Cloud Partners In Demand

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SAP has transformed itself through numerous acquisitions and development, delving into business analytics, mobility, database and cloud. So what’s next? Its doubled addressable market calls for one thing: more portfolio partners.

SAP has a reputation for working predominantly with Fortune 1000 companies. "That's a myth that we're trying to bust at this point," said Kevin Gilroy, senior vice president & general manager, Global Small and Midsize Enterprise Segment & Indirect Channels. "Some 203,000 of SAP customers are categorized as small to medium businesses, it's over 80 percent of our customers."

Gilroy said SAP wants partners with demand generation and technical capabilities, particularly in the cloud arena.

"Cloud's here to stay; it's not a flash in the pan," Gilroy said.

In return, Gilroy said SAP has spent time improving time to revenue for partners and has grown its channel north of 20 percent over the past few years. He promised partners will get an ’extremely predictable supplier in SAP."

If that is not enough, financial reasons may incentivize partners to join SAP in developing cloud technology. "What's really attractive to the channel partner is the recurring revenue, [which] is highly valued,’ Gilroy said.