazon Comprehend for automated data extraction and analysis.

Most recently, AWS announced new generative AI products, including the cost-efficient EC2 Inf2 instances powered by its Inferentia2 chips and Amazon Bedrock for building generative AI applications.

Partner resources: AWS provides partners a wide variety of resources to help them build businesses and win customer deals around AI. This includes technical and sales training and certification programs.

The vendor also helps partners accelerate the development of AI solutions through things like AWS Solutions Library, AWS Solutions Constructs, AWS Partner Solutions Factor and AWS Digital Innovation Program. To help partners develop generative AI solutions, the cloud service provider plans to soon launch AWS Generative AI Center of Excellence hub for partners.

Databricks

Services and products: San Francisco-based Databricks enables full lifecycle management of machine learning models on its date lakehouse platform, from identifying and preparing the data for models, to building and experimenting with models, to deploying and monitoring real-time models in production.

Partner resources: Databricks works with partners to create packaged, repeatable machine learning solutions through its Brickbuilder Solutions program. Once the vendor does a technical review of the solution and validates it, the partner solution is listed on Databricks’ Brickbuilder portal.

Dell Technologies

Services and products: Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Technologies provides servers and systems for AI computing purposes. The vendor also sells Apex cloud services for AI applications.

Most recently, the company in May announced Project Helix, what it calls a full stack solution for enterprises to create and run custom AI models build with Dell’s infrastructure and software, combined with Nvidia’s GPUs, AI software and expertise.

Partner resources: Dell resources for channel partners working on AI deals includes product and solution training, certification, market development funds, rebates and Dell Financial Services.

DataDirect Networks

Services and products: Chatsworth, Calif.-based DataDirect Networks provides high-performance AI storage systems in its A3I lineup that come with “comprehensive” enterprise features, “unchallenged” performance and “predictable, limitless” scaling.

Partner resources: Among the resources DDN provides partners for AI deals, they include online sales and technical training, in-person training for partners certified to sell Nvidia DGX systems, reference architectures for multiple AI accelerators, and rebrandable AI solutions materials

Domino Data Lab

Services and products: San Francisco-based Domino Data Lab provides an MLOps platform that “accelerates time to value from AI, increases collaboration and makes it easier to manage compliance, security and cost.”

Partner resources: Domino Data Lab’s resources for partners running AI practices includes training and certification, joint solution development, demand generation and marketing opportunities, beta access to new features on its MLOps platform, and an assigned partner advocate.

IBM

Products and services: Armonk, New York-based IBM provides several AI products and services that stem from its Watson technology platform.

This includes the new Watsonx, an enterprise-ready AI and data platform that includes three components: the watsonx.ai studio for new foundation models, generative AI and machine learning: the watsonx.data “fit-for-purpose store” that combines the “flexibility of a data lake” with the “performance of a data warehouse; and the watsonx.governance toolkit, which enables AI workflows “that are built with responsibility, transparency and explainability. “

Other AI products and services include IBM Watson Assistant, IBM Watson Orchestrate, IBM Watson Code Assistant and IBM Watson Discovery.

Partner resources: IBM offers various resources to partners for AI matters. These include training and enablement and solutions development assistance. The vendor also has embedded AI software libraries—including ones for natural language processing, speech to text and text to speech—that partners can use to enhance their solutions. The company has also created what it calls the Digital Self-Serve Co-Create Experience that is meant to aid partners with AI solutions development.

Intel

Products and services: Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel offers a variety of computer chips and software to help partners create AI solutions.

On the chip side, this includes Intel Xeon Scalable and Intel Core CPUs, plus Intel GPUs and deep learning processors from its Habana Labs business that can be used for training and inference.

While Intel has long provided the foundational software needed to operate systems, the company also now provides software platforms that can help with the development, optimization and management of AI models. These include Intel Geti for developing computer vision applications, OpenVINO for optimizing models on various Intel chips and cnvrg.io for managing AI workloads in hybrid cloud.

Partner resources: For partners with AI practices, Intel has an AI accelerator program within Intel Partner Alliance. The program includes training, a dedicated account manager, access to Intel Developer Cloud, engineering support, lease hardware for testing, matchmaking with other partners, lead generation, market development funds and marketing assets.

Google Cloud

Products and services: Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Cloud provides specialized cloud instances for running AI applications as well as a variety of services for developing, managing and enabling those applications. This includes Vertex AI, which provides fully managed tools for building, deploying and scaling machine learning models. There’s also AutoML, which lets developers train models “with minimal effort and machine learning expertise.”

The cloud service provider also has services for specific AI use cases. For example, there is Natural Language AI for generating insights from unstructured text, Dialogflow for conversational AI use cases, Vision AI for computer vision use cases, Contact Center AI for chatbot use cases.

Most recently, Google Cloud has expanded its Vertex AI capabilities with the new Generative AI Studio, which lets developers prototype and customize generative AI models.

Partner resources: Google Cloud’s resources for partners with AI practices include sales and pre-sales technical training and go-to-market solution kits. The vendor also has a program called Build With Google Cloud AI, which offers access to Google Cloud expertise, training and marketing support.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Products and services: Spring, Texas-based Hewlett Packard Enterprise provides servers, storage systems, cloud services and software for developing, running and managing AI applications.

Among its offerings is the HPE GreenLake for Machine Learning cloud service, which lets developers and data scientists quickly build, train and deploy machine learning models.

The company has offers the HPE Machine Learning Development System, a pre-configured solution that can be used to develop machine learning models on day one.

Other products and services include the HPE Swarm Learning framework, which provides “efficient, secure, privacy-preserving, decentralized machine learning to enable “more accurate models and reduced bias.” There’s also the HPE Machine Learning Data Management Software for automating complex machine learning and data pipelines.

Most recently, HPE updated its Ezmeral data fabric software to make it easier and more cost effective to use the platform to build and deploy AI and machine learning applications.

Partner resources: Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s resources for channel partners working on AI deals include online technical training, certification, in-person AI seminars, data science summits, an AI seller program and a Partner Ready Rebate Program.

Microsoft Azure

Products and services: Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Azure offers specialized cloud instances for running AI applications in addition to a plethora of services for building and managing applications.

Among the services is an umbrella of use case-driven offerings called Azure Applied AI Services: These offerings include Azure Bot Service, which enables the creation of enterprise-grade conversational AI bots; Azure Cognitive Search, which enables AI-powered cloud search; and Azure Video Indexer, which generates AI-based insights from audio and video files. Microsoft Azure also provides API-based AI services for different use cases in the form of Azure Cognitive Services.

The cloud service provider has an end-to-end platform, too, for developing, training and deploying machine learning models in applications.

More recently, Microsoft Azure has leapt into the generative AI space with its partner, ChatGPT maker OpenAI, with the Azure OpenAI Service, which enables the development and integration of large language models and other generative AI technologies into applications.

Partner resources: Microsoft Azure provides a wide variety of resources for channel partners with AI practices. This includes training and education and an assortment of programs and initiatives. These include the Data & AI Industry Partner Activation Kit, which equips partners with reference architectures, application demonstrations and solution accelerators.

The cloud service provider also has an AI and Machine Learning in Microsoft Azure specialization that gives validated partners the ability to showcase their solutions. There’s also the Azure Analytics and AI Accelerate Program, which provides sales support to partners across all sales stages.

NetApp

Products and services: San Jose, Calif.-based NetApp sells data storage and data management solutions for AI applications. This includes the OnTap AI converged infrastructure, which integrates Nvidia’s DGX system to “simplify, accelerate and integrate” data pipelines. The vendor also provides the FlexPod converged infrastructure solution for AI and machine learning in partnership with Cisco Systems.

NetApp has a full-stack AI data and experiment management software platform too. Called NetApp AI Control Plane, the software platform integrates Kubernetes and Kubeflow to simplify the deployment of AI and machine learning workloads.

Partner resources: NetApp’s resources for partners with AI practices include training and certification, incentives and market development funds, AI documentation and reference architectures for AI systems, plus “ready-to-go” AI marketing campaigns.

Nvidia

Products and services: Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia provides chips, systems and software necessary for the development, optimization and management of AI applications.

Nvidia’s chips include its flagship H100 data center GPU for demanding AI applications such as large language models. The company has several other data center GPUs: its previous flagship, the A100; the L4 for energy-efficient applications in areas such as visual computing and graphics; the A2, an entry-level GPU for AI computing; and the A16 for virtual desktop infrastructure.

The chip designer also makes DGX systems, which are pre-integrated server appliances that have been optimized for Nvidia’s full stack of AI software. The company offers several building blocks and reference architectures for GPU systems, such as the HGX for high-performance systems, the EGX for enterprise-grade AI servers and the OVX for servers running metaverse applications.

Nvidia provides a wide range of AI software, including commercial software platforms for building and running AI applications such as Nvidia AI Enterprise, Nvidia Base Command and Nvidia Fleet Command.

Partner resources: Nvidia provides several resources for AI partners, including sales and technical training, certification, test drive programs, partner demo labs, access to Nvidia AI specialists, co-marketing and reference architectures for AI systems. The vendor also offers hands-on labs to enterprise-grade hardware and software through its LaunchPad program.

Run:AI

Products and services: Tel Aviv, Israel-based Run:AI provides the Atlas compute orchestration platform, which gives organizations the ability to partition and pool GPU resources to save money, monitor and manage AI clusters, and manage workflows for machine learning model development.

Partner resources: Run:AI provides training and certification to enable partners on selling and using the company’s Atlas compute orchestration platform.

Vast Data

Products and services: New York-based Vast Data provides a universal storage platform with a “unique disaggregated and shared everything architecture” that enables organizations to “run petabyte and exabyte scale analysis at less than half of the cost of traditional all-flash solutions while being many times faster,” capabilities that are powerful for deep learning applications.

Partner resources: For partners with AI practices, Vast provides webinars, technical enablement, and an AI playbook content for building applications using its platform.

Weka

Products and services: Campbell, Calif.-based Weka provides a hybrid cloud data platform for storage that allows the entire AI data pipeline workflow to run on the same platform, whether it’s hosted on-prem on in the public cloud. By streamlining cloud file systems, Weka can combine multiple sources into a “single high-performance computing system.”

Partner resources: Weka offers several resources for partners working on AI deals. This includes sales and technical training, certification, dedicated global channel support teams, shared go-to-market expertise, technical resources, reference architectures, customer case studies, performance benchmarks, solution sizing tools, evaluation software and market development funds.

Weights & Biases

Products and services: San Francisco-based Weights & Biases offers an MLOps platform that covers all aspects of machine learning model development. This covers things like experiment tracking, model versioning, workflow automation and production monitoring.

Partner resources: Weights & Biases providers AI partners sales and technical training plus technical documents for its MLOps platform.