Email the Editor    Email a Friend    Print this Page 

Orlando – SAP (NASDAQ: SAP) Canada has engaged Foster MacCallum International Ltd. to lead a new drive to recruit partners in Canada for SAP's solution for mid-market, Business All-in-One, with the goal of growing its partner base for the solution from nine partners to 15 nationally.

The vendor will rely on Foster MacCallum to identify, profile and qualify potential partners on behalf of SAP Canada, as well as provide partners with workshops, meeting appointment services and other resources.

Building capacity will be key to achieving SAP's growth plans in Canada and capitalizing on the SME opportunity says Conrad Mandala, vice-president of SME channels with SAP Canada. And the growth plans are aggressive. As part of SAP's plan to grow the percentage of North American SME business done through the channel from 10 per cent to 45 per cent, SAP Canada is seeking to grow its figure from 30 per cent to 45 per cent.

However, Mandala emphasizes that doesn't mean SAP Canada will begin to go for quantity over quality on the partner front.

“Everything we're doing in the partner channel is to go after quality partners that fit the SAP profile; it's quality first,” said Mandala. “This is not a quantity play. We're focused on the quality of the solutions and services delivered to our partners.”

The vendor is looking for partners of all sizes, from large consulting firms with national presence to smaller VARs with geographic and vertical expertise, but Mandala says Western Canada and the Maritimes in particular are areas where SAP sees partner opportunity. As SAP builds channel capacity in Canada he says they'll also be looking to leverage the partner base of Business Objects, the BI vendor acquired early this year by the company.

Not all of the additional capacity will come from the formal PartnerEdge channel program. SAP Canada used the annual Sapphire user conference in Orlando to announce the vendor's referral program, launched earlier in the U.S., into Canada. The program allows companies that aren't currently SAP partners, be they ISVs, VARs or even accounting firms and business consultants, to refer business to SAP and its channel community, and generally receive five per cent of the deal's net software license value as a reward.

The goal is to expand SAP's ecosystem in Canada, says Mandala. They'll be looking for companies with specific areas of expertise that play on the edges of the ERP space. And while it's not an intent of the program, he adds the referral program may also serve as an on-ramp for future SAP partners.

“Theoretically someone can't be a VAR to start off with, but as they build programs and engagements with SAP they might become more comfortable with making that engagement,” said Mandala.

While the referral program has potential, it's unlikely to drive a lot of business for SAP in Canada says Paul Edwards, director, SMB and channel strategies at IDC Canada, as the ability to refer quality opportunities requires intimate and high-level relationships with the end-customer.

An infrastructure-focused niche VAR, for example, isn't likely to have access to the people within a client that would pull the trigger on an ERP implementation, he says.

“I'm not saying they're not gong to get any traction out of it, but I don't think it's going to make up a big part of their business in Canada,” said Edwards. “It does create at least a funnel they can use to move opportunities down to their partners. It's important to have another component to drive business for partners.”

share: