TAP Program Requirements

To join the TAP Program, partners must agree to the TAP terms and conditions in the TAP program agreement and pay the annual membership fee for either the Elite or Access levels. There are additional requirements that must be met during the first year of membership. The following is a description of all TAP Program requirements:

*TAP Elite members must have at least one VMware Certified Professional (VCP) or VMware Technical Sales Professional (VTSP) on staff in order to renew their yearly TAP membership. The same person can be certified as a VCP or VTSP.

The primary contact (see below) for all Access and Elite TAP applicants must complete the VMware TAP Program agreement as part of the application process. The agreement, along with the TAP Program guidelines and the TAP Program Web pages, define the relationship between VMware and the TAP member. Applications are not processed until the primary contact signs the agreement.

The annual TAP Program fee for Access members is USD$750. The annual TAP Program fee for Elite members is USD$7,500. (TAP Access members may upgrade to TAP Elite membership upon payment of USD$6,750.)

Payments instructions are provided to members upon acceptance of application. Payment is not accepted prior to approval.

Each TAP member must designate one person to be the primary contact. The primary contact must be an authorized legal representative of the company and will have a Partner Central account automatically created when the application is approved. This person submits the TAP application, receives all VMware TAP communications, and also manages the company information, contacts and membership level.

Each TAP member must designate one person to be the technical contact. The technical contact will have a Partner Central account automatically created when the application is approved. This person must place the order for NFR licenses once the application is approved.

TAP Access and Elite members that are software vendors must post a public support statement that they fully support their application on the VMware virtual platform, as well as on a physical platform. This statement must be sent to VMware within the first year of membership, and must also be communicated to customers in the same way that the vendors customarily communicate support for other products.

For more information about submitting a support statement, see http://www.vmware.com/partners/programs/isv-center

TAP Access and Elite members must post at least one solution listing on the VMware Solution Exchange (VSX) during their first year of membership. Solution listings on the VSX should contain a clearly defined joint value proposition between the partner company and VMware. To publish a listing on the VSX, TAP partners should register, then log in and click "Administration" in the upper right hand corner. All listings must be approved by VMware prior to publication.

TAP Elite members must have at least one VMware Certified Professional (VCP) or VMware Technical Sales Professional (VTSP) on staff in order to renew their yearly TAP membership. The same person can be certified as a VCP or VTSP. VTSP training is self-paced, free, and available online through Partner University. VCP training is also available through Partner University (TAP Elite members automatically receive a 20% discount when they sign up) and must be repeated when a new version of vSphere is released.

TAP Elite members that are storage and OEM vendors must test their storage or OEM products with applicable VMware products during their first year of membership.

All TAP members are recommended to join TSANet to ensure timely customer support in a multi-vendor support situations. TAP members get TSANet/VMware TAP portal membership at a significant discount to the standard TSANet membership. TSANet membership is required for VMware Ready Programs.