Advantage+

Opportunity Registration Program

Frequently Asked Questions Global System Integrator, Solution Provider, System Builder, Technology Provider Partners
1. What is advantage+? Advantage+ is VMwares Opportunity Registration program which rewards partners for exhibiting desired sales behaviors, bringing in new opportunities, and value-selling by educating customers and prospects about VMware. 2. What are the benefits of participating in advantage+? Partners who are the trusted advisor, register eligible opportunities, and are approved by VMware Sales receive opportunity protection (advantage+ safeguard) and may be eligible for best-in-class margin enhancements for one of the following reasons on each approved registration: Advantage+ oppreg: Closing an approved opportunity for VMware Advantage+ influence: Approved opportunity registrations where the deal has been fulfilled by another VMware partner Program benefits may vary by Partner Type, Program Level and Partner location. See the advantage+ Program Benefits document for complete details. 3. What is safeguard? Safeguard is the opportunity protection component of advantage+. Opportunity protection enables the approved partner to become the partner of record, meaning no other partner will be approved for that opportunity. Opportunity protection is provided on all approved registrations and is available even when the approved VMware partner fulfills through a VMware OEM Partner. 4. Who is eligible to participate in advantage+? Authorized Corporate Reseller, Global System Integrator, OEM Corporate Reseller, Solution Provider, System Builder, and Technology Provider partners and are eligible to register opportunities through the advantage+ program. However, the program benefits for an approved registration vary by Partner Type, Program Level and Partner location. See the advantage+ Program Benefits document for complete details. 7. 6.

Global

Authorized Partners are those meeting all programmatic requirements designated in the VMware Program Guide or contract for their Partner Type. 5. What VMware products are eligible for advantage+? The program benefits apply to, and minimum deal size requirements are based on, VMware license sales only. All VMware software licenses, including promotional licenses, available for purchase on the VMware price list provided to authorized VMware Distributors are eligible for program benefits. Professional Services (PSO), SnS and any bundled solutions with SnS or PSO in them are not eligible to receive programmatic benefits. Is there a minimum opportunity size requirement to be eligible for advantage+? Yes, the opportunity must be $10,000 (USD) list license value to be eligible for advantage+. Minimum opportunity size is calculated by totaling the VMware USD list price, prior to any end-user discounts taken through the VPP program, of all eligible software licenses in the opportunity registered. Support and Professional Services do not apply. Who can I contact at VMware for any questions or concerns regarding the advantage+ program? Contact your VMware Partner Business Manager, submit a case through Partner Central, or email your questions to partnernetwork@vmware.com. Your questions through Partner Central and to the email alias will be answered in the order they are received.

Submitting Opportunities for Approval

8. How do I get started with the advantage+ program? Log into the VMware Partner Central web portal, go to the Incentives tab and click on advantage+. This will take you into the main advantage+ page through which partners can review program documentation and online trainings. From the Opportunity Registration tab partners can access the registration form and other key tools.

VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Avenue Palo Alto CA 94304 USA Tel 877-486-9273 Fax 650-427-5001 www.vmware.com
2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. This product is covered by one or more patents listed at http://www.vmware.com/download/patents.html. VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. If you are located in the United States, the VMware contracting entity for the service will be VMware, Inc., and if outside of the United States, the VMware contracting entity will be VMware International Limited. Rev. #1 6/28/2010

Advantage+ Frequently Asked Questions

To get started with advantage+ program, be sure to: a. b. Review all program documents posted on Partner Central. If you are eligible for back-end rebates, ask your CFO, CEO or Financial Controller to complete the Submit Payment Information section under Registration tools > advantage+. It is very important that partners complete this information as soon as possible and not wait until registering an opportunity, or it will slow down any backend rebate payout when the opportunity closes! c. Begin registering opportunities through the Opportunity Registration tab on Partner Central. 9. How do I register an opportunity? From the Opportunity Registration tab on Partner Central, select advantage+. Complete the form, click the Save button, then click Submit for Approval. The form will be submitted to the VMware local Sales team for review. Partners will be emailed the Opportunity Registration Tracking Number (ORTN) upon submitting the completed registration form. If the opportunity is approved by VMware Sales, the partner will receive an email including the Opportunity Registration Approval Number (ORAN). The ORAN will be required for claiming any advantage+ program incentives. 10. How far in advance should I register an opportunity? All registrations must be approved by VMware Sales prior to deal close to be eligible for the program benefits. VMware will only approve one partner per opportunity so we recommend that you register your deal as soon as possible. If your approved opportunity will not close within 120 days of the registration submit date, the opportunity can be re-registered and re-approved by VMware Sales, as long as it has moved forward in the sales process. 11. How do I attain approval from VMware Sales when I register an opportunity? Partners have to provide value-selling to be approved for opportunity registration. Value selling is defined by providing the following: Identifying a net-new opportunity with a customer or prospect that VMware is not aware of.

Educating the customers on the strategic and technical merits of a VMware product or solution. The education could include, but is not limited to, a customer presentation, demo, proof of concept, or pilot. Engaging in account planning with the VMware Sales force. 12. How long will my approved registration remain valid? An approved registration is valid and active for 120 days from the date the opportunity registration is submitted. 13. Can I re-register my opportunity if it expires? Partners can re-register an approved opportunity at any time prior to the 120-day period expiring. The partner must be able to demonstrate to VMware Sales that the opportunity has moved forward in the sales process. Forward sales motion may include the following: The final customer decision-maker has been identified and provided a VMware positioning presentation with deal terms. The customer decision-maker has provided conceptual approval of the project, but implementation specifics are still being determined. Customer is in the process of budget approval for the agreed upon project 14. What if VMware does not approve my opportunity? If VMware cannot approve an opportunity, we will send an email (to the partner representative who submitted the opportunity) stating the opportunity has been denied, along with reasons for denial. Common reasons for denial include, but are not limited to: The opportunity is already registered to another partner The minimum deal size was not met The opportunity is not eligible due to the use of discounting such as special bids, ELAs, etc.

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Advantage+ Frequently Asked Questions

About Safeguard for OEM Opportunities

15. What is safeguard for OEM Opportunities (safeguard)? Safeguard is an advantage+ program benefit for VMware partners who regularly fulfill through select VMware OEM partners. Safeguard awards partners with Opportunity Protection on opportunities anticipated to close through select VMware OEM partners. 16. Can I earn advantage+ financial rewards on an opportunity closed through an OEM partner? Partners are not eligible for advantage+ financial incentives for closing an opportunity through a VMware OEM partner. However, partners will receive opportunity protection, meaning no other VMware partner can claim advantage+ financial incentives throughout the 120 day registration period. Check with your preferred OEM to learn about margin incentives they may offer. 17. What are the benefits of opportunity protection? Often times, customer fulfillment decisions occur late in the sales cycle. Safeguard opportunity protection helps protect margin on OEM opportunities and limits the risk of being undersold by a second partner since no other partner can apply advantage+ financial rewards to the deal price. Safeguard gives customers the flexibility to chose who they buy from while protecting your presales investment. 18. How do I register an OEM opportunity? Partners can select their preferred fulfillment channel either a VMware Authorized Distributor or a select VMware OEM partner on the advantage+ opportunity registration form. 19. How does Joint Selling (sharing deal information) with my preferred OEM help facilitate deal closure? Safeguard helps coordinate sales efforts between VMware and your preferred OEM partner. If an OEM partner is selected on the advantage+ registration form, VMware will help facilitate engagement by sharing limited deal information with a partners preferred OEM to get deal support early in the sales cycle and to learn about any special margin incentives they may offer. VMware will share deal information with your preferred OEM, but will not share customer contact information. Note: Partners must give VMware permission before any information will be shared with the OEM selected on the

registration form. Partners can opt in to sharing information with OEMs by checking the Participate in Joint Selling section of the advantage+ registration form. 20. What if the preferred fulfillment channel I selected on the advantage+ registration form changes? Registering an OEM opportunity is risk free. VMware recognizes the preferred channel may change during the sales cycle based on customer preferences. If an OEM partner is selected at time of registration, and later the customer decides to purchase VMware branded products, the approved registering partner is eligible for advantage+ rewards per the usual policies and procedures. Upon registration approval partners will receive an ORAN number that is valid for closing opportunities through advantage+.

About advantage+ Benefits and Financial Incentives

21. Can multiple partners receive program benefits for the same opportunity? No. Only one partner will be approved per registered opportunity. 22. Who is eligible to receive advantage+ financial incentives? Corporate Reseller; Global System Integrator; and Premier and Enterprise level of the following: Solution Provider, System Builder, and Technology Provider partners are eligible to receive advantage+ financial incentives. However, eligibility for discounts and rebates, and percentages may vary by Partner Type, Program Level and Partner location. See the advantage+ Program Benefits document for complete details. 23. How does VMware calculate advantage+ financial incentives? Financial incentives through the advantage+ program are calculated as a percentage of the current, VMware USD list price of the license SKUs sold. All discounts through the program are provided to VMware authorized distributors. Distributors may, at their sole discretion, pass on any or all of the discount to the partner. It is the sole responsibility of the Partner to negotiate their price with the Distributor. 24. Am I eligible for advantage+ financial incentives if I fulfill the opportunity through a VMware OEM Partner? While it is possible to register and receive opportunity protection when value-selling is provided, no financial incentives are

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Advantage+ Frequently Asked Questions

provided by VMware if the approved Partner fulfills the opportunity through a VMware OEM Partner. Contact your preferred OEM for any incentives or promotion they may offer. 25. Can I combine advantage+ with other programs such as VPP? The VMware Purchasing Program (VPP) can be combined with advantage+, but program benefits are calculated based on the VPP list price when the VPP program is used by an end customer. When a sale uses specialized discounting programs such as the Enterprise Licensing Agreement (ELA), or VMware Special Pricing (SPF), it is not eligible for advantage+. Sales that use the U.S. Government price list rely on a distinct set of payment percentages and are not eligible for advantage+. 26. What if an opportunity is approved, and the partners Program status is no longer authorized, is the partner still entitled to the program benefits? Only partners in good standing, meeting all programmatic requirements designated in the VMware Program Guide or contract for their Partner Type are eligible to resell VMware product and receive advantage+ benefits.

About Influence
29. Who is eligible for influence? Global System Integrator; and Premier and Enterprise level of the following: Solution Provider, System Builder, and Technology Provider partners are eligible for influence 30. What is the purpose of the influence rebate? The purpose of this reward is to encourage our partners to act as trusted advisors to potential customers through education, demonstrations and collaboration with VMware Sales, regardless of who makes the final sale. Opportunities registered are not guaranteed to close with the approved registering partner, and customer choice always prevails over registration. However, if the sale does not close through the approved registered partner, the influence rebate qualifies the registered partner for a percentage of the list price of the licenses sold. See the advantage+ Program Benefits document for the minimum opportunity size required to be eligible for the Influence rebate. 31. Who, specifically, does VMware pay the influence rebate to? Back-end rebates are paid directly to eligible partners. It is important that VMware has your banking information or address details to send out the rebate payment. VMware is unable to pay out any rebates where there are missing banking information or address details. Payments issued to partners in Japan, Latin America and Russia are paid in the form of Credit Memo to the VMware Distributor selected by the partner, at the time of registration, on their approved Opportunity Registration form. Distributors may, at their sole discretion, pass on any or all of the credit to the reseller partner in the form of a rebate and/or credit for use against future purchases of VMware products. It is the sole responsibility of the partners to negotiate their price with the Distributor. A rebate report breaking out each opportunity payment is emailed to the primary business owner at the Partner organization we have on file on Partner Central. The report enables partners to pass through a portion of the rebate to the participating partner sales representative if they so choose.

Closing Opportunities and Claiming Rewards

27. What does my company need to do to when closing an approved opportunity? Partners must submit the ORAN (provided by VMware to the partner via email) in the PO to distribution. The ORAN can be added to the comments field of the PO. It is absolutely critical that the ORAN is included in the PO to avoid missing out any advantage+ discounts through distribution. 28. What if I forgot to submit the ORAN at the time of the Purchase Order? It is absolutely critical that partners include their ORAN on their Purchase Order (PO) to distribution to avoid losing any advantage+ discounts, if eligible, and to notify VMware that your opportunities have closed. Partners cannot claim the up-front discount as a back-end rebate directly from VMware.

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Advantage+ Frequently Asked Questions

32. What is the method of payment for influence rebates? Partners who are eligible to receive back-end rebates have the option to choose between wire transfer and bank draft or check depending on their country of location. There is a $25 processing fee for wire transfers and no charge for a bank draft or check. The business owner or financial officer will be required to submit their banking information or address details for the rebate check depending on the method of payment chosen. Eligibility to rebate for an approved registration will expire 90 days from the date the opportunity was closed due to any pending, incomplete or inaccurate remittance information from the partner. Payments issued to partners in Japan, Latin America and Russia will be paid in the form of Credit Memo to the VMware Distributor selected by the partner, at the time of registration, on their approved Opportunity Registration form. Distributors may, at their sole discretion, pass on any or all of the credit to the reseller partner in the form of a rebate and/or credit for use against future purchases of VMware products. It is the sole responsibility of the partners to negotiate their price with the Distributor. 33. What is the time frame for when partners will be paid the rebate on an opportunity, if eligible? The payment will be issued within 60 days from the date the partner submits the Influence claim through Partner Central. This is subject to VMware having the correct remittance information for the partner. There will be delays if VMware is missing or has inaccurate payment information from the partner. 34. Can multiple partners share an influence rebate? No. Only one partner will be approved for each opportunity registered through the advantage+ program and only eligible, approved registering partners can claim the influence rebate or any other benefits offered through the advantage+ program. 35. Do I have to do anything special to qualify for influence? No. Eligible partners qualify for influence on all approved opportunity registrations. Eligible partners can claim an influence rebate on approved registrations where another partner has closed the deal. Partners must submit their request for the influence rebate by going into Partner Central our partner web portal and submitting

the influence claim. You will need your Approval Number (ORAN) and the VMware Order number that is provided to the customer when VMware emails the customer with their license keys. 36. What is a VMware Order number? The VMware Order number is provided from VMware directly to the customer in the VMware license activation email. The Order number is simply a VMware tracking number and is required for partner payment. 37. Why do I have to submit the VMware order number to claim an influence reward? The only way VMware will know to pay a partner (and how much to pay) is if the partner submits the VMware Order number. VMware uses the Order number to confirm delivery of the VMware license to the customer, and to confirm the order amount to pay our partners properly. 38. What if the customer wont provide me the order number because I didnt fulfill the product? VMware requires the ORAN and the VMware order number for all influence claims. In the event that the customer is reluctant to give out the VMware order number, get in touch with your VMware Partner Business Manager who may be able to contact the customer (on your behalf) to reassure the customer that it is okay to give out the VMware order number. 39. Is there a time limit for claiming an influence rebate after a sale goes through? Yes. If you are the approved partner for an opportunity that is fulfilled by another vendor, and you are eligible for the influence rebate, you have up to 60 days from the date the deal was closed to claim the rebate. 40. Am I still eligible for the influence reward if the customer purchases a bundled product from an OEM such as Dell, HP or IBM instead of a stand-alone product from VMware? Yes. The approved partner is still eligible to receive the influence rebate for an approved opportunity if the customer purchases an IBM-, HP-, or Dell-bundled solution. However, approved partners are not eligible to receive the influence rebate if they are the reseller who sells the bundle to the customer (no double-dipping).

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