Broadcom Transitions VMware Partners To New Program

Caleb Owen Today, we're going to dive into some exciting news about Broadcom Advantage, the partner program that has been generating a lot of buzz in the channel after Broadcom's acquisition of VMware for $61 billion. There's been a lot of questions in the channel about the move to unite both Broadcom and VMware partners. And today we're going to get you some answers. Joining me is Broadcom’s Vice President of the Americas Partner and Commercial Organization, Tara Fine. Tara Fine Hi, Caleb. Thanks for having me. Caleb Owen Let's start by just defining Broadcom advantage. How is this program different than the previous channel program? And how do you think that these new changes reflect the new make up of the company following the VMware acquisition? Tara Fine Thank you for the question. I know it's on everybody's mind. So I'll start by saying the design principles around this new and evolved program are really a direct response to the partner feedback we've received about VMware's previous program. In addition to the best of what Broadcom brings to the table. It's really focused around the principles of simplicity, predictability and profitability. Something we heard a lot from our partners was we had significant channel conflict, a lack of understanding around incentives and compensation. So what we're really trying to do is address those and the new program prioritizes solving that conflict, re-evaluating new profitability around renewals and incentivizing long term adoption of our products and simplifying, you know, what those products look like. Caleb Owen There's been a lot of talk about this being an invite only partner program. Is that accurate? And if so, what was the reasoning behind that? Tara Fine Yes, it is absolutely accurate, Caleb. The Advantage program is by invitation only, and we have invited all active VMware reseller partners that have transacted with us in the last three years and that is more than 18,000 partners that we've invited to participate in the program. So while it is, you know, certainly an invite only, we certainly did not exclude any partners that were doing business with us historically. We're really focused around the go to market approach and not competing with our partners or intentionally looking for partners who provide expertise, capabilities, professional services that really enable our customers to solve problems within their respective given markets. We're not going to try and be everything to everyone, and we're going to have big opportunities for our partners to step in and fill the gap and really profit from. Caleb Owen Thanks for providing that clarification around all of that. So what do you want VMware Partners to know about the new program and how are they really going to benefit from the transition? Tara Fine So a few of the things I really want our partners to know is, is that the new program provides a proven, simple, yet scalable framework for all of our business units and partner routes to market. Partners can expect a net margin model, so all discounts will be systematically disclosed upfront. So partners know exactly what they're going to make on every deal across both new and our renewal business. And then streamline pricing. We've really simplified our pricing strategy to four SKU bundles to make it really simple for partners to do business with us, understand what they're selling and how to sell it. Those are really some really critical elements we want to make sure our partners are aware of. Caleb Owen Perfect. Well, last question for you. Moving forward into 2024, how do you expect the Broadcom Advantage Partner Program to unfold? Tara Fine Over the next few months and over the next year, You know, for the remainder of 2024, our partners can expect us to continue to listen and support them as we accelerate execution and drive expansion into the private and hybrid cloud for enterprise customers together. Partners can expect a continued radical simplification across our portfolio. Our go to market in organizational structure, we will continue to work to make it easier to do business with us and starting on day two, which is coming up in May. Partners will be able to take advantage of the official move where we're taking on moving from legacy VMware Partner systems to officially using the Broadcom partner portal, the one stop shop for resources that partners need to do business with us in one unified platform, which we couldn't be more excited about. And last but not least, that Broadcom will continue to really invest in the program and ensure we're creating a framework and a program that partners are profitable, understand how to make money with us, and can really add the value to our mutual customers. Caleb Owen Tara, thank you for answering a few of these questions to help us know more about what's on the horizon for Broadcom and VMware partners with Broadcom Advantage.