That is a major concern for SAP because although it is moving forward on five fronts - mobile, cloud, analytics, in-memory technology and core business applications – mobile, cloud and analytics are where most growth is anticipated (see SAP developments open up opportunities for the ecosystem for a deep dive into SAP’s plans). These are also the areas where it is increasingly reliant on partners – one of its goals is to have 40% of its business come through the partner channel by 2015. Lack of awareness of the products (to the extent that partners are offering non-SAP solutions even where SAP ones exist) and limited clarity around the product roadmap do not map well to partner channel revenue goals. The decision to appoint Simpson and his clear remit is a highly positive move but does indicate the scale of the issue. From what we hear, this situation is not unique to SAP. Oracle is also struggling to get its newer offerings onto the radar of its partners and even its in-house consultants.
Adopting disruptive technologies (acquired or built in-house) is one thing, creating coherent portfolios and roadmaps, reinventing the business model, and changing the business culture (from in-house sales through to the external ecosystem) is another and neither SAP nor Oracle have found the answers. SAP is taking action and the focus on the partner community is good news and has the potential to open up opportunities for the ecosystem. Providing SAP does not make the entry point to its development platforms too high, there should be some early mover advantages for agile partners in the mobile and cloud spaces.