As customers move to SAP cloud solutions, our partners are looking for new ways to package and deliver their IP to our joint customers. One increasingly important route to market for our partners is SAP Store, and I want you to consider three important factors to get there:
As a member of Partner Solution Adoption, I have spent more than 13 years with SAP Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services (PILS) supporting partners to help SAP customers transform their digital journey. Partner can always reach out to me for guidance around SAP Partner programs and SAP software integration certification related services, to transform partner solution ideas into strategic innovative solutions for SAP and its customers, and to understand how to maximize customer success through SAP Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services (PILS). I hope the swim lanes below lead to your project’s success.
1) Choosing the right SAP technology - SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)
SAP is always a trusted partner in guiding our customers, industries, and the entire world to transform and become more resilient, more profitable, more sustainable and solve complex challenges at scale.
SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) is the foundation of SAP application portfolio, which is the center of our product strategy. It allows enterprises to optimally manage resources, spend, human capital, and customer relationships. SAP BTP is the platform for SAP and its ecosystem delivering an exceptional user experience, innovation, better integration, localization, and operational excellence in the cloud. Combining both the platform and application portfolio, SAP is fully capable of supporting industry-specific, end-to-end processes and business process insights to enable every organization & every industry to become a network of intelligent, sustainable enterprises.
The Partner opportunity
Based on IDC forecast models, the SAP partner opportunity will EXPAND TO $260 BILLION. This growth is underpinned and driven by SAP Cloud adoption. By 2024, with IDC’s forecasted growth of SAP revenues, the estimated new employment in the ecosystem will GROW TO 1.6 MILLION and SAP partners are forecasted to generate $5 for every $1 of SAP revenue, and for the Cloud…. partners will generate $7 for every $1 of SAP cloud revenue.
The business value provided by partners around SAP BTP is multifaceted, from consulting services to resale, implementation, and integration services, to support and managed services, to software development (both custom and packaged applications).
The three-step partner enablement path (SAP Partner access only) helps partners to navigate the available SAP BTP training offerings which will equip partners with knowledge on SAP BTP strategy, portfolio and go-to-market across any use case and Line of Business
The SAP PartnerEdge program is truly an integrated global program with four tracks, which is designed to recognize partners for their total business contribution within one track or across multiple tracks
Partners are seeing significant benefits from working with SAP BTP to accelerate project delivery, prototype new use cases, and build out minimum viable products that customers can see and test. SAP continuously invests in the partner ecosystem by providing more incentives, and proactive positioning of partner intellectual property (IP) – to engage different partner types.
Partner Solution Progression via SAP Store
SAP Store is the place where SAP partners can market and deliver solutions, add-ins, and integration kits to SAP customers worldwide.
The SAP Store marketplace provides multiple performance-recognition levels with increased benefits based on activity around partner solution(s). This is called the solution progression journey, and it links each partner solution with a progression level – giving partners a quick way to match increasingly vetted and certified applications to your customer’s requirements so you can be confident in your solution recommendations, and at the same time know your compensation.
Step by step guide to publishing partner solution in SAP Store.
All partner types require signing up for the full Build program track and have at least one Go-to-Market ready solution to publish solution in SAP Store
Step 1: Partners/Prospect joins the free Open Ecosystem – Build model (Till solution development is complete). For any support, partners are free to use the helpline partner@sap.com.
Step 2: Partner develops a solution using the resources available to them. For development resources including Non-Commercial Licensing / Test, demo, and development licenses and systems, partners can reach out to tdd@sap.com.
Step 3: Once the solution is developed partner validates the solution by joining the SAP PartnerEdge – Build program and completes validation Application Readiness Check (ARC). In addition to ARC, partner can also request SAP Integration Certification (SAP ICC) and Co-Innovated with SAP from Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services (PILS)
Step 4: Once the ARC and due diligence are completed, partner will be sent the PE Build agreement to sign.
Step 5: Once the partner has signed the PE Build agreement, they can publish the solution on SAP Store
Getting started with Developing Your Industry Cloud Solution: (SAP partner access only) Partners extending the SAP industry portfolio with industry specific solutions based on SAP Business Technology Platform gets a unique opportunity to be part of our SAP Industry Cloud Program (SAP partner access only).
2) Accessing the best programs and resources from SAP
Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services (PILS) strongly induces the innovation mindset among the partner ecosystem and strongly influence partners to develop extensions on top of SAP BTP which completely adheres to SAP’s recommended guidelines and best practices. Partners can engage with PILS as early as at 1. idea/use-case phase (or) 2. during re-platforming from 3rd party platform to SAP platform (or) 3. With a Go-to-Market ready solution
Co-Innovated with SAP (SAP partner access only) offers close alignment between line of business, industry, and Partner facing teams at SAP provides the expertise required to deliver certified and competitive partner solutions to the marketplace. This end-to-end program offers
3) Achieving a trusted outcome for our customers
Once your solution is ready to be listed on SAP Store, you have the option to submit it for testing by the SAP Integration and Certification Center (SAP partner access only). SAP Certification for partner solution is proof that your technology integrates smoothly with SAP solutions, giving customers confidence in their investment decision. To get their solution certified, partner solution must pass a stringent set of qualification procedures based on SAP-endorsed integration technologies before receiving SAP-certified status.
Partners will be awarded with a certificate, test-report, rights to use the “SAP certified” logo, feature in online directory, “SAP Certified” designation on SAP Store and take advantage of go-to-market opportunities through SAP PartnerEdge.
To further motivate Re-sell partners and increase SAP BTP adoption, SAP recently approved MDF reimbursement for Co-Innovated with SAP (SAP partner access only) and Certify Your Apps and Extensions (SAP partner access only) on SAP BTP. All SAP BTP related use-cases including standalone solution that runs on SAP BTP Cloud Foundry, Kyma environment and ABAP environment, or solution that builds an extension to other SAP cloud products via SAP BTP are qualified for SAP BTP related certification and are considered for this MDF reimbursement.
In addition to Co-Innovated with SAP (or) SAP Software Integration certification, partner can request for SAP Remote Access and Connectivity (SAP partner access only) service to connect to an SAP-maintained system during testing. RAC service becomes critical when partners use-case demands integration to back-end systems like SAP S/4 HANA. This professionally hosted and maintained landscape of fully configured SAP software systems, including sample data, can simplify the integration testing of partners solution interface to SAP solutions and if partners look for dedicated, low-maintenance, and tailored system environments, with custom options including SAP BTP and infrastructure and application services, then partner can request for Custom landscape service (SAP partner access only).
For additional enablement and coaching services to help you get started with SAP BTP both from a technical as well as from a monetization standpoint, please access and bookmark SAP BTP Partner Enablement & Coaching Overview (SAP partner access only) deck. Also, you can always search the Partner Benefits Catalog (SAP partner access only) for all SAP BTP related Enablement & Coaching services listed.
The Partner Solution Adoption team is happy to support on your partner journey!
- choosing the right SAP technology
- accessing the best programs and resources from SAP
- achieving a trusted outcome for customers.
As a member of Partner Solution Adoption, I have spent more than 13 years with SAP Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services (PILS) supporting partners to help SAP customers transform their digital journey. Partner can always reach out to me for guidance around SAP Partner programs and SAP software integration certification related services, to transform partner solution ideas into strategic innovative solutions for SAP and its customers, and to understand how to maximize customer success through SAP Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services (PILS). I hope the swim lanes below lead to your project’s success.
1) Choosing the right SAP technology - SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)
SAP is always a trusted partner in guiding our customers, industries, and the entire world to transform and become more resilient, more profitable, more sustainable and solve complex challenges at scale.
SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) is the foundation of SAP application portfolio, which is the center of our product strategy. It allows enterprises to optimally manage resources, spend, human capital, and customer relationships. SAP BTP is the platform for SAP and its ecosystem delivering an exceptional user experience, innovation, better integration, localization, and operational excellence in the cloud. Combining both the platform and application portfolio, SAP is fully capable of supporting industry-specific, end-to-end processes and business process insights to enable every organization & every industry to become a network of intelligent, sustainable enterprises.
The Partner opportunity
Based on IDC forecast models, the SAP partner opportunity will EXPAND TO $260 BILLION. This growth is underpinned and driven by SAP Cloud adoption. By 2024, with IDC’s forecasted growth of SAP revenues, the estimated new employment in the ecosystem will GROW TO 1.6 MILLION and SAP partners are forecasted to generate $5 for every $1 of SAP revenue, and for the Cloud…. partners will generate $7 for every $1 of SAP cloud revenue.
The business value provided by partners around SAP BTP is multifaceted, from consulting services to resale, implementation, and integration services, to support and managed services, to software development (both custom and packaged applications).
The three-step partner enablement path (SAP Partner access only) helps partners to navigate the available SAP BTP training offerings which will equip partners with knowledge on SAP BTP strategy, portfolio and go-to-market across any use case and Line of Business
The SAP PartnerEdge program is truly an integrated global program with four tracks, which is designed to recognize partners for their total business contribution within one track or across multiple tracks
- Build (design, develop, and commercialize applications, software, and direct integrated solutions using APIs from SAP software)
- Sell (resell SAP solutions)
- Service (design, development, implementation, and integration of SAP solutions), and
- Run (cloud services based on SAP solutions).
Partners are seeing significant benefits from working with SAP BTP to accelerate project delivery, prototype new use cases, and build out minimum viable products that customers can see and test. SAP continuously invests in the partner ecosystem by providing more incentives, and proactive positioning of partner intellectual property (IP) – to engage different partner types.
Partner Solution Progression via SAP Store
SAP Store is the place where SAP partners can market and deliver solutions, add-ins, and integration kits to SAP customers worldwide.
The SAP Store marketplace provides multiple performance-recognition levels with increased benefits based on activity around partner solution(s). This is called the solution progression journey, and it links each partner solution with a progression level – giving partners a quick way to match increasingly vetted and certified applications to your customer’s requirements so you can be confident in your solution recommendations, and at the same time know your compensation.
Step by step guide to publishing partner solution in SAP Store.
All partner types require signing up for the full Build program track and have at least one Go-to-Market ready solution to publish solution in SAP Store
Step 1: Partners/Prospect joins the free Open Ecosystem – Build model (Till solution development is complete). For any support, partners are free to use the helpline partner@sap.com.
Step 2: Partner develops a solution using the resources available to them. For development resources including Non-Commercial Licensing / Test, demo, and development licenses and systems, partners can reach out to tdd@sap.com.
Step 3: Once the solution is developed partner validates the solution by joining the SAP PartnerEdge – Build program and completes validation Application Readiness Check (ARC). In addition to ARC, partner can also request SAP Integration Certification (SAP ICC) and Co-Innovated with SAP from Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services (PILS)
- ARC questionnaire is to ensure that the partner solution meets minimum SAP requirements including validation and compliance. Validation covers solution description, SAP components used, and detailed architecture diagram and compliance covers naming guidelines for partners.
- SAP Integration and Certification Center (ICC) provides certification services at an additional fee. The certification is focused on verifying an installation and running through test cases provided by partners/ISVs by SAP ICC consultant to validate that the application runs successfully on the SAP BTP.
- Co-Innovated with SAP program includes ICC certificate and assessment against SAP Product standards covering functional verification, performance, accessibility, operations, monitoring, security (security code-scan service included), deployment, and configuration.
Step 4: Once the ARC and due diligence are completed, partner will be sent the PE Build agreement to sign.
Step 5: Once the partner has signed the PE Build agreement, they can publish the solution on SAP Store
Getting started with Developing Your Industry Cloud Solution: (SAP partner access only) Partners extending the SAP industry portfolio with industry specific solutions based on SAP Business Technology Platform gets a unique opportunity to be part of our SAP Industry Cloud Program (SAP partner access only).
2) Accessing the best programs and resources from SAP
Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services (PILS) strongly induces the innovation mindset among the partner ecosystem and strongly influence partners to develop extensions on top of SAP BTP which completely adheres to SAP’s recommended guidelines and best practices. Partners can engage with PILS as early as at 1. idea/use-case phase (or) 2. during re-platforming from 3rd party platform to SAP platform (or) 3. With a Go-to-Market ready solution
Co-Innovated with SAP (SAP partner access only) offers close alignment between line of business, industry, and Partner facing teams at SAP provides the expertise required to deliver certified and competitive partner solutions to the marketplace. This end-to-end program offers
- Use case assessment: Your idea will first be validated by the SAP product development team to safeguard your investment.
- Expertise and guidance: A dedicated project lead will be assigned to support and help you navigate the entire product development lifecycle including enablement to get your development team ready to start the build journey for your use case.
- Architecture Review, Enablement & Coaching: Your development team shall receive guidance on landscape requirement, architecture framework, integration best practices and enablement / coaching based on the identified architectural elements.
- Build support: Technical advisory throughout the development cycle.
- Quality assurance: As you enter the final stages of product development, we will assess your solution against SAP product standards, including integration testing and certification.
- Branding benefits: Your product will get an integration certification & logo from SAP along with Co-Innovated with SAP certificate & logo to gain maximum visibility.
3) Achieving a trusted outcome for our customers
Once your solution is ready to be listed on SAP Store, you have the option to submit it for testing by the SAP Integration and Certification Center (SAP partner access only). SAP Certification for partner solution is proof that your technology integrates smoothly with SAP solutions, giving customers confidence in their investment decision. To get their solution certified, partner solution must pass a stringent set of qualification procedures based on SAP-endorsed integration technologies before receiving SAP-certified status.
Partners will be awarded with a certificate, test-report, rights to use the “SAP certified” logo, feature in online directory, “SAP Certified” designation on SAP Store and take advantage of go-to-market opportunities through SAP PartnerEdge.
To further motivate Re-sell partners and increase SAP BTP adoption, SAP recently approved MDF reimbursement for Co-Innovated with SAP (SAP partner access only) and Certify Your Apps and Extensions (SAP partner access only) on SAP BTP. All SAP BTP related use-cases including standalone solution that runs on SAP BTP Cloud Foundry, Kyma environment and ABAP environment, or solution that builds an extension to other SAP cloud products via SAP BTP are qualified for SAP BTP related certification and are considered for this MDF reimbursement.
In addition to Co-Innovated with SAP (or) SAP Software Integration certification, partner can request for SAP Remote Access and Connectivity (SAP partner access only) service to connect to an SAP-maintained system during testing. RAC service becomes critical when partners use-case demands integration to back-end systems like SAP S/4 HANA. This professionally hosted and maintained landscape of fully configured SAP software systems, including sample data, can simplify the integration testing of partners solution interface to SAP solutions and if partners look for dedicated, low-maintenance, and tailored system environments, with custom options including SAP BTP and infrastructure and application services, then partner can request for Custom landscape service (SAP partner access only).
For additional enablement and coaching services to help you get started with SAP BTP both from a technical as well as from a monetization standpoint, please access and bookmark SAP BTP Partner Enablement & Coaching Overview (SAP partner access only) deck. Also, you can always search the Partner Benefits Catalog (SAP partner access only) for all SAP BTP related Enablement & Coaching services listed.
The Partner Solution Adoption team is happy to support on your partner journey!
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