New VMware Cross-Cloud Package Gives MSPs ‘An Excellent Opportunity’

Managed service providers working with midmarket customers have new portfolio options thanks to the debut on Tuesday of VMware Cross-Cloud.

The package targets experienced partners helping organizations with more than 100 people.

VMware’s Zia Yusuf

“It’s not designed for small companies that maybe have 50 people, 100 people, even [fewer] than that,” Zia Yusuf, senior vice president of strategic ecosystem and industry solutions at VMware, told Channel Futures. “That technology environment is, of course, quite different. So this is where there’s a little bit more complexity and breadth. It’s about expanding customer choice.”

Because of that greater complexity, MSPs – registered as a cloud service provider in Partner Connect – must prove their skills and capabilities in hybrid and multicloud before they can offer VMware Cross-Cloud services. VMware will require the completion of the forthcoming Managed Services Specialization; partners who do so will earn the requisite badge.

They’ll need to show expertise in the same areas that comprise VMware Cross-Cloud: private, sovereign and public cloud; centralized governance via VMware Aria; cost optimization; and cloud-native app delivery via VMware Tanzu. (VMware offers all of these services separately, of course. It’s just that the company is bringing them all under one umbrella for MSPs with midmarket clients.) The process could take as little as two days for MSPs who have already undergone audits with VMware.

MSP Benefits from VMware Cross-Cloud Services

Once MSPs secure the new MSS designation, they get access to the following benefits:

VMware’s Scott Bergquist

The timing of the VMware Cross-Cloud launch comes as data show more organizations are opting for managed services, Yusuf said. Factors contributing to that increase include the ongoing IT staffing shortage and the need to reduce full-time headcount.

MSPs on VMware Cross-Cloud Services: ‘An Excellent Opportunity’

MSPs privy to an early look at VMware Cross-Cloud are expressing excitement about the debut.

Will Huber, chief technology officer at IT solutions provider CDI, called the new portfolio an “excellent opportunity for us to expand our offerings and further empower our clients in their digital transformation journey.”

Christopher Swadish, North America hybrid cloud business leader at IT provider Softchoice, agreed.

“When it comes to managing complex multicloud strategies, our experience has shown that the do-it-yourself approach may not yield optimal results. Optimizing cloud governance, security, costs and overall performance requires a distinct set of skills that can be missing in organizations large and small.”

Overall, the combination of VMware Cross-Cloud managed services and Softchoice’s expertise “will help keep customers agile, competitive and running smoothly as they adopt multicloud to accelerate their digital innovation,” Swadish added.

Finally, cloud consultancy Xtravirt will expand its MSP portfolio “to provide flexible and easy to consume services for our multicloud customers, accelerating their journey from cloud chaos to cloud smart,” said Gavin Jolliffe, CEO. “The new prescriptive VMware Cross-Cloud managed services will also make it easier for us to align the best VMware services with … critical challenges we see our customers facing every day.”