VMware, Inc. announced the next evolution of the company’s flagship VMware Partner Connect program is live worldwide. Partner Connect is a singular, unified program for all partner types that is now more flexible and efficient, provides faster and simpler paths to progression, delivers more incentives, and rewards partners for both performance and capabilities. Through Partner Connect, VMware is empowering partners to drive growth by helping their customers successfully navigate the multi-cloud era.
As organizations move from an environment of “cloud chaos” to a cloud smart approach, there is a significant and immediate opportunity for partners to help their customers accelerate migration of applications to the right cloud, automate and secure the software supply chain, and rein in control of spend on private and public cloud infrastructure. VMware, together with its partners, will tackle each of these problems by supporting critical business outcomes such as accelerating app modernization, enabling enterprise cloud transformation, and securing the hybrid workforce.
“Through Partner Connect, we are reinventing the VMware partner experience,” said Tracy-Ann Palmer, vice president, Global Channel Sales Programs and Compliance, VMware. “Our strategy is for every VMware partner to own the customer lifecycle end-to-end, leading with services, partnering with others, and building predictable, recurring revenue streams.”
“IDC is seeing a transition in the market today, where for customers it’s not just about digital transformation, it’s about digital first. This continued evolution will drive changes in how the VMware partners engage their customers, where and how they create value, and how they interact with an increasingly connected ecosystem,” said Steve White, VP Channels & Alliances at IDC. “The transformation we see VMware delivering in the Partner Connect program is a recognition of these macro trends. By bringing everything together under one VMware program with a more simplified experience, VMware can help partners transition to as-a-service/subscription models, expand their services portfolios, and better leverage their investments to the fullest.”
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Helping Partners Drive Revenue and Growth from the Multi-Cloud Opportunity
Optimized for partner profitability, Partner Connect now better supports today’s cloud-, services-, and solutions-centric business models, aligns partner enablement, practice development, and incentives to critical business outcomes, and opens more opportunities to create value across the complete customer life cycle – pre, during, and post sales. Updates to VMware Partner Connect that are now live for partners include:
Unified, Flexible Points-based Program: One program platform for all partner business models, connecting partner programs and value-added activities in one universal point system. New structure recognizes, aggregates, and rewards partner accomplishments across transactions, service delivery, capabilities, and specializations, and supports partners however they choose to go to market, whether via one business model or several.
Rewarding Partner Investments and Capabilities: Track-specific criteria rewards partners with incentives and benefits as they grow their VMware practices and progress in Partner Connect. Partners can earn points for achievements in both training and innovation, from foundational capabilities to differentiated services and IP.
New Automated Insights: The completely overhauled partner dashboard provides a robust, self-service experience enabling partners to customize views so they know exactly where they stand across program metrics at any time. Partners can easily track history, performance, and progress toward capabilities, specializations, and next level availability.
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Expanded Practice Development: VMware Ignite is a proven partner practice activation and development program that VMware funds on behalf of partners. Ignite is now available to all partners across all routes to market. Ignite has helped thousands of partners build capabilities and accelerate growth with a uniquely structured end-to-end practice development framework that is rigorous and time-bound yet flexible and robust.
Partner Business Models Aligned to Customer Outcomes
Customer success depends on a connected ecosystem. No one company can solve all a customer’s needs alone. Through four distinct business models, VMware has created an interconnected and diverse Partner Connect program enabling more partner-to-partner collaboration to help customers become cloud smart and achieve outcomes faster. Partners can participate in one or more business models, with each model opening a door to more incentives and even faster program progression. Supported business models now include:
- Solution Reseller –resells VMware software and services to customers.
- Solution Services Provider –offers services before and beyond the transaction, with an emphasis on pre-sales advisory and post-sales lifecycle services.
- Cloud Services Provider –offers VMware-based cloud and managed services on a geographic basis, including hybrid and multi-cloud services.
- Solution Builder –embeds VMware technology as an integrated component of their own software offerings.
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Lifecycle Incentives Reward Partners Across the Entire Customer Journey
VMware is delivering more incentives aligned with VMware Cross-Cloud services. Transitioning to SaaS and subscription services helps VMware partners move beyond transactional sales towards high-margin, repeatable sales. With the new partner incentives historical tracker, VMware partners can review their total payout in previous quarters to better understand where they can maximize their profitability and identify potentially missed opportunities. New and enhanced incentives now available to qualified partners include:
- Sell Incentive: backend rebate program aligned to partners’ program level that rewards eligible partners for selling SaaS, Subscriptions and Licensed Software. VMware now pays 2-10x more for SaaS and Subscription sales versus licensed bookings.
- Activate Incentive: rewards partners for providing professional services to customers to transition to a public cloud and activating and consuming VMware Cross-Cloud services.
- Deployment Incentive: designed to reward partners for accelerating their customers’ digital transformation with select VMware solutions for application modernization and multi-cloud.
New Influence Performance Points for Non-Transacting Partners
Previously, partners could only progress through the program with tier credits earned through transacted bookings. Now, non-transacting partners registered as Solution Services Providers have a path to level up in the Partner Connect program by earning performance points for influenced bookings. Solution Services Providers offer their customers services before and beyond the transaction, with an emphasis on pre-sales advisory and post-sales life cycle services.
Expansive Training, Competencies, and Specializations Unlock Larger Opportunities
VMware offers partners 14 Solutions Competencies, 8 Master Services Competencies, and two Specializations partners use to close larger, higher margin deals faster. Partners can now earn capability points toward program progression based on their investment in training, competencies, and certifications.
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