SAP connecting consultants and partners

SAP is taking steps to improve channel access to skilled consultants after shining the light on a talent portal and outlining financial support for those that use the service.

The vendor launched the scheme last year and has since been building up a base of consultants that can work with partners. After an initial 3,000-plus applications, its efforts have produced nearly 150 certified SAP consultants.

The consultants have been trained to support partners that require expertise in cloud computing, digital transformation and analytics to improve service quality.

The vendor is turning the spotlight on the portal to encourage more partners to take advantage of the consultant network it has built up. The cost of using their expertise is refundable against marketing development and business development funds (MDF and BDF).

The firm is making its Partner Talent Initiative Connect available to all SAP partners in the EMEA north region, and is looking to encourage more consultants to get involved so it can enhance the level of skills across the ecosystem.

“The launch of this new talent portal is an important step to ensure we can seamlessly match the brilliant new candidates coming through the Partner Talent Initiative programme with the talent requirements of SAP partners. It also furthers SAP’s investment and commitment to supporting the capacity of our partners in EMEA north,” said Stephane Mermet, chief partner officer for SAP EMEA north.

Kaity Cloke, senior recruitment consultant at Delaware, said SAP’s approach was taking pressure off partners that faced challenges in finding expertise in a competitive personnel market.

“To establish a strong pipeline of talent and meet the needs of our clients, we need to be bringing people with diverse skillsets into the business. Competition for talent in the tech market is high and the SAP Partner Talent Initiative connects us to people with the right skills that will drive our growth ambitions,” she said. “We’ve already hired three people – two into our finance team and one into Success Factors.”

The channel remains under pressure to increase skills, particularly in areas of concern for customers, including cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and security.

Research from Sage earlier this week indicated that more expertise was needed to ensure the channel could tap into future revenue growth areas.

At the same time, findings from STX Next revealed that software developers were aware that AI and machine learning (ML) were areas that would continue to grow, hence they wanted to expand their skills in those areas.

Ronald Binkofski, CEO of STX Next, said: “Stories about AI are dominating the news schedule at the moment, with much of the debate focusing on the future of the technology and whether regulation is needed to keep its progress under control.

“In any case, AI and ML are here to stay; there is a strong appetite among software developers for building and growing their skills in this area, and they recognise its potential in helping them complete more innovative and ambitious projects.