@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ Beyond our Partners Handbook pages you will find sales guides, use cases, traini
Remember that some of the links below require you to login to [GitLab's Partner Portal](https://partners.gitlab.com/) first. If you haven't already, [here is where you register for portal access](https://partners.gitlab.com/partner/registration).
For a step-by-step onboarding guide, please refer to the [GitLab POWER page](/handbook/resellers/partner-enablement/power).
This page is a collection of GitLab enablement resources targeted at partners. Its main goal is to onboard the technical pre-sales teams of partners into our [Channel Partner Program](/handbook/resellers/). But other sales professionals and services engineers can find a good deal of useful information in it too.
For new partners, the intended usage is to go from top to bottom, following the numbered chapters in order, while being supported by an [Ecosystem Sales Manager](/job-families/sales/partner-account-manager/) and an [Ecosystem Solutions Architect](/job-families/sales/solutions-architect/#ecosystem-solutions-architect) along the way.
## 1. General Knowledge
Resources that every GitLab partner should be familiar with.
Documentation of GitLab, the product. Mostly technical. Step-by-step tutorials and complex architecture diagrams too.
*[**Handbook**](/)
Documentation of GitLab, the company. Everything about how the company behind the product operates. Apart from some sensitive (mainly financial) information, all our internal processes are documented here. This high level of transparency, a unique characteristic of GitLab, is documented [here](/handbook/values/#public-by-default).
Collection of technical pre- and post-sales enablement resources. This document references it multiple times.
*[**Product sections, stages, groups, and categories**](/handbook/product/categories/)
Each DevSecOps stage covered by GitLab is represented by a team of engineers in the product organization, detailed [here](/handbook/product/categories/#devops-stages).
They all publish their roadmap for the next couple of years on separate pages, all accessible from [here](https://about.gitlab.com/direction/#devsecops-stages).
These roadmaps contain links to the [public backlog of GitLab](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues), where everybody can follow along and collaborate on the development of new or existing features. Bug reports and feature requests by everybody are also welcome here - including partners.
A dedicated website for GitLab partners. In contrast to the other websites above (what are all publicly available to everybody), this is accessible only by partners and GitLab team members.
*[**GitLab Partner Program Guide**](https://partners.gitlab.com/prm/api/objects/v1/asset/mvtdivnd6wyo/_view)
Internal version of [this](/handbook/resellers/channel-program-guide/) Handbook page. Contains information about financial incentives - unlike the public Handbook.
***Asset Library**
Assets for trainings and other partner-only materials (PDF documents, slide decks and links to websites) can be found here. You can visit the Asset Library via the menu on the lefthand side of the portal.
Most of the content here is publicly shareable, though not all. When it's not okay to share, it's always explicitly stated so in the given asset's description.
For example:
* **Known quirks:**
* If you open a direct link to an asset here, sometimes the page opens empty displaying "0 Asset(s) Found". It's a known bug of the software powering the Asset Library. Please refresh the page to see the linked content.
* In case an asset is a link, clicking on the download button will open the embedded website directly in your browser instead of downloading anything.
* **Best practices:**
* When reviewing slide decks from the Portal, download the deck and open it in Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint or other, similar software. Some slides contain valuable speaker notes that are not visible when viewed on the Portal.
* While the partner team is trying to keep things fully up to date, it's inevitable to have some outdated information on the Portal. It's a good rule of thumb to ignore assets older than 6 months.
## 2. Understanding GitLab
Information about what GitLab is and how it compares to other DevSecOps solutions on the market.
*[**What is GitLab? YouTube video**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pOvg8QkKiw)
High level overview video of GitLab.
*[**GitLab Duo YouTube video**](https://youtu.be/DQH_ragSAvs)
High level overview video of GitLab's collection of AI features, [GitLab Duo](https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-duo/).
***GitLab Overview for Partners**
Assets from a 1-hour-long training session delivered on 2024-12-13.
It's aimed at new partners who potentially know next to nothing about GitLab. It contains a general overview of the platform, places GitLab on the DevSecOps map and explains the key features and unique differentiators of it.
It can be useful for both technical and non-technical sales professionals to get a high level understanding of our product.
GitLab is a complex product in the highly competitive market of development tools. The content here will assist you in successfully selling our product.
***GitLab Sales Professional Accreditation**
The quickest way to start the learning and accreditation process:
* Go to the [Partner Portal](https://partners.gitlab.com/).
* Click GitLab University.
* Open [this link](https://university.gitlab.com/learn/course/professional-sales-accreditation-for-partners).
*[**GitLab Value Framework**](https://partners.gitlab.com/prm/api/objects/v1/asset/cryafg7tweuz/_view)
It is a document that can support you in your sales conversations to best position GitLab to your customers and prospects. This is the perfect next step to extend on the knowledge acquired from the accreditation above.
These are the same documents that GitLab's own sales teams are using in their day-to-day work. The information presented have been provided by GitLab leaders, and our sales, marketing and product teams. It has been validated by our customers and focus groups. It aligns our value based messaging with current market trends (AI, Security & Compliance, Value Stream Management, etc.) and customer priorities.
Because GitLab competes in many product categories, sales conversation can easily get derailed and get lost in feature-by-feature comparisons. Using this framework of topics and discovery questions, you can easily structure your sales conversations to focus on values and business outcomes instead. You can make your conversations more impactful by leveraging our strategic product and marketing messages and connecting your customers' requirements with GitLab's solutions and unique differentiators.
There’s also a shorter, more concise [summary version](https://partners.gitlab.com/prm/api/objects/v1/asset/696818/_view) too that you can use to quickly refresh your memory.
Due to their sensitive nature, these documents are not downloadable and only available for viewing on the Partner Portal.
*[**The DevSecOps Story: Official Customer Deck**](https://partners.gitlab.com/px/-/gitlab-platform-overview)
This slide deck can be used for pitching GitLab. The full talk track for each slide is in the speaker notes. This can be found in the “How We Do It Better” section of the GitLab Platform Overview partner page.
*[**GitLab Duo - Official Customer Deck**](https://partners.gitlab.com/px/-/gitlab-duo)
Same as the one above, but focusing only on our Duo offerings. This is the deck covered in details by the Sales Professional Accreditation above. This can be found in the “How We Do it Better” section of the GitLab Duo Solution partner page.
Back up your claims about GitLab's benefits with real customer stories. These are all publicly available and ready to share with customers. Each story contains the customers’ metrics that have been improved by adopting GitLab.
Public pricing page for customers. All the SKUs are described here, accompanied by detailed feature comparisons.
For partner-only incentives refer to the [GitLab Partner Program Guide](https://partners.gitlab.com/prm/api/objects/v1/asset/mvtdivnd6wyo/_view).
For partner-only prices refer to the [GitLab Channel Price Book](https://partners.gitlab.com/px/digital-asset-management/admin/media-library?renderMode=Collection&collectionId=49441).
*[**Licensing and subscription FAQ**](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/licensing-faq/)
Use this as a starting point for answering questions regarding licensing. Many answers here point towards our [subscription documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/subscriptions/).
***Competitive Intelligence**
Please reach out to your [Ecosystem Sales Manager](/job-families/sales/partner-account-manager/) or [Ecosystem Solution Architect](/job-families/sales/solutions-architect/#ecosystem-solutions-architect) in case you need help with competitive situations against other vendors.
## 4. Demoing GitLab
Get a deeper technical understanding of GitLab in order to be able to execute an effective customer-facing demo.
* Request two [**NFR (Not-for-Resale) licenses**](/handbook/resellers/channel-working-with-gitlab/#not-for-resale-nfr-program-and-policy): 1 for SaaS and 1 for self-managed.
* Use SaaS to do demos, because it's an always stable environment.
* Use self-managed to learn how to install and operate a GitLab instance, because you'll have full admin access there. For setting up a self-managed GitLab instance, please refer to [this section](/handbook/resellers/partner-enablement/partner-implementation-services/#implementing-a-gitlab-instance) of our Partner Implementation Services Handbook page.
***Warning:** Duo Enterprise NFR licenses are 5 seats/partner IN TOTAL. This means you have to decide when requesting them about how you would like to distribute those seats amongst your SaaS and self-managed NFR licenses. We generally recommend going with something like 3 for SaaS and 2 for self-managed (or the other way around), so you can use it for demoing (SaaS) as well as testing [self-hosted model](https://docs.gitlab.com/administration/gitlab_duo_self_hosted/) installations and other admin tasks (self-managed).
* In order to have a standardized level of technical expertise in your organization, each technical team member of our partners is advised to get the **GitLab Professional Services Engineer (PSE) accreditation**.
Note that taking the PSE exam costs money, but the learning courses themselves are free. Getting the certification is mandatory only for a certain number of employees if you'd like to acquire the [GitLab Professional Services Partner (PSP)](/handbook/resellers/channel-program-guide/#the-gitlab-professional-services-partner-psp-program) status. For a detailed step-by-step guide about the latter, refer to [this document](https://partners.gitlab.com/prm/api/objects/v1/asset/ksxg6vwhdn1n/_view).
* Use the [**Tanuki Racing project's self-guided workshops**](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-learn-labs/sample-projects/tanuki-racing) to learn about more advanced scenarios and get hands-on experience with the product.
Even though most of the content here is presented as workshops, you can use them as the basis of your own demos, depending on the customer use-case.
The content of this repository is being kept up to date on an ongoing basis by our [Demo Architect](/job-families/sales/demo-architect/) team.
Usage instructions are in the [README file](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-learn-labs/sample-projects/tanuki-racing/-/blob/main/README.md?ref_type=heads) in the root of the repository.
Make sure to involve your [Ecosystem Solutions Architect](/job-families/sales/solutions-architect/#ecosystem-solutions-architect) and ask them for help if needed.
## 5. Building services
Building a compelling service offering around GitLab for your customers is not a small task. To make it easier, our team has collected all the necessary technical resources to support you with that in [this Handbook page](/handbook/resellers/partner-enablement). We've dedicated a separate section just to partner services, which you can find [here](/handbook/resellers/partner-enablement/#4--post-sales-implementation-and-adoption-journey).
In case you have a specific use-case with your customers that you can't find enough information about, then don't hesitate to contact your [Ecosystem Solutions Architect](/job-families/sales/solutions-architect/#ecosystem-solutions-architect).
## 6. Staying up to date
As a partner, getting to know GitLab well is crucial. But staying up to date with it is just as important. Use the below resources to do exactly that.
***Partner Flash Newsletter**
You can access this via the [Partner Portal's My News menu item](https://partners.gitlab.com/px/news-on-demand). Make sure you are subscribed to all news relevant for you.
It's our webinar series, covering GitLab-related topics in-depth to help you to better sell and provide services around GitLab. On this page you can register for upcoming sessions, and explore the video recording and presentation material of all previous episodes.
This program enlists, supports, rewards, and recognizes individuals of the GitLab Partner community who make outstanding contributions to GitLab and our community around the globe. Regular meetings provide those individuals with the latest of information, technical previews and give them a platform for exchange.
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ Leverage the GitLab Champions program to drive high-value technical investment a
### Partner Activation Planning
The primary content the team leverages for activating partner team members to be able to effectively pitch and demo GitLab is the [Partner Onboarding Workflow & Enablement Resource (POWER) guide.](https://content.gitlab.com/viewer/0ed393608b135917d713d8ddeedf1398)
The primary content the team leverages for activating partner team members to be able to effectively pitch and demo GitLab is the [Partner Onboarding Workflow & Enablement Resource (POWER) guide.](/handbook/resellers/partner-enablement/power/)
A well 30-60-90 day plan for partner onboarding is being developed in this [Onboarding Blueprint](https://content.gitlab.com/viewer/c6d3f8818abe58bb3ee4bba266c4e6c4). It provides a concise approach to consume the content from the POWER guide above.
