FD Insights Issue 4 | Page 23

VMware is committed to the channel as well. “VMware is not selling direct,” says Bart. “We see the channel as playing a big part in our expansion into hybrid cloud, with resellers also having a critical part to play in this vision.” He also touched on VMware’s Cloud Credits Purchasing Programme, which enables customers to buy public/hybrid cloud services in one transaction and redeem these with approved vCloud Service Providers over time, giving customers budget flexibility and control. “Think of it as prepaid cloud,” mentions Bart. As I sat with Bart, it seemed to me as though the hybrid cloud expansion boiled down to VMware attempting to manage customers’ transitions from private to public cloud as smoothly as possible, and in an intelligent, simple and user-friendly way for new and existing customers. South African businesses and markets need to start preparing for hybrid cloud – it’s on the way, and it’s being spearheaded by VMware.