Learning services provider leads worldwide skills development program for Business Partners for SoftLayer, an IBM Company

CARY, N.C. and TORONTO - Global Knowledge, the world's leading IT and business skills training provider, today announced the worldwide delivery of learning services to help Business Partners build skills for SoftLayer, an IBM Company, as part of an ongoing education initiative -- allowing them to maximize cloud services opportunities with their customers.

IBM is expanding its industry-leading support for SoftLayer and IBM Business Partners to help them capture the growing cloud market opportunity with significant, focused investments in accelerated partner education. As the global provider of IBM SoftLayer partner enablement training, Global Knowledge is delivering learning services to facilitate rapid skills acquisition and development in order for IBM Business Partners to maximize their opportunity with SoftLayer cloud solutions.

Cloud computing is transforming the way that IT services are consumed and delivered and, according to a recent Gartner study, will account for the bulk of new IT spending by 2016. For Business Partners specializing in streamlining integration and delivering value-added solutions, cloud presents an unprecedented opportunity to capture new revenue and enter new markets at exponentially faster rates, with vastly lower capital expenditure requirements.

"Our Business Partners see technical training as the number one need, so investment in a world-class education program is a high priority for us," said Ed Bottini, Director of Global SoftLayer and Cloud Services BP Sales, IBM Global Technology Services. "Global Knowledge has enabled us to expand our global reach to more cities than ever before and offer an on-site training option. Through this program, our partners are gaining the skills they need to build and deliver differentiated cloud solutions to their clients."

The free two-day course Global Knowledge provides introduces SoftLayer Fundamentals through lectures and hands-on activities. Training sessions are being offered in more than 20 locations around the world, including markets where IBM is expanding its global network of cloud hubs and in several other key markets like North America, Latin America, Asia, Middle East and Europe.

"We are thrilled that IBM chose us to enable this segment of its industry-leading partner program and to deliver SoftLayer training to IBM Business Partners around the world," said Michael Fox, SVP, Enterprise Solutions for Global Knowledge. "Offering learning services on an exclusive worldwide basis truly speaks to the trust that IBM has placed in us. They trust us to skill up and onboard one of their most valuable assets -- the business partners that sell SoftLayer solutions. IBM is committed to their partners' success, investing in best-of-breed professional training to enable them to truly realize the benefits of the significant cloud solutions opportunity."

Global Knowledge is an IBM Global Training Provider, was recognized with the IBM Choice Award for Global Training Provider of the Year, and has been selected as the sole provider of worldwide partner enablement and learning services for IBM SoftLayer cloud solutions.

*Source: Gartner Press Release: Gartner Says Cloud Computing Will Become the Bulk of New IT Spend by 2016

About Global Knowledge

Global Knowledge is the world's leading IT and business skills training provider. Offering the most relevant and timely content delivered by the best instructors, we provide customers around the world with their choice of convenient class times, delivery methods and formats to accelerate their success. Our business skills solutions teach essential communications skills, business analysis, project management, ITIL service management, process improvement and leadership development. With thousands of courses spanning from foundational training to specialized certifications, our core IT training is focused on technology partners such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Citrix, IBM, Juniper, Microsoft, Red Hat and VMware. We offer comprehensive professional development for technologies like big data, cloud, cybersecurity and networking.

Founded in 1995, Global Knowledge employs more than 1,300 people worldwide and is headquartered in Cary, N.C. The company is owned by New York-based investment firm MidOcean Partners. Learn more at www.globalknowledge.com.

About IBM Cloud Computing

IBM has helped more than 30,000 clients around the world with 40,000 industry experts. Since its acquisition in 2013, IBM SoftLayer has served 4,500 new cloud clients. Today, IBM has 100+ cloud SaaS solutions, thousands of experts with deep industry knowledge helping clients transform and a network of 40 data centers worldwide. Since 2007, IBM has invested more than $7 billion in 17 acquisitions to accelerate its cloud initiatives and build a high value cloud portfolio. IBM holds 1,560 cloud patents focused on driving innovation. In fact, IBM for the 21st consecutive year topped the annual list of US patent leaders. IBM processes more the 5.5M client transactions daily through IBM's public cloud. For more information about cloud offerings from IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/cloud.