SAP Differentiating ISVs to Ease Burden on Resellers

Business software maker SAP is certifying 80 percent of its 300-some ISV Business One Solutions to ease the decision-making process for resellers.

SAP is testing and qualifying the applications built by ISVs on its Business One platform as integrated with the platform's SDK, to give VARs and users a higher degree of confidence in making an application decision, said Ralf Mehnert-Meland, director of business development for SAP's Business One Unit.

Because Business One Applications are built atop SAP's base code and will not necessarily integrate with other business applications working in tandem with the platform, unlike the company's MySAP All-In-One applications, which are built inside the code and will automatically integrate.

The certification endows a level of confidence that it will work, Mehnert-Meland said.

"One of the biggest concerns of a reseller and customer is: 'what do you mean I need four pieces from four companies. Are they all going to work together?'" Mehnert-Meland said. "If you go through the SDK and don't integrate around, it will."

Solutions that are certified—three were certified in January as a pilot—have achieved higher deal rates, while the 40 certified since then have seen greater numbers of leads from interested reseller partners, SAP said.

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SAP, based in Waldorf, Germany, expects about 80 percent of the company's solutions, currently 300 solutions by 150 partners, will achieve certification because some, while "very good products, must live outside the SDK," Mehnert-Meland said.

The company also initiated an "eBay-like" rating system for ISVs to differentiate solutions and partners for interested resellers.

"It allows the reseller to see who is doing a good job and why," Mehnert-Meland said. "Do they have good people on their end? Are they returning phone calls?"

Both measures play into SAP's limited partner strategy—one partner per market or vertical, he said.

"A reseller doesn't need to decide between 15 solutions and decide what is a good solution," he said. "They don't worry about one is good and one is bad."