By Simon Quicke9 September 2008
SAP is aiming to continue its channel expansion looking to
recruit players that can add value to the small business arena and vertical
markets.
The software vendor used an event with customers this
morning to showcase the success stories of partners working with users and
ushered in new channel head Hazel Nash, formerly head of SMB business at
Oracle.
Nash replaces Donal Madden who has left “to pursue other
interests” and said that she would bring some of her experience from Oracle,
which included developing reseller skills in vertical markets via the
Accelerator programme, to SAPs partners.
“Even in the short-time I have been here I have managed to
get an insight into the tools that SAP has and there are some very powerful
things that can be used by both customers and partners,” she said.
She added that the channel had been heavily involved ins
some project deployments already and it was aiming to encourage more with
reseller collaboration and to profile the extent to which partners play a
supporting role.
Tom Kindermans, Senior Vice President
of SME EMEA at SAP, said that it was not reducing its emphasis on using the
channel to reach small business customers but also recognised that there was
business to be made in the vertical sector.
“In at an SME level of the market
knowledge about verticals is an absolute selling point,” he added that it would
continue to encourage partnerships between those resellers accredited for SAP and
those “able to smell it but not able to sell it”.
