VMware has announced the first Cloud Native Master Services Competency (MSC) related to the VMware Tanzu portfolio, the Palo Alto, California-based software company said in a statement.
Tanzu is VMware’s enterprise-grade, consistent Kubernetes runtime environment that allows users to centralize lifecycle and policy management for all Kubernetes clusters, regardless of whether they are on-premises, in public clouds or edge, according to VMware.
The new Cloud Native MSC recognizes partners specializing in Kubernetes operations, site reliability engineering and DevOps, and the company said it will provide a foundational step to enable current and future partners to architect a Kubernetes-based platform supported by complementary technologies from the cloud native ecosystem for continuous application delivery.
“This MSC is ideal for partners who have existing infrastructure expertise and want to expand their business to deliver professional services across DevOps, and drive the consumption of new modern apps via the Tanzu portfolio,” said Teri Bruns, vice president, Tanzu Ecosystem Partners, VMware.
Master Services Competencies (MSCs) are VMware partner designations designed to recognize services-capable partners with delivery expertise and experience within a VMware solution area. These competencies now allow partners to differentiate in six key solution areas: Cloud Management and Automation, Cloud Native, Data Center Virtualization, Digital Workspace, Network Virtualization and VMware Cloud on AWS. The VMware Cloud Native MSC is the first Master Services Competency to launch following VMware’s announcement of the new, streamlined Partner Connect program in March 2020, according to the company.
Growth of Cloud Native Principles Drives Kubernetes Adoption
Cloud Native principles --including the use of containers, microservices and APIs -- are now widespread, and organizations must embrace new and repeatable methods and processes for building new applications as well as for refactoring and re-platforming existing apps. Importantly, underlying infrastructure must also rapidly evolve to support the needs of modern applications. A Dimensional Research study, The State of Kubernetes 2020, found that, among enterprises running Kubernetes, 59% are already doing so in production.
Earlier this year, VMware announced the availability of vSphere 7 with Kubernetes, evolving the company’s flagship platform to support virtual machines and containers. As customer demand for Kubernetes-based solutions increases, the new skills attained by achieving the Cloud Native MSC will allow partners to help hundreds of thousands of vSphere customers operate a modern applications platform, VMware said in the statement.
This new MSC will allow partners that embrace these principles to better guide their customers and accelerate application modernization initiatives, according to Bruns.
“VMware’s new Cloud Native MSC is designed to help partners expand their services capabilities and opportunities and recognize them for their Kubernetes and platform operations expertise,” Bruns said. “This competency will help VMware partners embrace the industry shift to Kubernetes and modern applications and enable partners to build new revenue streams as container usage skyrockets.”
Cloud Native MSC Requirements
The Cloud Native MSC builds upon foundational training and certifications introduced in early 2019 and provides partners with the capabilities to offer and deliver VMware Tanzu platform services to their customers, according to VMware. The competency validates a partner’s understanding of Kubernetes concepts and equips them to help enterprises run and manage modern, cloud-native applications. The competency covers core offerings of the VMware Tanzu portfolio, including VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid and VMware Tanzu Mission Control, though principles also are relevant to the wider cloud native ecosystem, according to the company.
To achieve the Cloud Native MSC, there are individual and partner organization requirements, VMware said. Three individuals must complete the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) Certification and the VMware Cloud Native Master Specialist Badge, and the partner organization must submit one customer reference which validates that it has successfully completed an installation of the appropriate product, according to the company. Thus far, nine partners have achieved Cloud Native MSC certification, VMware said.
On a related note, VMware recently hired Roger Egan as VP of Americas for VMware Tanzu. Egan is a Red Hat, Docker and IBM veteran with plenty of container and partner experience. He also has security know-how from his recent time at Siemplify, a SOAR security software provider.
