VMware has enhanced its Partner Connect programme to reward those partners that guide customers through their cloud journey.
In response to an increasingly complex world of multicloud, the vendor has put the emphasis on customer outcomes as one of its measures of partner success.
VMware will use a number of mechanisms to reward partners over the course of a customer sale. It will include a sell incentive, with a back-end rebate programme that incentivises those that offer software as a service (SaaS), subscriptions and licensed software, with an increase in payments of between two and 10 times for those bookings.
There are also incentives for those that provide users in transition to public cloud with professional services, and those that deploy solutions to support multicloud and application modernisation.
The firm is also rewarding those partners that help customers through their entire journey, with more training, competencies and specialisations on offer to put the channel in a better position to deal with a wider range of user needs.
The firm now offers partners 14 solutions competencies, eight master services competencies and two specialisations, which should help the channel aim for larger deals.
Acknowledging that the traditional channel segmentation models are coming under strain, the firm has also introduced influence performance points for non-transacting partners that still deserve recognition for their role in a sale.
The vendor has enhanced the programme to make sure it can cover all types of partner model, and has settled on four main categories: solution reseller, solution services provider, cloud services provider and solution builder.
“Through Partner Connect, we are reinventing the VMware partner experience. Our strategy is for every VMware partner to own the customer lifecycle end-to-end”
Tracy-Ann Palmer, VMware
“Through Partner Connect, we are reinventing the VMware partner experience,” said Tracy-Ann Palmer, vice-president for global channel sales programmes and compliance at 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,” she added.
The changes got the thumbs up from IDC, which said it tapped into some of the trends happening in the market.
“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 VMware partners engage their customers, where and how they create value, and how they interact with an increasingly connected ecosystem,” said Steve White, vice-president of channels and alliances at IDC.
“The transformation we see VMware delivering in the Partner Connect programme is a recognition of these macro trends. By bringing everything together under one VMware programme 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,” he added.
A number of the vendor’s partners welcomed the enhancements, with Monique Larmer, VMware channel development manager at Westcon, voicing a common viewpoint: “At a time when investing in partner growth and technical resources is critical to staying relevant in the industry, we’ll leverage these enhancements to continue helping partners realise the full benefits of VMware and accelerate their path to progression as a consequence.”
