Open Outlook: Global Services

As we enter the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, I would like to take some time to reflect on the trends we are learning from our customers in the Red Hat Global Services Organization and what the next year holds for us.

Looking back at 2018, I am most proud of the success we have seen as our role in the business increased. Services played a more prominent part in sales conversations, as more complex deals demanding solution approaches, adoption roadmaps, and return on investment emerged. As a result, we have seen training and services revenue growth of more than 25 percent in fiscal year 2018.

Customers are demanding a trusted advisor that can articulate the value of our technology portfolio and partner ecosystem. They expect solutions from us - they need to transform their business, but in many cases they don’t know how exactly. We can guide our customers through the process of container adoption or digital transformation with step-by-step guidance on training, tools, technology and support. Earlier this year, we worked with Heritage Bank to transform its culture so it could focus on digital innovation and keeping pace with customer demands for a more digital experience.

We have seen application innovation with the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and Red Hat Ansible Automation within both Global Consulting business and our Global Training business. The move to hybrid cloud and containers helped to drive growth; customers need platforms, automation, and processes for agile application development. For instance, this  year we worked with Cathay Pacific to transform its legacy infrastructure into a modern hybrid cloud architecture. Red Hat Consulting assisted Cathay Pacific along the way, from the initial discovery session to identifying requirements and business-drivers through to technology implementation.

Some customers need an agile infrastructure and  want to change the world with it. One of our most inspiring projects this year was our work with UNICEF Innovation where we collaborated through Red Hat Open Innovation Labs to advance  the School Mapping Project, including enhancements to Magicbox, a software platform that uses real-time data to inform life-saving humanitarian responses to emergency situations. Ultimately, they are working to map schools on a global scale, demonstrating the social good that can come out of the mix of people, process and open source technology.

Our current mission in Global Services is threefold: dedication to customer success, building deep expertise, and driving emerging technology. That mission remains the same going into the new year ahead.  We are planning to expand our Open Innovation Labs capabilities globally, and continue to evolve our training and certification programs in 2019, with a focus on developers, such as our recently announced Red Hat Learning Subscription for Developers.  I am excited to head into the new year and to see the fantastic work our team will accomplish together, with our customers and business partners.

John Allessio is vice president of Global Services at Red Hat