ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY
and consumption models it becomes very important to ensure the adoption and implementation of the solutions that are being bought by customers : it is vital that partners follow where the demand is growing .
The way partners make money is also transforming : It is not about reselling like it used to be , especially as we move more towards consumption . In fact , there is less and less money to be made in resale and more to be made across the solution lifecycle . This is one of the reasons why we introduced the lifecycle programme for our partners . This programme allows us to help partners do assessments and proof of concepts ( PoCs ), deployments and even co-operate with other partners who might be complementing them with skills and solutions that they don ’ t have or provide .
For example , a specialist app modernisation partner might deploy Tanzu
We also have a Partner Success Initiative which helps the partners become trusted advisors and consultants to the customers .
for a customer that also wants to deploy a range of employee digital experience solutions . If the first partner can ’ t provide those solutions , they can co-operate with another partner , and that way the customer gets exactly the solutions they need from qualified , co-operating partners . It ’ s a win-win for partners , VMware and most importantly , the customer .
We even have a programme to incentivise these partners to co-operate under the umbrella of the Customer Lifecycle programme , which takes the co-operation from assessment and PoC to deployment , full consumption and ensuring customers successfully implement and use the solution to their full advantage .
Connected with this programme , we also have a Partner Success Initiative which helps the partners become trusted advisors and consultants to the customers . Through this scheme we prepare our partners to play an important role in the customers ’ success , ensuring they are fully implementing and using the technology as it is intended , and to maximum effect .
To complement what we are doing we also have go-to-market ( GTM ) plays that guide and help our partners to understand the pain points of the customers as they progress on their Digital Transformation journeys , and then select the right VMware solutions to solve those specific challenges and progress the customers ’ DX plans .
All our partners can access these offerings through the Partner Connect portal which is continuously enhanced with new features .
In June we relaunched the Customer Lifecycle programme for our partners and
from that point onwards we saw a major uptake across the South EMEA region for this programme . We see renewed interest from these partners who are engaging with us because we are incentivising them to do PoCs and assessments , even without creating a sale , which means they can put their skills to use and generate revenue in the process . Some partners only work on implementation and wholesale services , and they can continue to focus on that while the others can co-operate with them in the areas where they are missing those skills .
Why was it important for VMware to enhance its Partner Connect Programme ?
As I mentioned , partners are having to adapt and change in response to the changing needs of customers . This obviously has an impact on the way partners generate revenue . Certainly , the way partners sustain a profitable business in the future will not be in resale . It will be in the customer lifecycle process because companies are increasingly moving to a subscription and consumption model which means there will be less focus on the reselling part and more
20 www . intelligenttechchannels . com