Right now in Las Vegas at the annual VMware partner conference, there are pockets of “SMBisms”. On the surface, VMware plays best in the enterprise (picture windowless datacenters). However, the white elephant in the lecture hall has been: What’s the role of virtualization in SMB? It’s a fair question.
(Pictured at right): Chris Waldo, Director of Channel Promotions and Launches, VMware
I recently spoke with a busy Chris Waldo, Director of Channel Promotions and Launches at VMware, regarding this topic, head-on. During our chat, Waldo communicated that yes, from a global perspective, virtualization is typically what you do in larger organizations. “In the under 1,000 employee range, virtualization is a new emerging technology, and we’ve made investments in the “Go To Market” campaigns in SMB,” Waldo shared.
He is specifically referring to the recently released Sales BYTES tools that are public-facing here: https://campaign.vmware.com/partners/pcsf/main/products/solutions/salesbytes/index.html.
Another set of BYTES (some technical) are found here: http://campaign.vmware.com/partners/pcsf/main/products/solutions/index.html.
“We recognize that a lot of SMBs have a trusted advisor. As we built out the SMB opportunity, we found that SMB channel partners needed business development support,” Waldo told me. “These SMB channel partners are doing virtualization two or three times per year. Sales BYTES are a 30-minutes or less solution pitch. We talked to a lot partners, LARs (Large Account Resellers) like CDW and created a “quick” compliment to the full VMware accreditation program.”
The Sales BYTES are a global program, which are currently available in English; other Tier One languages are set to follow in the next 45-days.
Waldo ended with this final thought: “Think business continuity, because 43 percent of SMBs impacted by disasters don’t reopen.”
I’d add that you should keep an eye on VMware in SMB as it defines it mobility and BYOD solution paradigms moving forward. I’ll keep you posted.
