SAP wants perfect ten to flesh out specialist channel
Vendor's UK channel chief John Antunes discusses partner recruitment strategy and getting incentives right for cloud sales
SAP wants to help its partners manage the pain of moving revenue recognition and sales commission models into a cloud world as it looks to bring in 10 specialised UK partners this year.
The software monolith has previously expressed its desire to cultivate a broader base of SMB partners specialised in areas such as ERP, CRM, HR software, business analytics and supplier relationship management. John Antunes, SAP UK and Ireland's director of SME and channels, told ChannelWeb his goal for 2012 was to recruit 10 dedicated VARs into his 75-strong stable.
"We are on target for that; we absolutely want partners that will lead with SAP technology," he said.
Partners are now recognised and certified by their specialisation and Antunes (pictured below right) revealed that the vendor's discount and incentive structure is being remodelled to better serve smaller, more niche partners.
Cloud is one of the five "core pillars" of SAP's strategy, claimed the UK channel boss, alongside applications, database and technology, business analytics and mobility. Antunes explained that the vendor's cloud operations have now been unified under the leadership of Lars Dalgaard, chief executive of SuccessFactors, the cloud-based HR software firm SAP bought for $3.4bn (£2.2bn) in December.
"We now have one cohesive cloud strategy, top to bottom, and we have a dedicated, very serious cloud organisation," he added.
The vendor is committed to helping its long-standing on-premise software resellers explore the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls of developing a cloud business.
"Our traditional on-premise partners are starting to invest in the cloud business and see that what this basically comes down to is customer choice," he said. "One of the core benefits of SAP is that we offer it on-demand, on-premise and on-device. What we are seeing is customers moving more and more into a hybrid environment.
"That is quite a substantial investment for them and, to keep that investment, our traditional on-premise partners can see that the cloud is a critical part. We also continue to recruit cloud specialists. These are incremental partners into our ecosystem.
"We absolutely help partners build their business and compensation models and make sure that they compensate their salespeople [in ways] that are in line with the cloud. We will help them, based on our learnings."