VMware has drastically reduced the deal value size that provides partners with an additional 10% rebate for new customers as it seeks to open up opportunities for partners "to go after the huge white space in the SMB market".
As well as cutting the deal size from $10,000 (€7,730) to $6,000 (€4,638), the virtualisation giant has also made it easier for partners to discover whether a deal qualifies for the new customer rebate when they register the deal.
Unveiling the changes at VMWorld 2012 in Barcelona, VMware senior director for EMEA channel and SMB, Juergen Kuhlewein, described the reduction to $6,000 in the vendor’s Advantage + programme as "very well aligned to our product line".
The vendor also added three new competencies for partners earlier this year in business continuity, desktop virtualisation and infrastructure virtualisation. Kuhlewein said partners that gained certification in the competencies, which also include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), management and virtualised business critical applications, typically increased deal sizes by three and a half times.
Perhaps the most startling statistic came from senior director for EMEA partner and SMB marketing, Benjamin Caller, who claimed partners that took advantage of VMware’s partner marketing campaigns could increase their pipeline by 20 times.
VMware marketing support for partners includes free co-branded lead generation campaigns, free telemarketing for up to 200 contacts and call out days.
Speaking at the same briefing, EMEA SMB director John Churchhouse, stressed the vendor’s SMB credentials. Although it had only actively focused on the SMB three years ago, it had "developed a massive SMB business in EMEA" that was the same size as its enterprise business.
While the figures could be distorted by VMware’s definition of a SMB as any company with less than 1,000 employees, Churchhouse revealed that two-thirds of its SMB customers were in the sub-100 employee space.
He claimed that SMB businesses adopting virtualisation tended to "approach it with a velocity that you don’t see in enterprise".
Churchhouse added the enhancements to the partner programme made SMB "an even better opportunity. We’ve created a lot of opportunities for partners to go after the white space" in the market.
Billy MacInnes
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