10 March 2008
by Simon Quicke
The battle for the small market has not gone away, with SAP the latest to bolster staffing levels in a bid to keep its channel partners focused on winning market share.
Simon Etherington took the reins as head of SME business at the vendor at the start of this year and is already well-versed in the language needed to attract resellers.
"We have invested heavily in our channel and one of the big messages is that there is going to be more from SAP sales and support going into the channel to drive towards the target of being 100 per cent indirect by 2012," he said, adding that SAP’s current level of channel business across Europe stands at 40 per cent.
He said growth would come as a result of gaining market share and there was still a lot to play for in the market.
"There is a large opportunity for some of the leaders in this space who can offer the right solution to the right customer," he said.
Donal Madden, SME channel manager at SAP, said that the company recognised that its indirect business target was ambitious but it intended making it a reality.
Valerie Singer, senior director of channels at BEA, said there was always going to be competition for mindshare of the more capable resellers because they were the ones more likely to deliver results.
"There is always going to be a pull on the attention of the best resellers," she said, adding that what attracted channel support was offering solution selling that would appeal to customers.
BEA has just announced it will offer reseller training through its recently signed distributor Magirus. Singer believed that support like that encouraged dealers to work with the vendor.
