Rethinking IT Pathways: ’Not How Our Partners Sell or How Our Customers Buy’

Next up, expect a streamlined certification process. Until the new version, Partner Connect contained seven domains (the IT pathways), each requiring separate rounds of authorization. It’s an outdated approach.

“That is not how our partners sell or how our customers buy,” Ram said. “So now we are looking at where partners are within lifecycle of customer — how they bring value, how they’re monetizing, aligning them along the progression paths within the structure.”

On a similar note, most partners no longer act in a single capacity. Rather, a system integrator also can serve as a reseller and a cloud service provider, for instance. That spells complexity when trying to stuff a well-rounded partner into a single square hole. Knowing that, VMware enhanced Partner Connect by grouping partners according to the previously mentioned business models: solution reseller, cloud services provider, solution services provider or solution builder. This supports partner flow across the various tiers, allowing participants to earn more points as they deliver more services (e.g., deployment, managed, professional) , and host and maintain VMware platforms.

“We don’t believe our partners are one of these business models,” Palmer said. “Many of them are two to three, so we are recognizing the full value of that partner.”