Company: VMware (Broadcom), Palo Alto, CA
Company Description: VMware develops virtualization software, which creates an abstraction layer over computer hardware that allows the hardware elements of a single computer—processors, memory, storage, and more—to be divided into multiple virtual computers, commonly called virtual machines. Since our founding in 1998, our employees and partners have been behind the tech innovations transforming entire industries.
Nomination Category: Thought Leadership Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Thought Leadership Campaign of the Year - Business Products
 Nomination Title: VMware 3-Year Global Partner Success Study
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated PR campaign or program, or written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
October 25, 2023 (external launch)
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Challenge: At VMware, we are keenly focused on partner success and the opportunity to build a sustainable and more secure future for all. This was the motivation behind VMware’s 3-Year Global Partner Success Study, a channel research study commissioned by VMware to answer the question “How can we help our partners perform today while helping them transform to meet the opportunities of the next era of consumption?”
Solution: Our channel ecosystem is undergoing a massive transformation that is forcing us to evolve our approach to value, profitability, and monetization in this multi-cloud era. With VMware at a critical turning point to claim multi-cloud SaaS leadership, the Worldwide Partner Experience, Programs, Investments, and Compliance team consulted with our trusted partner Global Touch, Inc., a partner-focused strategy and GTM transformation consulting firm, to conduct a confidential and anonymous 3-year Global Partner Success Study from 2021-2023 to uncover key economic insights and identify core profit drivers for partner profitability in this cloud-smart era as VMware delivered on our multi-cloud, modern applications, and SaaS strategy.
Achievement: VMware's 2022 Global Partner Success Study discovered the blueprint for driving partner profitability that established the foundation for how VMware can support partners to ‘perform’ today while guiding them to ‘transform’ to meet the opportunities of the next era of the cloud-smart ecosystem. VMware's 2023 Global Partner Success Study built upon these actionable insights by further uncovering the Top 15 Profitability Metrics driving partner profitability in 2023, Top 5 Partner Profitability Indicators, and Top 5 Partner Capabilities.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the subject and content development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
Background: The study, consisting of worldwide research, surveys, and executive interviews with more than 3,000 VMware Partners, was conducted in Fall 2021, Summer 2022, Fall 2022, and Fall 2023. Our goal was to understand partner and customer trends, and the financial dynamics partners experience as they sell and provide services with VMware. The partner feedback served as an essential influence on the design and enhancement of VMware’s strategies and programs to best fit our mutual interests.
Process and Milestones: Each portion of the 3-year study was conducted in five phases.
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Phase One: Interviewing internal stakeholders to identify top of mind issues and priorities for the study content and goals.
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Phase Two: Prepping survey questions, interview script, distribution lists for the survey/executive interviews, communications, and localization.
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Phase Three: Collecting in-depth economic data through Global Touch, Inc. as the third-party vendor to anonymously and confidentially conduct partner interviews and solicit responses to the web-based survey.
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Phase Four: Delivering internal stakeholder results readouts on findings and key insights.
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Phase Five: Developing and distributing an external-facing Partner Report to PBMs and their partners.
Outcome: The results were shared with partner participants to equip our global PBM and Partner community with a roadmap for enhancing partner profitability amidst VMware's transition to a multi-cloud approach and evolution into a SaaS and Subscription model. This roadmap delineates concrete, actionable recommendations for partners to maximize profitability within the VMware channel, while directing them how to adapt and thrive in the forthcoming era of the cloud-smart ecosystem.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of January 2022. Even if your initiative started before January 2022, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2020 only (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Game Changing Insights: This is the first time in the technology industry that specific key economic drivers for partner profitability have been identified, clearly outlining the activities that help determine whether partners are profitable or not. More specifically, we uncovered that the four core areas driving partner profitability are: Services Profit (Practice Margin Profit), Services Complexity Mix, Professional Services Days, and Lifecycle Profit. We further uncovered the Top 15 Profitability Metrics, Top 5 Partner Profitability Indicators, Top 5 Partner Capabilities, and ultimately, outlined that the key to accelerating partner growth and profitability is to leverage cloud consumption economics.
Economic Impact: For the most profitable partners compared to worldwide (all partners), we observed:
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Services profit (practice profit margin) is 1.5X higher.
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Revenue driven from services complexity is 1.6X higher.
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Profit driven from professional service days is more than 2X higher (capturing more than 2X Professional Services days).
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Lifecycle profit driven is 1.6X higher.
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More than 80% of revenue for the most profitable partners is driven from services (professional/support/managed/cloud).
Driving Action: VMware leveraged the study data to influence our holistic partner strategy by:
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Business Model structure achieving highest rate of return for their VMware business and customer value.
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Supporting partners in these core areas to enable, incentivize, and drive more partner growth with VMware.
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Transforming partner experience by streamlining the operational burden incurred and weaving that improved efficiency into the launch of the redesigned, world-class, award-winning VMware Partner Connect program and digital experience in March 2023. (another industry first)
- Optional: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
Publication: These learnings were published on October 25, 2023 in an article titled “Accelerating Partner Profitability: A Blueprint for Today’s Rapidly Evolving Technology Landscape” (www.linkedin.com/pulse/accelerating-partner-profitability-blueprint-todays-demartini-mba-0ephc/) where Tracy-Ann Palmer, VP of Partner Experience, Programs, Investments and Compliance, and Heather DeMartini, Manager of Partner Experience, Global Market Research, and Executive Messaging Strategy, share the broader themes and insights gleaned from the study, outline best practices from VMware’s most profitable partners, and illustrate how profitability in the modern channel ecosystem centers around partner-led, value-driven services.
A Note from Denise Sangster, CEO of Global Touch, Inc.:
Sandy Hogan raised three key points in the CRN (US Edition) article in February 2022:
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VMware is focusing on retain and grow and no longer the transaction.
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This drives a needed shift in skill sets required in the market.
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Partners who are innovating and re-imagining how to engage or offer next generation capabilities are earning higher cumulative profitability.
Through this Study, VMware identified core profit drivers and provided partners with a roadmap on how to get started. This is powerful!
Today, not all partners are making strong profits as they balance supply chain shortages with the shift to emerging consumption and multi-cloud era economics. Some partners are at a crossroads and asking, “what is the new formula for this emerging new era?” The answer is in the VMware Core Profit Drivers, which provide partners with the tools to form a pathway to next generation sustainable success and accelerate a new direction to the future.
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