Jenni Flinders (VMware)
VMware has officially unveiled plans to roll out a new partner program in early 2020, billed as a complete overhaul of the vendor’s current channel framework.
Under the banner of Partner Connect, the new-look strategy is designed to allow partners to engage with the software giant in a way aligned to specific business models, rather than a generic form of engagement.
With flexibility in mind, the new program - unveiled during Partner Leadership Summit - will comprise of three tiers, spanning Partner, Advanced Partner and Principal Partner.
“VMware is introducing a new way of partnering; we have listened to feedback from our partners, and VMware Partner Connect will be our singular partner program for any business model,” added Jenni Flinders, vice president and worldwide channel chief at VMware.
With more details expected in the coming weeks, the program - set to impact more than 75,000 partners worldwide - also includes new master services competency, in addition to incentives around VMware Cloud on AWS and deeper ties with alliance vendors such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).
“With this new program, we are making it very simple for partners to co-sell and co-invest with us, as they align to next-generation VMware technologies and drive superior value throughout the customer journey,” Flinders added.
Specific to tiering, Principal Partners will be the most capable partners through the achievement of Master Services Competencies across “different strategic IT priorities”.
Meanwhile, Principal status will earn partners “comprehensive rewards” including deployment and consumption incentives and prioritisation for joint-business planning and co-selling opportunities with VMware.
More broadly speaking, the vendor expects all partners in the new program to “demonstrate basic capabilities” through the achievement of VMware Solution Competencies.
Such competencies focus on developing partners’ selling skills, architecture proficiency and deployment expertise.
According to Flinders, partners can also earn rewards through enhanced front- and back-end margin, as well as deployment and consumption performance incentives.
Deep-dive
Delving deeper, the virtualisation specialists also unveiled VMware Cloud on AWS Master Services Competency, joining four similar offerings already provided by the vendor.
The aim is to help partners offer professional services for VMware Cloud on AWS, backed up by priority engagement and investment aligned to customer deployments, digital badges and demand generation, in addition to education discounts.
Other notable features include a new HCI Partner Sales Incentive, available only through partners and designed to drive hyper-converged infrastructure investments.
For a limited time, customers who have not yet deployed VMware vSAN can purchase three nodes of vSAN licenses for the price of two.
Additionally, the program will focus on building hybrid cloud environments through HPE vSAN ReadyNode, which is built on the HPE ProLiant DL380 and certified under the VMware vSAN all flash 6 specification.
Specific to VMware NSX, partners who achieve the Network Virtualisation Master Services Competency will now earn increased rewards for completing product deployments.
