SAP shakes up partner programme in SME drive
German software vendor simplifies rewards, contracts and changes tiers in partner programme update
SAP has revamped its global partner programme in a bid to gain market dominance in the SME space.
The German business applications giant has introduced a new layer to its programme called Open Ecosystem, which allows small partners to engage with SAP and get access to training material and enablement without any financial commitment.
SAP has also restructured the rest of its tiers, replacing Bronze, Silver and Gold with Silver, Gold and Platinum, as part of a restructure it called the most significant in its history.
"In the middle we simplified [the programme], so we can manage the middle of the pyramid with Silver and Gold. And at the top we are creating a Platinum partner [level], aimed at the top 50 most strategic partners across the world; these companies require very special attention," Daniel Ciechanower, SAP's vice president of global partner operations, told CRN.
Ciechanower said these changes were implemented in a bid to improve SAP's position in the mid-market.
"We want to be leaders in the SME space," he said. "We are already the leaders in the large enterprise space. Now we want to have the same impact in the SME space and we understand that the only way to get through to the SME space is through the people who are the trusted advisers in this space. They are the partners we are inviting through the Open Ecosystem."
Ciechanower added the changes were brought in to help all SAP partners grow, and as part of a company-wide push to simplify relationships and processes.
As part of this simplification, SAP is also changing the way it rewards partners based on four engagement types: Build - OEMs building bespoke solutions based on SAP's platforms; Sell - resellers selling the SAP solution as it is; Service - providing SAP services to customers; and Run - managing and hosting SAP applications for customers.
Ciechanower explained that previously, partner contracts and rewards were not centralised. Now he said partners will be able to receive rewards, such as rebates and marketing funds, from any of the four engagement types, with a new centralised model.
"What we have done is to make sure we have one legal framework that supports all the different types of partnerships," he said. "This core gives you all the benefits, regardless of what type of partnership you have."
Ciechanower also said previously the only way to move up the accreditations was to gain value points through the Sell model.
"But this was pretty unfair for the other partners," he said. "They might be a very successful OEM partner, but would say, ‘why am I not getting any status in terms of Gold and Silver?' The reason was because they had a different contract and they were not getting the value points they deserved.
"So now, we have a unified model and we will give these value points based upon what you are doing, regardless of the different type of model [you have] in terms of partnership."
SAP is also introducing eContracts for partners, designed to reduce paperwork and make processes faster.