Kathy Gibson at VMworld in Barcelona — Partnering remains the core of VMware’s business, with 95% of sales in the EMEA region being signed through partners.
“The company has had phenomenal momentum over the past year,” says Jean Philippe Barleaza, vice-president: partners and alliances, commercial and cloud providers at VMware EMEA.
“We continue to be channel-centric; and have no intention of making any changes.”
So serious is VMware about partnering that the organisation is measured on its partners’ performance. “We are judged on our ability to create opportunities with partners,” Barleaza says.
Globally, there are 75 000 VMware-certified partners, with more than 30 000 of them in the EMEA region. The newer VMware Cloud Provider Programme has 4 500 worldwide and 2 430 in EMEA.
“The total number of partner certifications in EMEA is 140 000, so we have a huge number of professionals who are enabled and educated,” Barleaza adds.
Of these, 935 partners have mobility certification, 315 have NSX certifications — and are driving record revenue growth — while there are 400 vSAN-certified partners.
VMware is focused on helping its partners address the real issues that end user customers are facing. “We are working away from a purely engineering standpoint, to rather integrate solutions,” Barleaza explains.
“So we are working with partners to start conversations with customers that are less about IT and more about business outcomes.”
What VMware hasn’t changed is its generous terms of engagement with partners. “We have done a lot to ensure we offer partners a sustainable and profitable environment,” Barleaza says.
“And now we are offering additional upfront rewards for partners when they engage with us on a deal, along with our full support.”
As VMware’s product set becomes more pervasive through the entire organisation, there is a renewed focus on two-tier distribution through the VPN programme.
In fact, vSAN business through the VPN programme grew a massive 90% during the first half of this year, and mobility revenues were up 42%.
The most spectacular growth has been in NSX sales, which has rocketed up 900%. “This is one of our top priorities and we are seeing good momentum.”
Meanwhile, the cloud provider programme has seen 41% growth in the first half of this year, making it one of the fastest routes to market in EMEA.
