As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries, TD SYNNEX and IBM’s watsonx Gold 100 Program, which equips partners to achieve IBM Gold-tier status through AI enablement, business planning, and go-to-market support, is helping partners lead the charge. As a key program within Destination AI™, it’s designed to empower partners with the tools, training, and support needed to scale AI solutions, the program is making a measurable impact.
In this kickoff edition of our watsonx Partner Journey Series, we spotlight four partners, Blue Polaris, TIS Group, Avertim, and BDK, who are leveraging the watsonx Gold 100 Program to accelerate their AI initiatives. From building internal capabilities and launching new client offerings, to gaining market visibility and strategic support, these partners share a common story: the program is a catalyst for growth.
Through their stories, we explore how structured enablement, hands-on resources, and collaborative support are helping them turn AI potential into real-world results.
Blue Polaris: Driving Growth Through Strategic Enablement
North America-based Blue Polaris joined the watsonx Gold 100 Program with a clear goal: to deepen alignment with IBM’s sales organization and expand the market perception of their AI capabilities. As a long-time expert in the IBM data platform, the program offered an opportunity to scale their impact.
“We wanted to build our AI-powered solutions to align with IBM’s goals and strategies to improve and expand our reach. We have decades of experience with the IBM technology, but we wanted to become more relevant and better aligned with the IBM salesforce.” – Ashton DeKeyrel, Head of Marketing and Channels
One of the most valuable aspects of the program for Blue Polaris has been the human support.
“We met so many wonderful people by joining the program, and the support has been tremendous. One of the biggest takeaways was the connection and support we received from Trevor Mosley… he introduced us to exactly who we needed to know and helped us get the sales support we needed from IBM.”
[Trevor Mosley is TD SYNNEX’s North American VP of Vendor Solutions for IBM and Red Hat]
Looking ahead, Blue Polaris is focused on reaching Platinum status and continuing to scale their AI practice.
“When we joined the program, we were a Silver partner, 8 months later we hit Gold and now looking forward, Platinum is within reach. We want to be the very best end-to-end solution provider for the data platform, and we want IBM to say without a doubt, we are that partner.”
TIS Grupa: Advancing AI Capabilities and Achieving Gold Status
TIS Grupa, a leading IT consulting services provider in Croatia, saw the watsonx Gold 100 Program as a strategic opportunity to accelerate their AI journey. With a focus on innovation and value, the program aligned perfectly with their goals.
“Our main focus was to accelerate our AI expertise, leverage IBM’s powerful software portfolio, and deliver next-generation solutions to our clients.”
Through the program, TIS Group achieved a major milestone.
“Through the watsonx Gold 100 Program, we achieved IBM Gold tier and opened new opportunities. The collaboration helped us strengthen our internal AI competencies and drive innovation faster.”
Hands-on support and marketing resources were instrumental in their progress.
“The hands-on technical enablement, watsonx platform workshops, and support from the TD SYNNEX Centre of Excellence made a major difference in building our capabilities quickly and effectively.”
Looking ahead, TIS Group plans to expand on the foundation laid out through the program.
“We aim to create specialized AI-powered applications based on IBM’s robust technology stack, bringing even greater value to our clients.”
Avertim: Strengthening Market Position Through AI Enablement
For Brussels-based consulting firm Avertim, the watsonx Gold 100 Program has been an accelerator in their AI journey. The program provided a clear path to elevate their positioning and engage clients with confidence.
“It’s actually a journey… we were quite quick in achieving Silver status, and the collaboration between IBM, Avertim, and TD SYNNEX has made us ready to start having discussions with different clients.” – Bart Seuntjens, Strategic Director
With support from TD SYNNEX and IBM, Avertim has been able to run ideation workshops and build credibility in the AI space.
“We approached existing clients and new ones with the story of AI and digital behind it… we’re having a first proof of concept with one of the clients.”
The program also helped Avertim develop internal skills for both technical and business teams to better engage with clients.
“It helped us come up with specific frameworks on how we can build AI journeys… and we created specific sales capability to ensure our teams have the right story at clients.”
Looking ahead, Avertim is focused on expanding into new sectors and scaling their AI offerings to meet growing client demand.
BDK: Empowering Clients with Scalable, Responsible AI
BDK, an IT solutions provider in North America, joined the watsonx Gold 100 Program after being inspired by IBM Think 2024.
“We were already playing around with AI internally, but seeing the capabilities at Think made us excited to offer it to our customers.” – Allison Shellhamer, VP of Sales and Marketing
The program provided a clear path to market.
“It took away some of the heavy lifting… we know who to talk to at TD SYNNEX and IBM, and that makes it easier to help our customers.”
Hands-on tools like TechZone and orchestrate helped BDK’s team build confidence and capability.
“Being able to actually play with the AI assistant and see how IBM puts together projects has been incredibly helpful.” – Brian Kimball, CTO
BDK is now helping clients integrate AI into their workflows in scalable, responsible ways, positioning themselves as a trusted advisor in the AI space.
The watsonx Gold 100 Program is more than a partner enablement initiative, it’s a launchpad for growth. With TD SYNNEX and IBM by their side, partners are turning vision into action and setting the pace for what’s next in enterprise AI.
Learn more about the watsonx Gold 100 Program here – https://site.tdsynnex.com/watsonx/p/1
