VMware Takes Wraps Off Tiered Channel Program

The program follows the launch of VMware's less structured program in May, said Mia Blank, channel program manager at the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company.

Under the new VMware Virtual Partner Network, solution providers are divided into two groups: Professional Track partners, or those that sell VMware Workstation desktop virtualization software and VMware GSX Server for business-critical server virtualization; and Enterprise Track partners, or solution providers that sell the VMware ESX Server for high-performance server virtualization, Blank said.

Jeff Largiader, vice president of sales and marketing at Programmer's Paradise, a Shrewsbury, N.J.-based solution provider in the software development space, said VMware has proven to be a good partner in the five or so years the two have worked together. "They are committed to the channel, all the way down to their internal telemarketing reps," he said.

Largiader applauded VMware's move to a tiered channel program as a way to reward solution providers that work closely with the vendor.

"To add value, you need to understand what the software does," he said. "VMware wants us to step up to the plate, to invest in the relationship. I support that wholeheartedly."

Blank said VMware has about 215 channel partners worldwide. In North Amer-

ica, the company has about 70 Enterprise Track partners and 25 Professional Track partners, she said.

The company is looking to recruit more partners, Blank said. "For both tracks, we have people [at] VMware who [must meet a certain quota] on reseller sales, so they are working hard to get partners to participate in the program," she said.