VMware Master Services Competencies

Our small team takes on large things. As a young company we reached the top within our first year and are now among the leading VMware partners in Switzerland. How did we get there? By concentrating on the VMware solution competencies and the VMware master services competencies, and proving that size does not matter when it comes to delivering good work.

What are VMware solution competencies and master services competencies?

VMware partners earn these certifications to demonstrate their understanding of, ability to implement, and ability to sell the products in the VMware portfolio. The 14 solution competencies take less effort; the 9 master services competencies take considerably more commitment and expertise.

Solution competency

The first step for a partner building competence in VMware solutions is acquiring knowledge in sales and in engineering. Solution competencies are achieved at the organisational level and involve sales training as well as technical training for pre-sales and post-sales.

Master services competency

Master services competencies require advanced technical certifications and evidence of high-quality service capability and expertise, confirmed by customers as references. Unlike the solution competencies, partners have to demonstrate their experience and competence in delivering services by supplying three customer references for recently completed projects, and by meeting the highest training requirements.

Our team is, and stays, enthusiastic about technology.

Why do we take on the effort of earning these competencies?

We are enthusiastic about technology and about VMware. There are several reasons why we pursue every solution and master services competency we can. For one, they raise our partner level with VMware, which brings plenty with it. For another, they are required if we want to work for the VMware Professional Services Organization (PSO). Any VMware partner’s current status can be looked up at any time in the VMware Partner Locator.

The effort has already paid off. In 18 months we reached the highest partner level and won the tender for preferred PSO partner in Switzerland.

Which master services competencies have we earned?

Seven of the eight currently available:

• Cloud Management and Automation
• Cloud Native
• Data Center Virtualization
• Digital Workspace
• Network Virtualization
• VMware Cloud Foundation
• VMware Cloud on AWS

One MSC is reserved for cloud providers and therefore not open to us (Cloud Verified). We are still working on one more.

Cloud Management and Automation

Expertise in VMware cloud management and automation solutions and in delivering the services around them.
Earning this competency confirms a deep understanding of the principles and methods of cloud management design and of the best practices that make a scalable and reliable platform.

How we got there

This one was a real challenge. When VMware rebuilt the automation software from scratch for the 8.0 release, so many functions were missing that we saw ourselves forced to concentrate on a different automation solution. We stuck with it anyway and earned the master services competency through our work with VMware’s own automation solution.

Requirements met

• 2 VCAP-CMA certifications
• 5 VCP-CMA certifications
• 3 VMware Aria Automation customer references

Cloud Native

Expertise in setting up, running and managing VMware modern application solutions. Earning this competency confirms a deep understanding of the core concepts of Kubernetes administration, along with knowledge of networking, security and application lifecycle management, so that applications can be delivered continuously on Kubernetes-based platforms.

How we got there

Earning this one was demanding but important, particularly because containerised apps are where things are now. VMware expects a high level of commitment from a partner in the cloud native area. We specialised in VMware Tanzu (Kubernetes) as a strategic service and trained our people every six months, earning certifications and renewing them. That investment puts us among the leading VMware container partners (VMware Tanzu and Kubernetes) in Switzerland and the DACH region, with references across every industry.

Requirements met

• 3 Certified Kubernetes Administrator certifications
• 3 VMware Certified Master Specialist – vSphere with Tanzu
• 1 VMware Tanzu project customer reference

Data Center Virtualization

Expertise in VMware vSphere® environments and in delivering solutions and services in real environments. Earning this competency confirms a deep understanding of the principles and methods of data centre virtualisation and of the best practices that make a scalable and reliable virtualisation platform.

How we got there

Our team earned this one without much trouble, because the virtual data centre is the foundation nearly every VMware product is built on. We already held the necessary certifications when the company was founded and could show references quickly. We regard a deep understanding of this competency as the cornerstone of our success.

Requirements met

• 2 VMware Certified Master Specialist – HCI
• 1 VMware Certified Master Specialist – vSphere with Tanzu
• 2 VCAP-DCV certifications
• 5 VCP-DCV certifications
• 1 data center virtualization customer reference
• 1 vSAN customer reference

Digital Workspace

Expertise in VMware Workspace ONE and VMware Horizon environments and in delivering the services around them. Earning this competency confirms deep technical understanding and the ability to plan, design and deliver professional service projects around desktop virtualisation, mobile device management, unified endpoint management, app identification and access management.

How we got there

We have several desktop virtualisation experts on the team. Thanks to their knowledge and a good number of customer projects, we earned this one shortly after founding the company too. It is another cornerstone of our success.

Requirements met

• 1 VMware Certified Master Specialist – Digital Workspace
• 1 VCAP-DTM certification
• 2 VCP-DTM certifications
• 3 VCP-DW certifications
• 3 VMware Digital Workspace customer references

Network Virtualization

Expertise in VMware NSX environments and in delivering services around them. NSX offers a distinctive network model that forms the foundation of the software-defined data centre (SDDC). Earning this competency confirms the ability to deliver and tune NSX environments, along with the knowledge and skills to apply best practices for delivering scalable and reliable virtualised networks.

How we got there

At soulTec the engineers stay curious and want to know more about current technology, so our small team earned the necessary certifications without difficulty. Thanks to several successful projects with the excellent NSX technology, the customer references were no obstacle either.

Requirements met

• 2 VCAP-NV certifications
• 5 VCP-NV certifications
• 3 VMware NSX customer references

VMware Cloud Foundation

Expertise in delivering hybrid cloud solutions built on VMware Cloud Foundation. Earning this competency confirms the ability to deliver integrated cloud solutions that provide on-demand services, letting customers run applications in a VMware Cloud Infrastructure environment in their own data centre.

How we got there

VMware Cloud Foundation brings a lot of the VMware portfolio together. Thanks to the knowledge we already had, the necessary certifications came quickly. Working well with our partners supported us when the soulTec project started in the Swiss market, which let us build a good reputation quickly and, through the references that followed, earn the MSC.

Requirements met

• 2 VMware Certified Master Specialist – VCF
• 2 VMware Certified Master Specialist – HCI
• 2 VCAP-DCV certifications
• 5 VCP-DCV certifications
• 2 VCAP-NV certifications
• 5 VCP-NV certifications
• 1 VMware Cloud Foundation customer reference

VMware Cloud on AWS

Expertise in delivering hybrid cloud solutions built on VMware Cloud on AWS. Earning this competency confirms the ability to deliver integrated cloud solutions that provide on-demand services, letting customers run applications in a VMware Cloud Infrastructure environment with access to a broad range of AWS services.

How we got there

VMware Cloud on AWS is a subject our engineers find interesting. Our first contact with it came when connecting the internal lab. On that knowledge we passed the necessary exams and then delivered successful customer projects. The MSC was the reward at the end of that effort.

Requirements met

• 3 VMware Certified Master Specialist – VMware Cloud on AWS
• 6 VCP-NV certifications
• 1 VMware Cloud on AWS customer reference

Software-Defined Wide Area Network

This one we do not have yet. We are training the team and delivering the projects that will provide the references.

Cloud Verified

This one we do not have because it is reserved for cloud providers.

We are staying on it.