SAP Australia opens more opportunities with new Extended Business Program

Date: 12 Mar 2010

SAP channel partner Extend Technologies to work with new and niche partners to extend their SAP selling capability

SAP Australia today announced the introduction of the SAP Extended Business Program to Australia. The program works by amalgamating hardware vendors, business consulting firms, integrators, resellers and independent software vendors of various sizes, geographic locations and specialist expertise into larger networks, led by one Master Value Added Reseller (VAR). SAP channel partner Extend Technologies is the first Master VAR to embrace the program locally.

"SAP is committed to providing support for our partners in growing and developing their businesses, and the Extended Business Program is a formal structure that helps to provide this support," said Helen Masters, General Manager, Growth Markets, SAP ANZ. "For example, smaller organisations that have specific geographical coverage, niche industry vertical capability or solution specific expertise, are able to partner with Extend Technologies and offer their customers SAP solutions."

All program members will be aligned with SAP and the SAP brand, and are able to participate in tailored enablement and demand generation programs; supported by their Master VAR who is authorised to re-sell SAP solutions.

SAP and Extend Technologies will provide Extended Business Program partners with an initial induction and a tailored enablement plan; in addition to sales and pre-sales training, technical training and consultant certification.

"People prefer to do business with companies that are based in the same city or that have specific industry expertise. The Extended Business Program network means that we're able to assist these types of companies to enter the SAP ecosystem and access the wealth of templates, training, and accelerators available. We can enable these companies to develop strong SAP practices with compelling and relevant offers for the markets they service," said Andrew Powell, General Manager - Commercial, Extend Technologies.

Originally launched and trialled in the European and Asia Pacific and Japan regions, the program delivers tangible value to SAP partners and companies associated with them. This augmentation is further evidence of SAP's ongoing commitment to developing the IT ecosystem in Australia, in order to meet the needs of customers and to drive the growth of the region's software industry.

Building Long-Term Relationships and Success in the SAP Ecosystem
The SAP ecosystem remains key to SAP's strategy in the midmarket. Programs like the SAP Extended Business Program further demonstrate SAP's commitment to the success of the SAP ecosystem and the continued growth opportunities which exist for organisations associated with SAP.

"We expect that SME ecosystem programs, such as the SAP Extended Business Program, will have a significant, positive impact for our Master VARs and the program members," said Masters.

Participation in the SAP Extended Business Program is voluntary, free of charge and open to companies with an existing association to channel partners in the SAP PartnerEdge program, coupled with non-SAP specific organisations that may have a strong industry vertical or geographic expertise. The commercial cooperation between program members and VAR partners is at their discretion, and the commercial relationship between VARs and their customers remains unchanged by the new program.