Terms and Conditions

These Terms & Conditions govern the VMware Thinking Big for Your Business Competition (the "Competition") and the use of the associated website, www.thinkingbigcompetition.com (the “Competition Website”).
In these rules, "we", "our", and "us" refer to VMware International Limited, Parnell House, Barrack Square, Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland (“VMware”). "You" and "Yourself" refers to an eligible entrant.

COMPETITION PERIOD

The VMware Competition commences at 9:00 am CET on 21st May 2012

The closing date for entries shall be 11:59 pm CET on 31st July 2012.

The winner shall be selected, notified and announced in accordance with the process and timeline outlined below.

THE PRIZE

There shall be one winner of the Competition (the "Winner"). Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Winner shall be entitled to receive a prize. The prize (the “Prize”) shall consist of a selection of VMware products and services of the Winner’s choice, up to a combined value of USD 20,000 (based upon VMware’s suggested retail pricelist) for the purpose of implementing their Proposal (defined below).

ELIGIBILITY

All of the following eligibility criteria shall apply:

• You must be at least 18 years of age at the date of entry.
• Your organization must be composed of fewer than 1,000 employees at the date of entry
• Your organization must be registered in one or more of the following territories: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Dubai, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey or United Kingdom.
• The following categories of persons are not eligible to participate in the Competition:
• Governmental bodies or any employees thereof./li>
• Citizens or residents of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria.
• Employees, officers, and directors of VMware, its parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee, officer and director.

HOW TO ENTER

• Visit the Competition Website and complete the registration form.
• Entrants must submit a proposal detailing how they would use the Prize, and the transformative benefits this would be expected to produce for their business (the “Proposal”).
• Proposals must be no more than 200 words in length, and must be submitted via the Competition Website by 11:59 pm CET on 31st July 2012.
• In order to submit an entry, You must click on the “Submit now” button on the Competition Website.
• Proposals must be the original work of the entrant.
• All entry materials must be submitted in one of the following languages: Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Swedish or Turkish.
• There is a limit of two (2) entries to the Competition per organization. VMware reserves the right to reject any entries exceeding such limit.
• In addition to the above requirements, entries must comply with the rules posted in the “Competition Rules” section of the Competition Website.

ASSESSMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS

• Entries will be assessed by a judging panel assembled by VMware.
• Each Proposal will be assessed under the following criteria:
• The strength of the business case submitted for implementing VMware’s technology, explaining how the applicant will use the investment to transform their business, the difference it could make, and the benefits they expect to achieve;
• Creativity and innovative use of VMware technology, outlining which VMware products the applicant would like to use and why; and
• Evidence of how the applicant will measure the transformation of their business if they win the Prize.
• Following their review of all eligible entries, the judging panel will select and notify a shortlist of up to ten (10) candidates. The shortlisted candidates may be asked to submit or present additional information to the panel.
• One Winner will subsequently be chosen from among the shortlisted candidates.
• The decisions of the judges are final and binding.

NOTIFICATION OF WINNER

• The Winner shall be notified by VMware in writing by 9th September 2012, subject to confirmation that it is willing to be filmed (for public release) by VMware about its winning entry.
• The identity of the Winner and the shortlisted companies will be publicly announced at VMworld Europe in October 2012, and will also be published on the Competition Website reasonably promptly thereafter.

ENTRY CONDITIONS

• NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. Void where prohibited by applicable laws or by the policies of the entrant’s organization. All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply.
• Except to the extent prohibited by law, by submitting an entry, You:
• accept and agree to abide by the Terms & Conditions set forth herein;
• represent and warrant that You have the right to submit all of the information contained in Your entry, and that such information is true, current and complete;
• understand and acknowledge that Your entry may be viewed by visitors to the Competition Website, and after the Competition is over may be posted on a website selected by us for viewing by visitors to that website. Accordingly, we recommended that you do not include any confidential information in Your entry. VMware shall not be held responsible for any unauthorized use of your entry by visitors to the Competition Website;
• authorize VMware to use your proper name and state, country, or region of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with the Competition, without payment or compensation to You;
• grant us an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to: (i) use, review, assess, test, and otherwise analyze Your entry and all its content in connection with the Competition; and (ii) feature Your entry and all its content in connection with the marketing, sale, or promotion of the Competition (including but not limited to internal and external presentations, tradeshows, and screen shots of the Competition entry process in press releases) in any media, in accordance with the VMware privacy policy located at www.vmware.com/help/privacy.html. Entrants shall have the right of access to, modification and withdrawal of their personal data;
• agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights You have granted above;
• acknowledge that, notwithstanding the foregoing, we are not obligated to use Your entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning entry.
• understand and acknowledge that VMware may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to Your submission, and You waive any claims You may have resulting from any similarities to Your entry;
• understand and acknowledge that we cannot control the incoming information You will disclose to our representatives in the course of entering, or what our representatives will remember about your entry. You also understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to Your entry. You agree that use of information in our representatives’ unaided memories in the development or deployment of our products or services does not create legal liability for us including, without limitation, under copyright or trade secret law;
• understand and acknowledge that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of Your entry, other than what is described in these Terms & Conditions;
• agree to release and hold harmless VMware and its subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, authorized channel partners, advertising/promotion agencies, and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Competition or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize;
• agree to indemnify VMware, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies against all liability, fees , expenses and reasonable legal fees arising out of or in connection with any violation of these Terms & Conditions by You;
• Entries that, for any reason, are lost, late, misdirected, incorrect, garbled, or deemed incomplete, will not be eligible.
• VMware reserves the right to disqualify or reject any entry that we, in our sole and absolute discretion, determine does not meet these Terms & Conditions.

PRIZE CONDITIONS

• There is no cash alternative to the Prize, and the Prize is non-refundable. If the designated Prize should become unavailable for any reason, VMware reserves the right to substitute it with another one of equal or greater value.
• Winning the Prize is contingent upon satisfactory compliance with all Terms & Conditions set forth herein.
• The Winner may not transfer, or designate another party to receive, the Prize. If You are unable or unwilling to accept the Prize, we may award it to the next best entrant, as determined by the judging panel.
• Except where otherwise required by mandatory law, all taxes and fees associated with receipt and/or use of the Prize shall be the responsibility of the Winner.
• VMware shall be entitled in its sole discretion to engage one or more third parties, including its authorized channel partners, in the delivery of the Prize to the Winner.
• VMware shall not be responsible for any dispute regarding dispersal of the Prize.
• The Winner’s use of any VMware products and services that are received as part of the Prize shall be subject to the terms and conditions applicable to such products and services.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

• VMware reserves the right to cancel or amend the Competition or any aspect these Terms & Conditions at any time, without prior notice. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, if someone cheats, or a virus, bug, bot, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled affects the fairness and/or integrity of the Competition, we reserve the right to cancel, change, or suspend the Competition, regardless of whether the event in question is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Competition, we reserve the right to select the Winner from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Competition.
• VMware may, in its sole discretion, from time to time, post translated versions of these Terms & Conditions in different languages on the Competition Website. In the event of any inconsistency between the English language version and the translated version, the English language version shall prevail.
• If VMware considers that You have attempted to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Competition by cheating, hacking, or by committing fraud in any way, we may seek damages from You to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may, in our sole discretion, disqualify You from the Competition, and ban You from participating in any future VMware competitions.
• The decisions of VMware are final and binding on all matters related to the Competition.
• Any delay or omission by VMware in enforcing its rights under, or the fulfillment of any requirement contained in, these Terms & Conditions shall not be interpreted as a waiver of such right or requirement.
• If any provision of these Terms & Conditions is declared void, invalid or unenforceable by law by a competent court of jurisdiction, such declaration shall in no way affect the other provisions contained herein.

GOVERNING LAW

The Competition will be governed by the laws of England and Wales, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of England for any disputes arising out of this Competition.

USE OF COMPETITION WEBSITE

The information provided on the Competition Website may contain inaccuracies and errors, and it may be updated at any time without prior notice. VMware does not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of this information, and disclaims all liability and responsibility for the errors or omissions it contains. VMware will under no circumstances be held liable for damages incurred after accessing and using the website and the information contained thereon.

When accessing the Competition Website, you may not:

• post, upload, publish, reproduce, forward or distribute in any way the information or any other materials constituting or encouraging conduct that could be considered a criminal offence or that may incur civil lawsuits; or
• use the website in any way contrary to the law or in violation of a third party’s rights, including (without limitation):
• distribution of any information or program containing a virus, firewall, Trojan horse, worm or any other damaging or disruptive material; or
• uploading, distributing or publicizing in any way through the websites any material or information of a slanderous, obscene, pornographic or offensive nature or that contains publicity or an offer of funds, products or services.

The Competition Website, and the content published thereon, are protected by copyright, trademarks and other laws governing intellectual property rights or rights of ownership, and are either the property of, or under the direction of, VMware, their subsidiaries or their affiliated or licensed companies. VMware hereby reserves all of its rights in relation to such rights.

VMware may gather information on the origin of visitors, such as their domain name.

In case of dissatisfaction related to the Competition Website or the terms of use, rules, policies, instructions or practices of VMware related thereto, Your only recourse is to stop using the Competition Website.