Broadcom-VMware Advantage Changes ‘Driven Directly’ by PartnersBroadcom-VMware Advantage Changes ‘Driven Directly’ by Partners

Broadcom-VMware channel leaders are talking up the new changes to the Advantage program — and clarifying to which partners those actually apply.

Last week, Brian Moats, who just replaced Cindy Loyd, laid out new directives for Broadcom-VMware Advantage partners, putting them on notice that it’s time to “level up.” 

As of next month, partners who just want to conduct product transactions will receive fewer benefits as Broadcom prioritizes “value-based solution providers who are truly investing in the VMware and Broadcom software businesses,” as Moats, senior vice president, global commercial sales and partners, stated on Feb. 3.

Moats also announced the launch of points-based rewards system for partners in the Broadcom-VMware Advantage program, and the offloading of professional services from the company back to partners who meet technical requirements.

The tweaks go a long way toward giving VMware partners a “sense of continuity,” a little more than a year after Broadcom closed on the $61 billion acquisition. 

That’s the word from Laura Falko, head of global partner programs, marketing and experience, at Broadcom. VMware’s channel operated on a points system before Broadcom became the virtualization and cloud provider’s owner, Falko noted. Reinstating that model, albeit with some differences, will “still bring that sense of familiarity” to a lot of VMware partners now in the Broadcom ecosystem, she said. 

Related:The Broadcom VMware Acquisition: A Complete Timeline

“Hopefully that creates some consistency in how we are executing,” Falko said.

And, to clarify, the newly enforced expectations with Advantage do not apply to partners − at least, not directly − enrolled in the VMware Cloud Service Provider initiative. Rather, they take aim at resellers, which Broadcom-VMware also calls “solution providers.”

“VCSP is still a managed service provider sales motion, and they'll maintain the tiers and the requirements that they have today,” said Kaushik Ram, senior director of global partner programs at Broadcom.

Advantage has served as Broadcom’s overarching partner program for all routes to market for years. But confusion can arise because, depending on the type of deal in question, Advantage is “very modular,” Ram said.

“For our resell partners or our solution providers doing resale transactions, they have a specific set of VMware requirements and benefits that they receive,” he said. “For VCSPs who are doing MSP transactions, they have a specific set of requirements and benefits that they receive. So the part that we are modifying with this announcement is on the VMware solution provider resell transaction piece of it.”

Related:Broadcom-VMware Puts Partners On Notice: Time to ‘Level Up’

Where matters can get confusing is when partners cross over between programs. For example, a system integrator that typically falls under VCSP could oversee a deal that qualifies as resale. 

“It depends on what and how they’re transacting,” Ram said. 

In other words, a global systems integrator in VCSP, which focuses on managed services, could also do resale.

“You can participate in programs in multiple transaction types,” Ram said. 

Under the new Broadcom-VMware channel expectations, a partner in both VCSP and resale would earn points for having a services capability, “because they have additional business models,” he added.

More on New Advantage Requirements

Once again, Advantage partners with well-rounded business models that deliver customer success stand to receive the most attention and rewards from Broadcom. That’s because end users have to be “fully adapted in the solution offerings that they are investing in,” Falko said.

To achieve that goal, Advantage partners must have pre-sales expertise − the ability to choose and build the right Broadcom-VMware platform − along with implementation and deployment capabilities, as well as the requisite certifications.

“[W]e’re really asking our partners to prioritize those customer success attributes as they're building out their practice around the VMware business,” Falko said.

As part of that, as Moats pointed out in his Feb. 3 blog, Broadcom further is putting professional services back into Broadcom-VMware partners’ hands. Falko said this will be a boon for Advantage experts, particularly because there’s potential to increase margin. 

“VMware did come in with a professional services organization,” Falko said. “Having an in-house services org is really not the Broadcom model. If you look at our previous acquisitions, we've shifted that out to partners. We believe that partners can do this just as well as we can, and, in many cases, better. We also believe it's a significant to the partner profitability story and customer success story.” 

Enablement Now Free for Broadcom-VMware Advantage Partners

As Broadcom enacts adjustments to the Advantage program, it’s emphasizing enablement. For VMware partners, this means no longer paying for the accreditation process. VMware used to charge partners thousands of dollars for partners to earn certifications and undergo training.  

“This was a big cost to the VMware partners previously,” Falko said. “We've simplified that.”

The whole point of pushing Advantage partners to level up, then, comes down to carrying out Broadcom’s core mission: “We focus on the best-in-class offerings and a top percent of the largest customers around the world, and we really rely on our partners for everything else,” Falko said. “Customer success is at the core of what we do and why we do what we do at Broadcom."

However, she clarified, all of the changes to Broadcom-VMware channel programs “have been driven directly from partner feedback, and we continue to listen to them and make tweaks and refinements to the program.”

Why Advantage Changes Are Happening Now

Even though Broadcom has been in control of VMware since November 2023, channel executives wanted to take some time before rolling out major alterations. After migrating more than 14,000 resellers from VMware to Broadcom in early 2024, “we wanted partners to settle down and understand how things are executed and done,” Ram said. 

Plus, when it came to VMware’s products, platforms and systems, Broadcom needed time to figure out its strategy.

“[W]e didn't want the program to become a disruptor, so we allowed partners to maintain the levels they were in,” Ram said. “We paused progression of any sort, as well as all of the trainings and certifications, because we had to stand up new certifications aligned to the Broadcom structure versus the VMware structure.”

Doing that meant taking partner opinion into account, while balancing that input with Broadcom’s requirements around customers, resulting in prioritizing the most enabled and active Broadcom-VMware partners.

How Broadcom-VMware Advantage Partners Now Interact

Broadcom has created four tiers in its new points-based system. Partners start at the lowest level, or "registered," and work their way up to "pinnacle," Ram said. Each level features its own points and requirements and, as with similar industry structures, entails more responsibility. The top, for instance, calls for partners to develop joint business plans and to attain, and maintain, a certain number of certifications. 

As one example of what Broadcom has in mind, over the next few months, Broadcom-VMware partners can expect entitlement rewards that will pay for joint- and partner-led services, especially around VMware Cloud Foundation. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan has made no secret about his view of VCF as the premier platform for private cloud environments and his intent to transform VMware in that vein.

In addition, Broadcom has turned deal registration from first-come, first-served to one based on value. Ram said an internal Broadcom-VMware employee associated with “every single deal” will determine which partner meets the company’s value criteria and therefore gets the opportunity.

“There's definitely a difference between a partner that has done an evaluation of the customer's needs and had an architecture conversation, versus a procurement department that is just trying to get a request,” Ram said.

The shift also will eliminate the bots some VMware partners have created that “just go and register a bunch of customer opportunities … without actually driving true value,” Ram said.  Even so, Broadcom is retaining incumbency protection. Partners who demonstrate adherence to the company’s value framework will be allowed to keep their deals. 

Overall Takeaways for Broadcom-VMware Advantage Partners

On the whole, the changes Broadcom is making to Advantage, especially as those impact VMware resellers, call for many partners to upgrade their business models. Otherwise, they’ll net less attention and fewer benefits from the chipmaker.

Moats, readers may recall, wrote in his Feb. 3 blog that Broadcom now expects its Advantage experts to put “significant investment” into skills, capabilities and end-user outcomes. He also said that all partners “have a role” within Broadcom-VMware’s channel. Falko said that’s true, though Moats’ statement reflects Broadcom’s heightened emphasis on prioritizing the most elite partners.

“[I]f you're just wanting to do transactions, there is a place for you within the ecosystem,” Falko said. “It's just not within our focus partner list, right? Because we are working with a set of focus partners who are investing in the elements that drive customer success.”