SAP uses channel to target mid-market
Ebusiness specialist SAP has launched a new channel strategy targeted at the UK mid-market.
Ebusiness specialist SAP has launched a new channel strategy targeted at the UK mid-market.
The initiative, launched last week, is intended to help SAP grow its channel business to "at least 10 per cent" of its total UK turnover within the next 12 months, according to Jan Dornbach, the company's head of mid-market solutions.
The initiative includes two main programmes: one targeted at sales and service partners (SSPs) and the other at resellers and application service providers (ASPs).
The SSP programme is designed for companies that deal with the mid-market subsidiaries of larger corporations, said Dornbach, explaining that those companies will work closely with SAP account managers on a commission basis.
Under the reseller and ASP programme, resellers will receive commissions based on the number of licences sold, and ASPs will charge on a per user per month basis.
"Members of both programmes will benefit from more clearly defined targets and sales leads, closer working relationships with SAP and marketing support," said Dornbach.
Ebusiness is not the sole domain of multinationals, he claimed, saying that mid-market companies are "leading the charge by embracing e-enabled applications to drive their business in the new economy".
"SAP is gearing up to make the most of this opportunity," said Dornbach, adding that SAP was "very confident" of hitting its predicted sales figures by the end of the year.
Justin Brading, sales director at Notability Solutions, a SAP partner, said that the strategy will help change the mid-market perception of customer relationship management (CRM).
The new focus on "templated solutions for the mid-market" will help change the idea that the product is unsuitable for this sector, he explained.
"With a number of focused partners using the templates, it will certainly help to address the problems that CRM has previously faced," he added.
Also published in Computer Reseller News