At VMware Partner Exchange 2008, VMware today announced new and enhanced strategic enhancements to its partner programs. The enhancements build on initiatives announced in February 2008 to enhance the VMware VIP Partner Program, helping VMware’s more than 13,000 partners around the world that resell VMware virtualization solutions “by accelerating partners’ expertise, profitability and opportunity in VMware virtualization.”
New program enhancements include:
- Expansion of the VMware Authorized Consultant Program
- A new VMware Alliance Affiliate Initiative to accelerate profitability through joint solution selling with VMware’s technology alliance partners
- New programs designed to capitalize on the market opportunity of VMware virtualization
“These new benefits take the value proposition of VMware virtualization to new levels,” said Steve Houck, vice president of worldwide channels at VMware. “We continue to enable our business partners to build VMware virtualization practices that are profitable, offer customers advanced training for sophisticated VMware deployments, and deliver increased opportunity. VMware’s business partners are poised to lead the way for new and existing customers of all sizes in the rapidly growing virtualization market.”
As for the company’s training and education programs:
- The enhanced VMware Authorized Consultant Program enables VMware to better offer its channel partners the resources necessary to build and expand their VMware services practices quickly. New features include access to important tools and resources, such as the VMware Service Acceleration kits—which help partners fine-tune their services offerings for chargeback, configuration management and FDA compliance—as well as technical training that helps partners develop robust services offerings. The program will also provide partners with access to the VMware Authorized Training Center (VATC) program in North America during the second half of 2008. This enables VMware VIP partners that meet certain criteria to become a VATC to offer additional value to customers by providing extensive training options.
- VMware PartnerPath, the VMware partner training roadmap, has been further enhanced with a family of four new whiteboard training modules called SolutionTrack Whiteboarding. SolutionTrack Whiteboarding consists of flexible education options from instructor-led training classes to a selection of self-paced online courses. This training helps partners work with customers to develop a successful strategy for virtualizing their datacenters and desktops. For consultants, VMware is also introducing the Services Enablement Framework, a common and standard way of mapping services assets and tools to training and business development activities to improve partner engagement.
- VMware will be launching the VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) program for VMware Infrastructure 3, which is an advanced certification program for VAC partners who are already VMware Certified Professionals (VCPs) and who want to take their VMware virtualization expertise to the most advanced level. This program is for architects who design VMware enterprise deployments. The program measures technical professionals’ abilities to assess their customers’ needs and teaches them to design VMware Infrastructure deployments for an enterprise datacenter as well as implement, test, document and present the design. This certification program provides the highest level of technical expertise in VMware virtualization.