Broadcom Invites 18,000 ‘Active’ VMware Resellers Into Partner Program

Broadcom is inviting more than 18,000 active VMware resellers to join its Advantage Partner Program.

That word comes courtesy of a new blog from channel head Cindy Loyd, vice president of global partner and commercial sales.

The news arrives after weeks of controversy, and in the same week Broadcom said it would officially end the VMware reseller program and its associated incentives.

Broadcom's Cindy Loyd

Recall that, less than the week before Christmas, Broadcom terminated the VMware partner program. Word soon spread that VMware resellers who did not report at least $500,000 in annual revenue or $50,000 per month would not be invited into Broadcom Advantage. That amount would naturally exclude a number of channel partners who focus on the SMB market. Broadcom has a reputation for only targeting enterprises.

However, Broadcom appears to be including VMware resellers of all sizes in the Advantage program -- perhaps as a result of industry backlash over the intervening weeks? In a document posted last week, but not made public until a source sent it today to Channel Futures, Broadcom states, "There is no universal threshold for partners to join the program."

That seems to mark an about-face for Broadcom, although the point about "active" is the crux. Sources have previously told Channel Futures that thousands of VMware resellers did not, in fact, interact with the company; rather, they paid the $895 partner program fee so they could place the vendor’s badge on their websites and other marketing materials as a mask of assurance to customers. Broadcom does not charge for participation in Advantage, so it’s interesting that the company has shed the paid model and foregone a revenue source that required little to no support.

Related:VMware Partners, Rival Vendors React to Broadcom Axing Channel Program

Regardless, a source tells Channel Futures that Broadcom has invited 95% of VMware resellers into the Advantage program.

See our slideshow above for more of the fresh announcements about the future of VMware resellers and other partners in the Broadcom partner program.