SAP’s new recognition system to improve partner visibility

SAP SE has launched a new recognition system for partners called the Competency Framework, which uses partner competency and customer outcomes as primary performance dimensions.

An evolution of the SAP PartnerEdge program, the Framework will help partners highlight their skills and experience to generate visibility and emphasise on what they do best.

It will also help create better outcomes for customers, who can be assured the partner they choose has the necessary knowledge and expertise to deliver the desired specific solutions.

Within the Framework, partners will be classified by two aspects: competency and specialisation.

Then, there will be seven competencies aligning with the solution or line-of-business areas with three progressive tiers: essential, advanced and expert.

Within each competency, partners can have specialisations at the product or process level.

Partner performance in each competency will be measured across three areas: expert knowledge, customer success and proficiency.

"SAP partners are instrumental to the success of our customers' digital transformation journey," says SAP SE Chief Partner Officer Karl Fahrbach.

"Hence, we want to make it as easy as possible for customers to identify the best fit for their business needs. Additionally, it allows SAP to reward and recognise partners' investments in high-quality delivery practices that drive customer adoption and success."

Under the new Competency Framework, partners stay ahead of customer needs through an automated designation process where they can identify achieved and at-risk designations.

This is based on their daily achievements visible in the SAP for Me portal, which partners use to manage their relationships with customers and SAP.

The Framework also recognises partners for their practice maturity and focuses on customer lifetime value based on expertise across solution areas and geographies.

Additionally, the Framework features new SAP partner branding logos embedded within the SAP Partner Finder tool.

This tool displays all partner competencies for customers to search for and match to their transformation goals.

In essence, the Framework showcases the experience and skill sets of more than 23,500 SAP partners to improve vendor, partner and customer satisfaction.

"Competency Framework from SAP PartnerEdge allows partners to highlight their expertise and helps customers identify partners with the right skill set to address their business needs," says IDC Director Software Channels & Ecosystems Paul Edwards.

"By launching this new model, SAP is prioritising partners and the work that they do to drive customer success."

HuRis Managing Director Pieter van Reisen adds, "It's important to customers that they deal with experienced partners. This designation is one way to quickly validate our expertise for customers around a specific solution. It's an important asset to complete our storyline with customers."