SAP Sees U.S. Midmarket As Path To Growth

"I want to grow by at least 50 percent year over year in the midmarket," SAP America CEO Bill McDermott told CRN after meeting with several hundred channel representatives. "We grew our [entire] business 65 percent in the first quarter. No competitor is even close to that. The U.S. market is the fastest-growing [sector] within SAP."

McDermott said he has set a goal for the channel to account for 15 percent of SAP America's total revenue "in the not-too-distant future." And much of that will come from small and midsize businesses, where SAP aims to build a strong volume business, he said, adding that 57 percent of the software vendor's business comes from companies with less than $500 million in annual revenue.

"We like the industry direction they are taking," said Tim Boyce, managing director of Answerthink, an Irving, Texas-based solution provider that offers services and products around the SAP All-in-One suite for the midmarket. "And we like the opportunity to grab national market share by developing industry solutions for All-in-One."

SAP America has 80 channel partners for its Business One suite, aimed at companies with up to $20 million in annual revenue, and 22 partners for All-in-One, targeted at customers with up to $200 million in sales.

At SAPPHIRE, SAP unveiled new rules of engagement that will enable All-in-One partners to serve customer accounts in the $200 million to $1.5 billion range. Under the new Midmarket Partner Program, All-in-One partners with vertical industry and domain expertise will be brought into larger accounts nationwide in conjunction with SAP America's direct-sales force.

"In the past, we didn't have access to the $1.5 billion customer," said Suresh Ketha, president of Global Enterprise Management Solutions, an Irving-based solution provider. "Now the roughly 200-plus account executives promoting SAP to the midmarket will expose our solution to that customer base."