VMware Solution Exchange Partner Program Guide

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Partner Program Guide

Requirements, Conditions And Usage Guidelines

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Terms . . . .3

VMware Program Policies . . . .3

Legal Entity and VMware Program Membership . . . .3

Partner Information . . . .3

Definitions . . . .3

Current Feature Descriptions and Instructions . . . .3

Program Guide Updates . . . .3

Help . . . .3

The VMware Solution Exchange (VSX) . . . .4

Benefits for Commercial Partners . . . .5

Benefits for Developers . . . .5

Benefits for End Users . . . .5

VSX Program Requirements . . . .5

Commercial Partners . . . .5

Developers . . . .6

Links in the Listings . . . .6

Fees . . . .6

Solution Listings . . . . 7

Maintaining the Accuracy of Solution Listings . . . . 7

The VMware Ready Program . . . . 7

VSX Solution Categories and Subcategories . . . .8

Correctly Assigning Listings . . . .8

Solution Listing Ratings and Reviews . . . .8

Integrity in Ratings and Reviews . . . .8

Right to Petition a Rating or Review . . . .8

Featured VSX Partner Products . . . .9

Rotating Featured VSX Partner Products . . . .9

Most Recent and Most Popular Products . . . .9

Most Recent Products . . . .9

Most Popular Products . . . .9

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Terms

VMWARE DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY WARRANTIES COVERING THIS INFORMATION AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, AND SPECIAL DAMAGES, IN CONNECTION WITH THIS GUIDE OR THE PROGRAMS REFERENCED HEREIN.

THIS GUIDE HAS BEEN INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO AND IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THE VMWARE SOLUTION EXCHANGE (“VSX”) PARTNER PROGRAM AGREEMENT BETWEEN VMWARE AND YOU. THIS GUIDE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MODIFICATIONS WILL TAKE EFFECT UPON POSTING TO THE VSX. VMWARE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ADMINISTER AND MODIFY THE PROGRAMS REFERENCED HEREIN AT ITS DISCRETION. IF ANY UPDATE TO THIS GUIDE IS UNACCEPTABLE TO YOU, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY SHALL BE TO EXERCISE YOUR TERMINATION RIGHTS UNDER YOUR VMWARE VSX PARTNER PROGRAM AGREEMENT WITH VMWARE.

PROGRAM BENEFITS AND REQUIREMENTS ARE APPLIED BASED ON THE PARTNER TYPE AS DETERMINED BY VMWARE, AND THE REGION IN WHICH YOUR PRINCIPAL PLACE

OF BUSINESS IS LOCATED AS CAPTURED ON YOUR TAP APPLICATION FORM.

VMware Program Policies

Legal Entity and VMware Program Membership

Parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, or acquired companies of a program member, i.e., an organization that has executed the VMware VSX Partner Program Agreement, are not program members and do not qualify for program benefits unless each individually satisfies the program membership requirements. Company name, DBA (Doing Business As), AKA (Also Known As), or other naming convention identified by the program member can be used to establish distinct legal status.

Developed and Developing Country Deﬁnition

VMware recognizes that the virtualization and cloud

infrastructure market is in different stages of development in different countries. To reflect these differences, VMware may modify certain program requirements, such as program fees, for VSX Partners in “Developing” countries. The location of the legal entity that has individually satisfied the membership requirements of the program shall be used to determine whether a VSX Partner is in a Developed or Developing country. Determination of the classification of countries as Developed or Developing is at the discretion of VMware.

Partner Information

By joining the VSX, VSX Partners consent to receiving program-related information from VMware for the following purposes: a) Administering the program;

b) Providing information to the VSX Partner about the program, including events and training opportunities;

c) Inviting the VSX Partner to participate in surveys and research; and

d) Providing the VSX Partner with information and materials to support its efforts to deliver VMware solutions, including security information, technical information, and sales and marketing materials and resources.

Deﬁnitions

In this document, the following terms are used:

• VSX Partner refers to members who have signed the VSX Partner Program Agreement and can post listings in the VSX. VSX partners include:

• Commercial Partners (all TAP members)

• Developers (individuals and other entities who are not part of the TAP program)

• End User refers to a company or individual who accesses the VSX to look for information, products, and solutions.

Current Feature Descriptions and

Instructions

Current instructions for all tasks described in this document are provided in the VMware Solution Exchange User Manuals, available online by clicking the “Getting Started for Partners” or “Post a Virtual Appliance” banner on the VSX home page, http://

solutionexchange.vmware.com. This link also provides how-to videos that show how to create and edit a solution listing and perform other tasks in the VSX.

Program Guide Updates

As the VMware Solution Exchange Partner Program continues to evolve, this Program Guide will be updated from time to time with current information.

Help

To contact VMware with any questions about this program guide or about the VSX in general, send email to vsxalliance@vmware. com.

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The VMware Solution

Exchange (VSX)

The VSX is an end-to-end online marketplace for Commercial Partners and Developers to showcase their products and solutions, including virtual appliances, agents, and plug-ins for VMware products. The VSX enables End Users to identify, research, evaluate, and deploy enterprise software for the VMware virtualization platform.

The VSX replaces VMware’s Partner Product Catalog and Virtual Appliance Marketplace with a platform designed to build and retain End User interest. The VSX not only permits Developers and Commercial Partners to market their products and solutions, but also allows them to engage with End Users in one-to-one or one-to-many private or public collaborations involving VSX Partner solutions. Moreover, Commercial Partners are able to exploit additional features to capture leads and directly manage a sales pipeline with interested End Users.

Together, End Users and VSX Partners create a dynamic community of VSX Users, addressing relevant issues in the virtualization ecosystem and leveraging VSX community features to accelerate time to resolution.

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VSX Program Benefits

The VSX provides a number of beneﬁts to VSX Partners and creates a single resource with broad functionality for End Users.

Beneﬁts for Commercial Partners

The VSX provides Commercial Partners with a uniﬁed, self-service virtualization marketplace with an integrated view promoting joint products and solutions.

• Consolidated virtualization marketplace - Single location to showcase VMware virtualization partner solutions

• Featured and most popular listings • Wide End User reach with advertising

• Ability to create additional user accounts for employees to access the VSX and handle operations and lead management • Direct engagement with End Users

• Product Reviews

• Sales Pipeline and Lead Management tools • Ability to list your business partners • Solution related content uploads

• Lead collection & management system providing the ability to capture information and engage with End Users

• Download statistics captured

• Information requests integrated with CRM • End User engagement

• Lead report generation (HTML and export to CSV) • Self-service solutions management – Intuitive interface for

managing account and solution information. • Easy and quick product listing creation and updates

Beneﬁts for Developers

The VSX provides Developers with a self-service virtualization marketplace that has an integrated view of their virtual appliances and product reviews.

• Consolidated virtualization marketplace providing a single location to showcase VMware virtualization partner solutions • Featured and most popular listings

• Wide End User reach with advertising

• Self-service solutions management – Intuitive interface for managing account and solution information.

• Easy and quick creation of product listings and updates • Product reviews

Beneﬁts for End Users

End Users are able to perform the following functions in the VSX: • Search by company name.

• Search by product name or by solution type (VMware Product, Industry Type or Technology Type).

• Download whitepapers and marketing collateral. • Download free trial, evaluation or full versions of virtual

appliances, agents, and plug-ins. • Rate and review solution listings.

• Request information about a Commercial Partner’s company or solution (generate a lead).

• Engage in sales activities with Commercial Partners. • Create and edit account proﬁles.

VSX Program Requirements

In order to ensure an optimal experience for all VSX Users, VMware encourages its VSX Partners to remain committed to the program. VSX Partners that fail to undertake a certain minimum level of participation risk undermining an End User’s experience and may, therefore, be removed from the program.

Commercial Partners

To participate in the VSX Program, all Commercial Partners must perform all of the following actions:

• Be a member in good standing of the Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) Program at the Access level or higher. • Accept the VSX Partner Program Agreement.

• Update and verify the accuracy of company and product listing information, including all hyperlinks, a minimum of once every six months.

• Agree to treat the personal information of End Users, provided as part of the program’s lead generation process, in accordance with the posted privacy policy (http://www.vmware.com/

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help/privacy.html) and to comply with all applicable privacy laws and regulations (including, but not limited to, anti-spam legislation) in its treatment of such information.

• Comply with this Program Guide.

Developers

To participate in the VSX Program, all Developers must perform all of the following actions:

• Accept the VSX Partner Program Agreement.

• Update and verify the accuracy of product listing information, including all hyperlinks, a minimum of once every six months. • Comply with this Program Guide.

Links in the Listings

To ensure the adequacy and accuracy of the information available to VSX Users, VSX Partners must ensure that their solution listings contain one or more hyperlinks to websites where the user can directly perform one or more of the following actions:

• Download a full or evaluation version of the product or solution. • Purchase the product or solution.

• Read or request more information about purchasing or evaluating the product or solution.

These hyperlinks can point to a download or request page on the VSX Partner‘s website. However, hyperlinks that point to a general website will not be approved.

Fees

Commercial Partner participation in the VSX is subject to concurrent good standing in the Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) Program, which includes, among other terms and conditions, the timely payment of fees.

Developer participation in the VSX is offered free of charge in order to facilitate the posting of virtual appliances; Developers are therefore provided only a limited set of VSX features and activities.

Commercial Partner User

Roles

Among the beneﬁts granted to Corporate Partners is the ability to have more than one user under the Corporate Partner’s own VSX account. The total number of users available to a Corporate Partner increases with the level of participation in the TAP Program, with 5 users granted to Access and Elite Level partners and 10 users for Global Level partners.

Each Corporate Partner user must be assigned to one of four speciﬁc Roles in the VSX: Employee, Sales Representative, Sales Manager, or Administrator. As described below, a user’s Role determines the activities that user can perform in the VSX. Note: Developers have a limited set of features and functionality available in the VSX. Each Developer account can have only one user, and Developers do not have Roles. Developers also cannot engage in most of the activities available to Corporate Partner users, including the ability to utilize the Sales Pipeline (leads, opportunities, accounts, notiﬁcations, and reports).

The ﬁrst user on a Commercial Partner’s account is automatically assigned the role of Administrator. Administrators can add other users and assign Roles. The Administrator is also responsible for ensuring that product listings are updated at least once every six months.

Commercial Partners must maintain at least one user with a Role of Administrator. If the only user with an Administrator Role leaves the company, contact [email protected] and request that another user be made an Administrator.

The following activities are available to Corporate Partner users according to their Role:

ACTiViTy

EMP REP Mg

R

Ad

M

Participate in Polls and Forum discussions Y Y Y Y

Create leads Y Y Y Y

Edit leads Y Y Y

Create and edit accounts Y Y Y

Create and edit opportunities Y Y Y

Receive notiﬁcations of changes to

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p r o g r a m g u i D e / 7 t h e V m wa r e s o l u t i o n e x c h a n g e ( V s x ) ACTiViTy EMP REP Mg R Ad M

View summary of leads, accounts, and

opportunities Y Y Y

Assign opportunities and leads Y Y

View Sales Pipeline (Leads by Status,

Opportunities by Stage) Y Y

View Downloads reports Y Y

Receive notiﬁcations of new leads and

opportunities Y Y*

Invite to (add) and delete users from the

VSX Y

Change a user’s role Y

Create, edit, and delete product listings Y

Submit listings for publishing, and

unpublish listings Y

Upload resources Y

Update the company listing Y

* The Administrator only receives notifications when there is no user with the Sales Manager role.

Solution Listings

VMware is committed to making the VSX a dynamic, rich experience for its VSX Users, with content that is current and relevant to all users.

Maintaining the Accuracy of Solution

Listings

All VSX Partners who post listings must maintain current and accurate information so that the information is up-to-date, safe to use, not obsolete, and provides a good End User experience. Additionally, all VSX Partners who publish virtual appliances, agents, or plug-ins must ensure that the tools, operating system, and applications used are reliable, current, and safe to use. VSX Partners must review and update each of their solution listings, including all hyperlinks, at least once every six months.

This can be done through the VSX Partner Administration Center at https://solutionexchange.vmware.com/admin.

In cases where solution listings have been migrated to the VSX from either the VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace or the VMware Partner Product Catalog, VMware may have assigned the listing to one or more Categories. When this occurs, VMware sends an email to the VSX Partner’s primary contact with instructions for verifying or updating the listing, if necessary. VMware may review a VSX Partner’s most recent update to its product listings on the VSX. If a listing has not been updated within 12 months, VMware reserves the right, with or without notice, to de-activate the partner or remove that solution listing. That solution listing and all related information will no longer show up on the VSX.

The VMware Ready

Program

The VMware Ready™ Program is a comprehensive validation and co-branding program.

The VMware Ready designation applies to one specific version of a product or solution. Products and solutions that are certified as VMware Ready have passed VMware-specified integration or interoperability criteria and are ready for use with VMware products.

Commercial Partners who have passed the VMware Ready validation process gain access to exclusive marketing and co-branding resources, and can apply the VMware Ready logo to their products or solutions.

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VSX Solution Categories

and Subcategories

In order to ensure that products and solutions are appropriately listed and easy to ﬁnd, VMware has introduced a number of solution Categories and Subcategories that VSX Partners may select when posting their product or solution listings. These Categories and Subcategories also provide End Users with browse and search results relevant to their needs.

VSX Partners may select up to the following number of Categories for each product or solution listing:

• Technology type: 3

• VMware Product type: 5 (for Developers, one must be Virtual Appliances)

• Industry type (optional, only used when a solution has been architected for a speciﬁc virtual market)

Each Solution Category contains numerous Subcategories. VSX Partners can select as many Subcategories as necessary to accurately identify their solution. All available Categories and Subcategories are shown when adding a new solution listing or editing an existing listing.

Correctly Assigning Listings

VSX Partners are responsible for correctly designating their solution listings with the appropriate Categories. VMware reserves the right to add, delete, or change the available Categories, and at its discretion may reject or unpublish a solution listing that is assigned to an incorrect or inappropriate Category.

Listings are shown under the appropriate Solution Categories in the VSX. For example, a listing with a Technology Type of “Storage”, an Industry Type of “Healthcare”, and a Product Type

of “VMware vSphere Product Family” appears on the Category pages for Storage, Healthcare, and VMware vSphere Product Family.

Each Category is also mapped to the top-level tabs on the VSX, so that solution listings automatically appear in the appropriate top-level tab. In addition, a search in VSX for “VMware Ready Products” displays all VMware Ready listings.

Solution Listing Ratings and Reviews

The VSX has a rating and review system. All VSX users can provide text comments on any listing, and can also assign a

numeric rating to any listing using the following scale: • 1 star = poor

• 2 stars = ok • 3 stars = good • 4 stars = great • 5 stars = excellent

Integrity in Ratings and Reviews

In order to provide integrity in VSX ratings and reviews, the following rules apply:

• Each VSX Partner and End User can provide one rating and one review for each solution listing.

• VSX Partners can rate and review their own solution listing. • When a VSX Partner updates a listing (for example, with a new version), all existing ratings and reviews remain intact. Users who rated or reviewed the previous version of the listing cannot add a separate rating or review for the updated listing. • Deleting a listing deletes all of the ratings and reviews

associated with that listing.

VMware reserves the right to remove any reviews deemed inappropriate. Negative and irrelevant remarks, abusive and offensive language related to any reviewer, any review, or any solution listing are some examples of inappropriate content.

Right to Petition a Rating or Review

If a VSX Partner believes that another user’s rating or review of their product is inappropriate, they have the right to petition for its removal.

Send an email to [email protected] with the subject “Reporting Inappropriate VSX Review.” Include the following

information in the email: • Name of product

• Name of company that the listing is published under • Name of reviewer

• Text of the review or value of the rating (1-5 stars) in dispute • Reason that the review or rating is inappropriate

VMware reserves the right to either take no action or to delete the review, rating, or both. If VMware deletes the review or rating, there will be no email notiﬁcation when the review is deleted. The user who created the review or rating can create another review or rating for the listing.

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Featured VSX Partner

Products

VMware may feature VSX Partner products and solutions on the VSX home page, and may feature additional solutions on the landing page for each of the high-level tabs: Datacenter, Applications, Desktop Virtualization, Cloud, and Virtual Appliances.

In order to be eligible for feature on the VSX home page or landing page, a VSX Partner solution must:

• Be VMware Ready, HCL-certiﬁed, or validated with a relevant VMware program.

• Contain rich content, such as a joint whitepaper, solution brief, architecture design guide, video, or product shot.

• List relevant partners for the solution.

• List relevant support statements and compatibility information. • Be technologically relevant.

Rotating Featured VSX Partner Products

VMware rotates featured VSX Partner products and solutions on a regular basis. The selected products and solutions appear under a “Featured” bar at the top of the page, directly below the banner.

VMware communicates the selection criteria and proposed frequency of rotation to VSX Partners and may, at its sole discretion, with or without notice, change the selection criteria and frequency of rotation.

Most Recent and Most Popular Products

The solution listings on the VSX appear on a dynamically generated basis in the “Most Popular” and “Most Recent” categories on the home page, and on each of the category landing pages.

Most Recent Products

The Most Recent tab on the VSX appears below the featured product listings on the home page and on each of the landing pages for Datacenter, Applications, Desktop Virtualization, Virtual Appliances and Cloud. The products that appear in this section represent solutions that VMware has most recently approved for publication.

Most Popular Products

The Most Popular tab appears below the featured product listings on the VSX home page, and next to the Most Recent tab on each of the landing pages.

The Most Popular rankings are determined by score. Each product listing’s score is calculated by an algorithm that considers the following factors:

• Whether the product is VMware Ready • Number of ratings

• Average rating value • Number of leads generated

• Number of product information downloads • Number of times the Try button has been clicked

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glossary

Administrator Commercial Partner user role in the VSX. Administrators have full administrative privileges for that Partner’s

information on the VSX, including creating and maintaining product listings in the VSX, and assigning roles to other users.

Commercial Partner A commercial entity, such as a company or an organization, that develops and sells commercially available products and solutions, has signed the VSX Partner Program Agreement, and can post listings in the VSX.

Developer A non-commercial entity, such as an individual software community member, who develops products and solutions that are not for commercial sale or use, has signed the VSX Partner Program Agreement, and can post listings in the VSX.

Employee Commercial Partner user role in the VSX. Users with the Employee role can participate in Forum discussions and polls.

End User Any person who accesses the VSX to look for information, products, and solutions. End users have not signed the VSX Partner Program Agreement and cannot post listings. Forum An online question-and-answer area in the VSX in which

Commercial Partners can ask questions and receive answers about using the VSX.

IHV Individual Hardware Vendor ISV Individual Software Vendor

Partner A commercial or non-commercial entity that develops products and solutions. The VSX has two types of partners: Developers and Commercial Partners.

Sales Manager Commercial Partner user role in the VSX. Sales Managers can view reports and assign leads.

Sales Representative Commercial Partner user role in the VSX. Sales Reps can create and edit accounts and opportunities.

Solution Listing All of the information that a Partner chooses to display publically on the VSX about a particular product or solution.

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VAM Virtual Appliance Marketplace

vCO (VMware vCenter Orchestrator) plug-ins Software add-ons that automate use cases in a

specific domain or a specific application. Plug-ins allow bi-directional communication between the vCO platform and management systems typically found in data centers. They also contain pre-built actions and workflows that customers can modify and deploy to automate IT processes that pertain to their business practices.

VMware Legal Line “VMware and VMware Ready is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc., in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.”

VMware Ready Program VMware Ready™ designates VMware’s highest level of endorsement for products created by established Commercial Partners. VMware Technology Alliance Partner members develop their products to meet VMware standards and submit them for testing and review. Products that meet VMware Ready requirements will display the VMware Ready logo. To participate in a VMware Ready program, Commercial Partners must first be members of the Technology Alliance Partner Program.

VMware Sales Professional (VSP) The VMware Sales Professional Program is designed for any individual in a Sales capacity. This training and knowledge is applicable to partners, end-users, resellers, and consultants - anyone who wants to demonstrate his or her expertise in

virtual infrastructure and increase his or her potential for career advancement.

VMware Technical Sales Professional (VTSP) The VMware Technical Sales Professional Program is designed for technical individuals acting as Sales Engineers or other Pre-sales poles. It is also applicable to partners, end-users, resellers, and consultants who want to demonstrate their expertise in virtual infrastructure and increase their potential for career advancement.

VSX The VMware Solution Exchange marketplace at http://

solutionexchange.vmware.com/ .

VSX Partner Any commercial or non-commercial entity or individual who has signed the VSX Partner Program Agreement and can post listings in the VSX.

VSX Partner Administration Center The self-service Administration portal on the VSX that allows partners to create and manage their VSX solution listings.

VSX Program The features and benefits available on the VSX; also the prerequisites and procedures that a partner must follow to market and sell their solutions on the VSX.

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