VMware this week added a VMware Cloud Native Master Services Competency (MSC) as part of an effort to strengthen the base of partners that have VMware Tanzu expertise specific to Kubernetes.
The VMware Tanzu cloud platform can manage a wide range of cloud platforms that can run on-premises or in the cloud. VMware with this competency is specifically focusing on Kubernetes. The VMware Tanzu platform can manage any distribution of Kubernetes running on-premises or in the cloud.
The competency covers core offerings of the VMware Tanzu portfolio such as VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid and VMware Tanzu Mission Control along with best practices for DevOps and the training site reliability engineers (SREs).
Requirements for individuals and requirements for the partner organizations to achieve the Cloud Native MSC include having three employees must complete the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Certification and the VMware Cloud Native Master Specialist Badge, and the submission of one customer reference. Thus far, VMware says nine partners have already attained an MSC.
Demand for Kubernetes and container expertise has increased substantially among enterprise customers, says Teri Bruns, vice president for Tanzu Ecosystem Partners at VMware.
“Almost every customer of any size is now working with containers,” says Bruns.
A recent survey published by Dimensional Research finds among enterprises running Kubernetes well over half (59%) are already doing so in production.
However, while most customers are working with containers it usually takes a few months for them to reach a level of critical mass that requires a container orchestration engine such as Kubernetes. As more IT organizations attain that level of critical mass, VMware is looking for partners that want to build a cloud-native practice around a cloud service that minimizes the capital costs a partner needs to absorb.
The challenge VMware faces is that many of the IT professionals making decisions about cloud-native platforms are not the IT administrators that standardized on VMware. With new stakeholders such as developers exercising more influence, Bruni says VMware is looking for channel partners to help extend its reach and influence.
The fact that the MSC certification is the first one that VMware has made available since simplifying its channel program last March should be viewed as an indication of how committed VMware is to the VMware Tanzu platform, adds Bruns.
Of course, Kubernetes is one of the most complicated emerging IT platforms to find its way into enterprise in recent memory. The level of commitment required to build a practice around it is not inconsequential. As such, partners will need to commit significant resources to master a wide range of cloud-native technologies that are defining the next era of IT.
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