SAN FRANCISCO – For the last few years, VMware has presented customers with three options for implementing what it calls the software-defined data centre in terms of hardware infrastructure: Build Your Own, use reference architectures, or buy converged infrastructure. All three have been routes for partners to build SDDCs for their customers, but with an announcement just before this week’s VMworld event here, VMware has opened up a new avenue within that second route.

Under the new VMware Validated Design program, VMware has opened up the opportunity for partners to have their own SDDC designs get a badge of approval from the vendor. The program now supports Certified Partner Architectures, which essentially takes partner-developed SDDC infrastructure stacks, compares the stack to VMware’s own reference architecture, and signs off on those that the software vendor believes meet the spec.

“It’s a defined shift in the way we work with our partners,” said Shawn Rosemarin, executive director of architecture and professional services at VMware Canada. “We take that VMware Validated Design reference architecture, match it up to what our partners are doing, and then stand behind it.”

Today, the company is making its first two reference architectures available to customers and partners, including a data centre foundation package, and a single-region IT automation cloud schematic. Both will be accompanied by “deployment walkthroughs” for customers building their own data centres or partners building them for customers.

While VMWare has previously offered reference architectures for every major product release, the VVDs will be different in that they will look at “the entire SDDC stack, ensuring product version compatibility, continued testing with product releases, upgrade testing and validation to ensure what your deploy today cna be upgraded to the next version,” the company writes, making it a much more “living” type of reference architectures.