VMware accelerates and simplifies partner-led managed services for the multi-cloud era

VMware has released VMware Cross-Cloud managed services, a set of prescriptive offers with enhanced partner and customer benefits that will enable partners to expand their managed services practices. Building on VMware’s success in creating an ecosystem of more than 4,000 cloud service providers that serve tens of thousands of customers worldwide, VMware Cross-Cloud managed services will make building managed services faster for partners and easier to consume by customers. This will improve partner profitability while opening new opportunities for growth and expansion.

The adoption of multi-cloud is helping customers become digitally smart. Multi-cloud services enable faster development of modern apps, accelerate enterprise cloud transformation, and empower more secure hybrid workforces. However, S&P Global Market Intelligence research shows that ensuring security, having skilled personnel, managing costs, and workload/data mobility are the biggest challenges facing organisations adopting a multi-cloud operating model. Eighty-three percent of organisations surveyed are open to using external managed or professional services to support their hybrid and multi-cloud efforts.¹

With VMware Cross-Cloud managed services, VMware is making it easier for partners to do business with VMware by combining prescriptive solutions, improved incentives, aligned go to market activities, and more flexibility. Together, these will enable VMware Cross-Cloud Managed Services Providers to drive growth, improve profitability, and increase recurring services revenue while improving time to value for multi-cloud environments and bridging today’s IT talent and skills gap for customers.

“With our global ecosystem of VMware Cross-Cloud Managed Services Providers, we will help customers to evolve from cloud chaos to cloud smart while achieving outcomes faster,” said Zia Yusuf, senior vice president, strategic ecosystem and industry solutions, VMware. “VMware Cross-Cloud managed services is yet another example of how we will empower partners to expand and grow their VMware businesses while collaborating to help customers implement a cloud smart strategy that accelerates their digital transformation.”

VMware will deliver prescriptive offers targeting key customer outcomes and supported through close alignment with VMware’s go-to-market, sales, and support motions. Partners will then use these targeted offers to build unique Validated Service Offerings to deliver differentiated services.

• VMware Cross-Cloud managed services for Hybrid Cloud will enable customers to lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for on-premises environments, simplify operations, reduce risk with observability, actionable insight, and performance optimisation, and accelerate cloud migrations. These offers will include, (i) VMware Cross-Cloud managed services for private or sovereign cloud, and (ii) VMware Cross-Cloud managed services for public cloud. Partners will build these services using VMware Cloud on AWS or new VMware Cloud Packs, which will include hyperconverged infrastructure, hyperconverged infrastructure with advanced automation, compute with advanced automation, and VMware Cloud Foundation.
• VMware Cross-Cloud managed services for Native Public Cloud and Modern Apps will enable customers to automate more secure modern platform operations across multiple clouds, achieve centralised governance and deliver better cost controls. These offers will include, (i) VMware Cross-Cloud managed services for Centralised Governance powered by VMware Aria; (ii) VMware Cross-Cloud managed services for Cost Optimisation powered by VMware Aria Cost; and (iii) VMware Cross-Cloud managed services for Cloud Native App Delivery powered by VMware Tanzu.

Partners can differentiate themselves and command greater market recognition and profitability. The new VMware Cross-Cloud managed services badge will signify partners’ expertise in delivering VMware validated managed services offerings (VSOs) and validate the achievement of the forthcoming VMware Managed Services Specialisation (MSS). Additionally, VMware Cross-Cloud Managed Services Providers will benefit from tailored financial and non-financial partner benefits including:

• Improved Incentives: badged partners can potentially earn up to 40 percent more rewards for providing assessments and proofs-of-concept, up to 100 percent more than non-badged partners for deployment services, and significantly more back-end rebates for selling VMware Cross-Cloud managed services through the new Sell incentive in Partner Connect.
• More Flexibility: a new Bring Your Own Subscription option will allow customers to deploy existing VMware subscriptions to VMware Cross-Cloud Managed Services Provider environments, enabling them to derive maximum value for the subscriptions through the support and expertise of qualified VMware partners.
• Go To Market Alignment: a new co-selling program will enable VMware to support Cross-Cloud Managed Services Providers in demand generation, as well as selling and closing activities.
• Ease of Doing Business: partners can expect even more deal protection on SaaS related sales.