VMware to jump on social media bandwagon

VMware is hoping to tap into the popularity of social media through the creation of a partner to partner network for its global channel. 

The software provider acquired microblogging platform provider Socialcast in May this year, bringing across founder and CEO Tim Young to the role of vice president of social software. The move formed part of a social software strategy which includes cloud products Sliderocket and Zimbra, and also allowed VMware to implement a tool internally to gather social feedback among employees. 

The company is extending the capabilities of its established partner portal Partner Central, and recently launched technology-specific Partner Exchange, taking queues from VMware Australia and its quietly-launched vChampions invitation-only partner network. 

Speaking to CRN global vice president of partner sales Doug Smith said the US would use the Australia operation as a springboard on how to form a global partner to partner network, confirming the company would look at incoporating the Socialcast tool into Partner Central. 

“The team here is probably a little ahead of the US,” he said.

“Increasingly we have a partner community on Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter, especially on LinkedIn. We’re really starting to monitor the social network discussions. What happens is we pick up the thread in those discussions and pull it back to our own partner portal.”

Smith said responsibility for the social media strategy would be directed towards VMware’s partner support and sales and marketing divisions.

He denied the focus was in response to the furore around VMware’s recent change in pricing for its vSphere product launched in July.

“There literally has not been one partner in front of me who’s been concerned about it,” Smith said. ”From a partner perspective, it has been low energy.”

“I think initially when any new license structure hits the marketplace, there can be a little bit of confusion that comes out just because it is new. But overwhelmingly it’s been a non-issue with the partners. I think a lot of partners understand, if you’re going to move to the cloud the license model has to be cloud-based and not physical-based. I think they understand it wasn’t going to be easy for the first vendor who made the switch.”

Smith dismissed partner Microsoft’s claims VMware had ‘mislead’ its customers by secretly increasing prices, and was similarly unconcerned about the rivalry with Microsoft’s competing Hyper V product. 

“We love Microsoft and we love Microsoft partners. And we virtualise Exchange and SQL,” Smith said. “If you look at our top partners, they’re all Microsoft partners. I definitely see it as a world with a lot of ‘co-opetition’ between us and Microsoft.”

“There are places where we have to work together because we have the same partners, and places where we bump up against each other. I tend to focus on where we can work together than worry too much about Hyper V.”