VMware Rolls Out New Partner Program
Partner Connect includes tiering, portal, and learning content
VMware is launching a new channel program aimed at making it easier for partners to choose the products and services from the vendor based on their business models.
The Lowdown: The VMware Partner Connect program, which rolled out Monday, comes with new tiers and other enhancements like new incentives.
The Details: Officials with the virtualization pioneer, which for the past several years has been building out its larger cloud and data center software strategy, said they wanted to give partners greater flexibility in what they sell to their customers.
Features in the new partner program include:
> Three tiers: There are the Partner, Advanced Partner, and Principal Partner tiers, and hundreds of partners have been designated Principal Partners. Such partners have achieved Master Services Competency designation across multiple strategic IT priorities and have earned comprehensive incentives around deployment, consumption, and prioritization for collaborating and co-selling with VMware.
> Portal: Designed for incentives and development funds, the portal includes enhanced dashboards and better visibility for tracking activity with VMware.
> VMware Learning Zone: The site enables partners to customize learning plans based on their individual preferences.
The Dell Technologies company plans to integrate the channel programs of such acquisitions as Carbon Black, Pivotal, and VeloCloud into the Partner Connect program.
Background: VMware is pushing to become a major software vendor for the cloud and data center, through both in-house development and acquisitions. The company, which in 2012 got into the software-defined networking (SDN) game with its $1.26 billion purchase of Nicira (which formed the basis for VMware NSX), more recently acquired VeloCloud in 2017 for its software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) capabilities, cybersecurity vendor Carbon Black for $2.1 billion, and DevOps specialist Pivotal for $2.7 billion last year, and earlier this year grabbed Nyansa for SD-WAN analytics.
The Buzz: “VMware Partner Connect reimagines the way we do business with and for our partners, helping them drive differentiated customer success and digital transformation,” said Jenni Flinders, vice president and worldwide channel chief at VMware. “We designed Partner Connect with our customers in mind, and the idea that they should feel confident when choosing to go with a VMware partner. And this is just the beginning, as Partner Connect continues to evolve to deliver new and better ways for our partners to grow their businesses.”
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CHANNELNOMICS:
>VMware Buys Nyansa in SD-WAN Analytics Play
>VMware Grabs Carbon Black and Pivotal for $4.8 Billion
>VMware Hiking Software Licensing Costs