SW-licenses

Is this a good thing for channel partners? Most definitely, and here’s why: When VMware tosses out phrases such as “deeper engagement” and “increased transaction velocity” to describe the benefits to channel partners of getting in on enterprise software licensing, decoded that equates to more sales possibilities, recurring revenue and increased value to customers.

“With VMware EPP, we are making it easier, faster and more advantageous for customers seeking to purchase VMware products and services,” said Ryan Knauss, VMware vice president, Pricing and Licensing.

Disciphering the terms of conditions of this stuff isn’t all that easy, but here goes: Under the Enterprise Purchasing Program (EPP), VMware enterprise customers purchase tokens (not points, as with the existing commercial Volume Purchase Program, or VPP) from channel partners redeemable online for licenses and associated production Support and Subscription (SnS).

The more tokens a customer places into its VMware account, the better the licensing discount for the vendor’s software. Tokens can be used both for software and support subscriptions and, by buying enough tokens ahead of time (they’re valid for three years) customers can lock in pricing for future software releases at the current prices.

The minimum purchase is $250,000 for starters (2,500 tokens), with add-on buys starting at $50,000 per, making the ante to play higher than the VPP’s $25,000 to $175,000 range. There are four discount levels, based on tokens, starting at 2,500 and ascending to 6,000 plus, which corresponds to the highest level discount, according to VMware. The vendor said it’s not imposing pricing or payment terms for channel partners selling its software licenses.

The program goes live on Oct. 22, according to this report. Details on terms and conditions can be found here.