VMware Unveils New Programs, Solution Competencies, Rewards Designed to Help Partners Deliver Solutions That Motivate Customers to Transform IT for the Cloud

Training, Enablement Momentum Underscores VMware Commitment to Help Partners Become Trusted Advisers to their Customers Beyond Core Virtualization

LAS VEGAS, Nev., Feb. 14, 2012 –Today at VMware Partner Exchange 2012, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, unveiled new solution competencies, programs and rewards designed to help partners guide their customers into the Cloud Era. More than 4,000 attendees are expected – growth of more than 20 percent compared to 2011 – as well as more than 90 sponsors and exhibitors including Arrow ECS, Avnet, Carahsoft, Cisco, Dell, EMC, HP, IBM, Ingram Micro, Kapersky Lab, Mozy, NetApp, Quest Software, PeakColo, Symantec, Tech Data Corp., Trend Micro, Veeam Software and Wyse Technology. With broad industry participation, VMware Partner Exchange continues to attract IT experts from around the world to hear about the latest virtualization and cloud technology trends and learn hands-on how they can become the trusted advisers that will move customers to the next phase of IT as a Service.

"Our partner community is the strategic channel for educating and enabling customers from small and medium businesses to the enterprise on the immediate opportunity of the cloud,” said Scott Aronson, senior vice president, Global Channels and Alliances, VMware. “VMware Partner Exchange offers partners the chance to learn how to help customers progress on their cloud journey, with extensive content and engagements that are designed to expand partners’ expertise in a pragmatic way yet are grounded in VMware’s forward-looking technology vision. With our continued investments in partner enablement programs for the VMware Partner Network and our technology leadership, VMware is ideally suited to be the preferred business partner to help grow and transform businesses for the cloud."

New Programs, Solution Competencies, Rewards Drive Continued Partner Success, Differentiation and Leadership and Innovation

VMware unveiled new programs, solution competencies and rewards at VMware Partner Exchange 2012 designed to help partners prepare for the arrival of the Cloud Era while simplifying the experience of doing business with VMware:

New Solution Provider Program Enhancements and Solution Competencies: Research shows partners with at least one solution competency on average sell 3.5x more than those without a competency. Solution competencies are also key to unlocking additional rewards. Premier- and Enterprise-level partners in the VMware Partner Network are now asked to achieve additional solution competencies in order to strengthen their strategic value to their customers, drive partner success, and increase their competitive differentiation for delivering complete cloud computing solutions.

In addition, VMware is introducing or making available these three solution competencies:

Virtualization of Business-Critical Applications (VBCA): Available today, this solution competency is designed to enable partners to provide guidance and solutions for virtualizing business-critical applications such as Exchange, SQL, Oracle and SAP.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Available today, this new competency is designed to accelerate partner delivery of and extend their expertise in VMware hybrid cloud solutions and services in a growing market.
Management: Available later in Q1 2012, this solution competency is designed to enable and reward partners that help customers simplify and automate the operations of virtual and cloud environments with the VMware vCenter™ Operations Management Suite.

Incentive Rewards Program Optimization: Enhancements to VMware’s advantage+ and Solution Rewards incentive programs can enable partners to double their incentives in 2012. Partners that register deals through advantage+ for net-new VMware customers will now be eligible for a new backend bonus rebate. Through Solution Rewards, partners with solution competencies will now be eligible for a first-time sale bonus rebate when they sell a new solution outside the Infrastructure Virtualization solution competency to an existing customer for the first time.

Consulting and Integration Partner Program (CIPP): A new program for partners whose predominant business model is consulting, CIPP provides practice-based technical enablement and a collaborative approach to field engagement. Program benefits include optimized technical and marketing enablement, support for industry- and technology-specific solutions, joint business planning, and project pipeline management.

Enhanced Programs for Small and Medium Businesses: Announcing an increased investment in small and medium business (SMB) partner programs, VMware unveiled new tools and incentives designed to help speed the delivery of solutions for SMBs. These enhanced programs provide new demand creation tools, customer offers, on-demand access to free training videos, and increased incentives for SMB-related sales – all designed to enhance partner expertise in and delivery of SMB solutions.

Partner Recognition for OEM Sales: VMware is partnering with Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, HP and IBM to enable partners to apply their OEM-branded sales of VMware products as credits toward the VMware partner programs in which they participate. These credits can help partners progress to higher levels or achieve higher attainments within these programs, which can result in greater benefits and rewards.

VMware^® Solution Exchange: Announced last month, this is a new online virtualization and cloud solutions marketplace where customers, partners and developers can converge to help simplify the process of evaluating and selecting business solutions through a centralized, self-service portal. VMware Solution Exchange features more than 2,000 technology partners that have built 3,500+ applications and 6,000+ infrastructure products that are compatible with VMware's portfolio of products – offering partners a broad range of validated joint solutions for the cloud and enabling both customer-to-partner and partner-to-partner collaboration.

Partner Rewards Incentive Management Platform: A new tool that provides partners easy-to-use dashboards and reports for tracking and managing their financial rewards achieved through the new advantage+ and Solution Rewards incentive program enhancements.

VMware Partner University Trains Record Number of Partners

Underscoring VMware’s investments in and commitment to providing programs that help partners and their customers progress on the cloud journey, VMware Partner University demonstrated another record year in 2011 for training and enabling partners to deliver VMware cloud solutions:

VMware Partner University: More than 215,000 individuals trained in 2011
Solution Competencies: More than 21,000 individuals took courses toward at least one solution competency:
- Infrastructure Virtualization: 28 percent growth (11,000+ individuals trained)
- Business Continuity: 48 percent growth (3,900+ individuals trained)
- Desktop Virtualization: 41 percent growth (6,200+ individuals trained)
Sales Accreditations: More than 23,000 individuals earned VMware Sales Professional (VSP) accreditations globally, representing 58 percent growth; more than 18,000 individuals earned VMware Technical Sales Professional (VTSP) accreditations globally, representing 59 percent growth
- VSP5, VTSP5 courses launched in Q3 2011 to train partners on the robust new features of the VMware vSphere^® 5 platform
Technical Certifications:
- More than 5,600 individuals earned VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certifications globally, representing 39 percent growth
  - VCP5 launched in Q3 2011 to certify partners on the robust new features of the VMware vSphere 5 platform
- More than 450 individuals achieved the VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) certificate globally, demonstrating demand for this advanced designation
vmLIVE: More than 55,000 hours of training were delivered, with training now localized in EMEA and APJ regions
SolutionTrack and TechExpress: More than 40,000 hours of training were delivered, with four new course offerings focused on cloud infrastructure and desktop virtualization

Additional Resources

About VMware Partner Exchange 2012

VMware Partner Exchange 2012 is the leading global event for virtualization and cloud partners, bringing thousands of members from the VMware partner ecosystem together to discuss the future of the industry. With more than 170 breakout sessions and an extensive exhibitor pavilion, partners gain valuable insight on how to leverage new technologies to deliver next generation enterprise hybrid cloud solutions to customers. To learn more about VMware Partner Exchange visit http://www.vmwarepartnerexchange.com/.

About VMware

VMware is the leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and based on their specific needs. With 2011 revenues of $3.77 billion, VMware has more than 350,000 customers and 50,000 partners. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.

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VMware, VMware vCenter and VMware vSphere are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. The use of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding the expected growth rate in the IaaS market and certain planned partner programs and initiatives and their potential benefits. These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to (i) changes to priorities and levels of government spending; (ii) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (iii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iv) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures, industry consolidation, entry of new competitors into the virtualization and cloud computing markets, and new product and marketing initiatives by our competitors; (v) our customers’ ability to develop, and to transition to, new products and computing strategies such as cloud computing and desktop virtualization; (vi) the uncertainty of customer acceptance of emerging technology; (vii) rapid technological and market changes in virtualization software and platforms for cloud and desktop computing; (viii) changes to product development timelines; (ix) VMware’s ability to protect its proprietary technology; and (x) VMware’s ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees.. These forward looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value and effect as well as other risks detailed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K that we may file from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. VMware assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.