In the evolving landscape of technological partnerships and infrastructure management, organizations are continuously seeking strategic advantages through collaboration with industry leaders.

This is exemplified in the recent decision by Salesforce Inc. to strengthen and extend its existing relationships with Red Hat Inc., particularly in the transition to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. This real-world use case spotlights the crucial role of technological expertise and the strategic value of maintaining long-term partnerships with tech giants to navigate complex IT environments effectively, according to Chris Wright (pictured), chief technology officer and senior vice president of global engineering at Red Hat.

Red Hat’s Chris Wright discusses how strategic alliances shape the technological landscape.

“It’s like a perfect partnership, a perfect relationship, and their view was, as important as the operating system is — they’re operating at massive scale and doing a mind-numbing number of updates and managing this huge fleet — what they want to focus on is the higher-level value that they’re delivering to their customers,” he said. “So, when they partner with us, they can just rest easy at night knowing that we’re right there and focus on the things that are most important to them.”

Wright spoke with theCUBE’s Rob Strechay and Paul Gillin at Red Hat Summit, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the importance of strategic partnerships and technological innovation in sustaining enterprise growth and adapting to changing technological landscapes, notably through Red Hat’s collaboration with Salesforce and the integration of artificial intelligence across its platforms. (* Disclosure below.)

Strategic partnerships and technological evolution

The evolution of technological infrastructure in large organizations is not merely about upgrading to the latest software or adopting new technologies, but about creating a synergistic relationship that leverages deep industry expertise. Salesforce’s decision to upgrade to RHEL 9 underlines a commitment to this strategic partnership, recognizing the value of Red Hat’s deep involvement in engineering and support, according to Wright.

“The way they framed it was strategic partnership,” he said. “If you peel that back, the next piece under that was connection to the engineering experts that not only can support something like a complex tool, such as an operating system, but are actually the authors of a lot of the content in the operating system.”

Moreover, the strategic choice to continue with Red Hat was influenced by the seamless integration and support offered by Red Hat’s engineering team, Wright added. This not only simplifies the technical management aspect, but also ensures that the operating systems are up to date and secure, facilitating a stable platform for Salesforce’s expansive operations.

Innovation and future directions

As companies look to the future, their focus shifts toward adopting cloud-native technologies and utilizing innovative features, such as immutable images and image modes, which are central to Red Hat’s offerings. These technologies align with organizational workflows and future technological needs, according to Wright.

“They love this idea about immutable images and image mode for RHEL. It really matches their workflow and their needs,” he said. “So, it’s not only about what can we do today to help them move, but it’s that whole big picture.”

The drive toward more cloud-native and innovative technological frameworks is a strategic move to enhance operational efficiency and adapt to the rapidly changing tech landscape. These innovations are essential in adapting to a rapidly evolving technological landscape, Wright explained.

“If you think about an operating system and traditional OS, it’s RPM-based. You update packages,” he said. “That model fits anywhere. Image mode fits anywhere. It’s just a different workflow and a different model.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of Red Hat Summit:

(* Disclosure: Red Hat Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Red Hat nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE