VMware ecosystem builds up steam

Affiliate programme is a favourite with resellers as it allows them to achieve larger deals, claims VMware

Viva Las Vegas: VMware added to its partner tally at its VMworld event in Vegas

Steady momentum is gathering around VMware’s Alliance Affiliate Initiative as more vendors look to combine their channels with the virtualisation giant.

Launched at VMware Partner Exchange in May 2008, the initiative commenced with vendor partners CA, Dell/Equal Logic, EMC, McAfee, NetApp, Riverbed and Vizioncore.

As part of the VMware Alliance Affiliate Initiative, each technology partner creates its own programme to provide tools, training and financial benefits for resellers that sell a VMware virtualisation solution along with their own products.

VMware puts the popularity of the programme down to resellers being able to offer joint virtualisation solutions and, therefore, achieve larger deals.

Second wave

VMware announced an additional second wave of technology partners to join the VMware Alliance Affiliate Initiative in September 2008 at VMworld in Las Vegas.

The nine new members were BMC Software, Computer Associates (CA), IBM, Symantec, Cisco Systems, Force10, Emulex, Kingston Technology Company and HP.

Marc Groetelaars, channel director for northern Europe at VMware, said: “We wanted to make a link between VMware’s technology alliances and its VARs’ communities. Customers want more complex solutions and this programme enables partners to deal with larger deal sizes, as well as receive a rebate reward for selling a joint solution.

“The initiative is a great way to create deal synergies. The reseller can offer VMware along with a technology alliance partner as a bundle.”

Currently, partners are jointly building solutions in the areas of applications, disaster recovery, high availability, business continuity, networking, security, storage and systems management.

One of the first vendors to join the initiative was virtualisation vendor Vizioncore. As part of the partnership the vendor launched its Vizioncore PLUS Programme for its resellers.

Jane Rimmer, marketing director for EMEA at Vizioncore, said: “Since Vizioncore became involved in this programme it has experienced incremental growth for both Vizioncore and its partners.

“Through providing not only the financial benefits of a rebate, but also tools and training, the reseller looks more professional in being able to sell a complete solution.”

Rimmer explained that VMware resellers selling joint VMware and Vizioncore solutions add margin to their bottom line: “On top of VMware’s rebate for being a VMware partner, the reseller gets an additional 20 per cent from us on top.”

Roger Baskerville, vice president EMEA at Vizioncore, said customers are demanding more complex solutions. “As virtualisation becomes more complex, customers need people that can define return on investment (RoI) and put together solutions from various companies,” he said.

Vizioncore partner Virtualize IT joined the vendor’s programme when it initially launched, and managing director Julian Box said: “We have found being part of the programme very beneficial, as Vizioncore offers us support for our customers’ virtualisation estates.

“When deploying both components from VMware and Vizioncore, we either take the large margin opportunity for ourselves and drive it back into our business, or push it towards our client.”

Bundle of benefits

Box said the partnership enables the reseller to act as a consultancy, allowing its customers to pick and choose products for their own needs.

“Instead of swamping the customer with technologies they do not need, our partnership allows us to create a bundle of products that are right for the client,” he said.

Gary Blake, virtualisation lead at reseller Anix Group, said: “Apart from the cost advantage for the partner, the initiative cements the relationship between the partner and the vendor which gives recognition of Anix’s capability to customers.

“From the increase in vendor focus at both a sales and technology level, projects run more smoothly.”

Since its launch, several vendors have reported the benefits of jointly selling through resellers as part of the VMware Affiliate partner.

Software vendor CA launched an Alliance Affiliate Programme for its resellers. The end of last year saw CA educate more than 500 resellers on VMware’s programme and its joint CA and VMware solution.

Dell unveiled its Enterprise Architecture Virtualisation Specialty Programme as VMware launched the initiative last year. By September the vendor claimed to have 78 members on board. Some 90 days after the launch of its programme, Dell also claimed that it had closed 26 joint deals with its reseller partners.

Meanwhile, storage giant NetApp kicked of its partnership with VMware with its Virtualisation Specialisation Programme.

NetApp claims the average deal size achieved through selling joint solutions via the NetApp Virtualisation Specialisation Programme is more than three times NetApp’s overall average.