SAP makes Noble decision in UK

Partner engagement a priority for newly reshuffled SAP

SAP has announced further changes to its senior management team, with EMEA boss Tim Noble taking back his former UK and Ireland job after his replacement left after just six months.

The announcement comes amid plans to "broaden partner engagement" across the UK channel.

Noble will take on the position, which he first held in 2009, in addition to his current role of senior vice president of EMEA.

Former US executive Steve Winter was tipped by SAP bosses as being "perfectly suited to the role" when he took over from Noble last summer, before leaving six months later to be replaced by an interim director.

The change in management comes as the enterprise software firm announces details to further focus on its VAR partners by rolling out its HANA product across the channel.

The in-memory device, which enables solutions across SAP's five market categories – applications, analytics, mobile, database technology and cloud – will be offered through VARs under the same licensing conditions as SAP offers direct to end users.

Twelve months' intensive education and learning on the job as well as access to SAP learning resources are additional benefits of the Partner Centre of Expertise programme in which HANA is included.

Dirk Ammermann, vice president of SAP ecosystems and channels, believes the product can accelerate growth for SAP VAR partners.

He said: "The product technology can be used by VARs in different scenarios, which allows their customers to accelerate performance, reporting and analytics.

"It is new technology and we think there is a great value in VARs using it.Other database vendors say they have memory products, but we can build up applications on top of it, which creates additional value."