Walter Tessmann@Redhat

With the advent of the software defined datacenter and the emphasis on business model innovation, software defined storage has become a cornerstone for the mainstream rollout of modern software defined infrastructure.

As software defined everything becomes mainstream Red Hat is opening up more choices to experience software defined storage. This week at Red Hat’s North America Partner Conference, Red Hat announced the addition of the Red Hat Storage portfolio to Red Hat’s global partner program.

Effective immediately, Red Hat will enable eligible partners with a range of go-to market tools and storage solutions that help drive improved efficiency, incremental revenue, and build customer loyalty.

This includes a new certification as part of the Online Partner Enablement Network (OPEN) launched in November 2013. OPEN now provides training for Red Hat Storage authorizations, including required certifications.

Partners will also be able to leverage co-branded solutions such as AWS Test Drive to help customers experience Red Hat Storage.

Channel partners can also deliver technology partner solutions leveraging proven designs from partners such as HP, SuperMicro, CommVault, Intel and others.

With this announcement, Red Hat is adding choice to help enterprise customers further realize the true potential of deploying an open software-defined storage solution. In addition, Red Hat is providing the storage foundation for emerging use cases in Big Data and OpenStack without compromising on enterprise grade capabilities, performance, and manageability.