Artificial intelligence is redrawing the enterprise map at breakneck speed, driving demand for partnerships that go beyond innovation to deliver measurable business outcomes. At the center of this shift is the AI partner ecosystem — an interconnected network of collaborators working across infrastructure, models and services to scale enterprise use cases.

Red Hat is leaning into that momentum. The company is aligning its platform strategy with a fast-evolving AI partner ecosystem, pulling in trusted collaborators who can scale with purpose and adapt as needs change.

Red Hat’s Stefanie Chiras talks with theCUBE about the company’s platform strategy and the role of validation in scaling use cases.

“As we approach … the AI space, we are full-on with ecosystem to make sure that we remain where we’re focused, which is a platform level,” said Stefanie Chiras (pictured), senior vice president of partner ecosystem success at Red Hat. “We’re pulling in the relevant ecosystem partners, which will continuously evolve.”

Chiras spoke with theCUBEs Rob Strechay and Rebecca Knight at Red Hat Summit, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed Red Hat’s evolving AI partner ecosystem, its platform strategy and the role of validation in scaling real-world use cases. (* Disclosure below.)

Aligning the AI partner ecosystem for enterprise impact

AI use cases today span hardware, software and services: No single provider can meet enterprise needs alone. Red Hat is aligning with accelerator providers, model developers and global systems integrators to bridge those layers, according to Chiras.

“The discussion with the Global Partner [Executive] Advisory Council was exactly on that topic,” she said, commenting on a discussion during the Summit. “We had partners who are global systems integrators and … accelerator providers in the same room. What we consider a use case, what an accelerator company considers a use case and what a global systems integrator considers a use case are three different things.”

Red Hat is expanding its AI partner ecosystem catalog and validation tools to meet growing demand. Partners can now test their applications on Red Hat’s OpenShift AI and validate them independently, according to Chiras.

“Now they’ll move into partner validation in the ecosystem catalog,” she said. “A partner can come in, do their own testing … and then they can say, ‘We will support it.’ It goes into the catalog and is visible for all partners and customers to see. That’s important because this rate and pace of partner involvement is gonna be faster and faster.”

For Red Hat, supporting this partner-driven evolution means creating a platform that adapts as strategies evolve. From intentional infrastructure modernization to cloud migration, the key is helping customers move forward deliberately, Charis noted.

“I think a year ago it was a bit of an emotional response,” she said. “Now folks are stepping back and saying, ‘OK, I want to be intentional’ … and maybe you still will simply say, ‘I want to lift and shift my VM somewhere, but do it intentionally.’ I think that’s the biggest best practice … that I’m seeing.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’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