SUSE is a global open-source software leader, known for pioneering the first commercially available Linux distribution over 30 years ago. Today, SUSE provides enterprise-grade solutions spanning Kubernetes, Edge, AI, and storage with products like Rancher Prime and Longhorn.

Jeff Price, Field CTO of SUSE North America, helps drive customer success through strategic engagements, technical enablement, and thought leadership initiatives, including hands-on experiences at events like KubeCon + CloudNativeCon.

Challenge

"Instruqt was the right choice to scale Rancher Days. It removed the infrastructure headaches, delivered a seamless hands-on experience, and let us focus on what really matters—teaching Kubernetes." —Jeff Price, Field CTO, SUSE North America

As SUSE expands its cloud-native portfolio, including Rancher Prime, it faces growing pressure to deliver scalable technical education that matches enterprise-grade expectations. Beyond just creating educational value, SUSE also aims to drive measurable business outcomes—such as better-qualified leads and stronger community engagement—while reducing the complexity of delivering open-source infrastructure at scale. 

Challenges included:

• Scaling hands-on training for Rancher Prime: Delivering interactive, high-fidelity Kubernetes workshops to large audiences without heavy infrastructure overhead was becoming a challenge.

• Operational complexity of open-source deployments: Provisioning open-source software demos and managing backend infrastructure across workshops strained internal resources.

• Need for high-quality lead capture: SUSE sought better ways to not just attract users, but also identify and nurture those showing strong product interest through behavior-based insights.

• Diverse learning preferences: Hands-on guides alone weren’t enough; SUSE needed flexible, interactive ways to accommodate different learner styles, combining self-paced labs with opportunities for live interaction.

• Proving the value of new enablement investments: To secure ongoing support, the team needed clear evidence of impact — including lead quality, engagement metrics, and operational efficiencies.

‍Solution

"Instruqt gives us the flexibility to reach different types of learners. Whether they’re self-paced or prefer guided interaction, the platform makes it easier for everyone to explore our technologies." —Jeff Price, Field CTO, SUSE North America

SUSE turned to Instruqt to deliver immersive, scalable, and trackable Rancher Prime workshops — creating a frictionless way for users to get hands-on with Kubernetes solutions while gathering valuable data to fuel marketing and sales motions.

Key strategies included:

• Launching guided Rancher Days with Instruqt: SUSE used Instruqt to power full-day workshops, offering a browser-based environment where users could deploy and operate Kubernetes clusters without installing anything locally.

• Seamless backend provisioning and scaling: Instruqt managed infrastructure spin-up automatically, allowing SUSE to focus on delivering content instead of wrestling with backend environments.

• Marketing-fronted experience and lead capture: Workshop participants accessed Instruqt labs through a branded marketing entry point, filling out forms that integrated seamlessly with SUSE’s customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

• Hands-on training across different styles: Instruqt’s blend of self-paced labs and structured workflows allowed SUSE to engage participants of varying technical backgrounds and learning preferences.

• Data-driven insights into engagement: SUSE could track form fills, lab completions, and time-on-platform, providing clear return on investment (ROI) data to showcase the impact of the Rancher Day initiative.

Results

"The quality of leads we’re capturing through Instruqt is significantly higher. Participants are more engaged, more informed, and more ready for meaningful follow-up conversations." —Jeff Price, Field CTO, SUSE North America

By adopting Instruqt for Rancher Prime education and marketing, SUSE achieved impressive results:

• Scaled workshops from 100 to hundreds of participants: SUSE initially planned for 100 users but had to rapidly scale capacity due to overwhelming demand — without adding complexity for internal teams.

• Significant increase in high-quality leads: Participants who completed Instruqt labs provided valuable first-party data, enriching SUSE’s pipeline with more qualified, engaged contacts.

• Positive feedback from the community: Attendees consistently praised the hands-on experience and accessibility of the labs, reinforcing SUSE’s leadership position in Kubernetes education.

• Reduced operational burden: Instruqt’s backend automation eliminated the need for SUSE to manually maintain, provision, and troubleshoot open-source infrastructure during workshops.

• Clear marketing ROI: By tracking engagement and lead data through the Instruqt platform, SUSE demonstrated the real business impact of investing in immersive, hands-on learning.

Outlook

Following the success of Rancher Days with Instruqt, SUSE plans to expand hands-on, technical enablement across additional product lines, such as SUSE AI, Longhorn, and Edge solutions. The goal is to drive even greater developer adoption, accelerate product education, and further strengthen community and customer engagement through immersive, low-friction experiences.

View SUSE Training courses and learning paths here.