September 05, 2012 // By: Susan Galer
Interview: Ira Simon
Giving Partners What They Want
Partnering with SAP hasn’t always been easy, admits Ira Simon, vice president of Global To-Partner Marketing/Communications. He explains how the SAP Partner-Edge Website is helping the company better serve its partners.
People may be surprised to learn that SAP generated thirty-three percent of its revenue from partners last quarter, and intends to reach forty percent by 2015. In this interview Ira Simon explains how SAP has doubled down efforts to help partners make more money faster from innovations like mobile, cloud, and in-memory computing.
SAP.info: What excites you about SAP’s partner program today?
Ira Simon: When I was hired eight years ago to help develop our small and mid-size partner program, SAP was a different company. We were ERP-focused, and just beginning to explore the revenue possibilities of a multi-route business. Today, we have a worldwide network of close to 12,000 partners who help take SAP to market to reach customers of all sizes, co-innovate with us, and provide services and sales across every solution area.
SAP.info: SAP just posted its best ever second quarter earnings. Where do partners fit into the growth strategy?
Ira Simon: Partners are crucial to help meet our aggressive business goals. Over sixty percent of our customer base comes from partners. Partners sell and service 98,000 of our small and mid-size customers.
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