Three Things I Loved in 2018 and Three Things I’m Excited About in 2019
Dr. Seuss has a great quote about this time of year: “December is here before it’s June … How did it get so late so soon?” I always feel this way when the year comes to a close. We become so busy with our careers, our families and our lives that 12 months slips by before we know it.
This does offer an opportunity to do two things before we celebrate a new year: To remember all the successes of 2018, and to look ahead to all the great things we can do in 2019.
In particular, I’ve been thinking about what the year has meant for the SAP partner ecosystem. We’ve done a lot together this year, and there are even better things ahead. To start, here’s a look at three SAP-related things I loved in 2018:
- Continued Partner Growth
Three programs come to mind that really drove growth this year: Race2Revenue, Cloud Accelerator and SAP PartnerEdge Cloud Choice, profit option. Each program achieved great things in 2018 and helped partners move the needle with both net-new and existing customers on their digital transformation journey. We also rolled out several enhancements to the SAP PartnerEdge program, further positioning our partners for growth.
2. Packaged Solutions
Since introducing our SAP-qualified partner-packaged solutions in late 2017, partners have qualified more than 900 solutions to date, with many more in the pipeline. Partners tell us packaged solutions have made them more successful because customers love the fixed scope, cost, and implementation that standardized solutions bring, all of which increases a partner’s value to customers.
3. Social Sabbatical in China
Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to spend a month in Kunming, China, as part of SAP’s Social Sabbatical program. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip that afforded me the opportunity to learn not only about another culture but about how important communication, simplification and people are to achieving success. I returned home with many great lessons to share with my colleagues, all of which I think could also help make SAP partners — and ultimately our customers — run better.
The year has been a special one for me and our partners, but I think 2019 will be even better. We’re already gearing up for the 2019 Global Partner Summit and SAPPHIRE NOW + ASUG Annual Conference. Here are three things that I can’t wait to see:
- Building Relationships, Not Transactions
A customer isn’t really a customer until you can close a second deal. That’s because you’re winning more than a deal — you’re forming a relationship. With the right solutions, right resources and right approach, you can build a fruitful long-term bond with that client. Earlier in 2018, SAP CEO Bill McDermott talked about doubling down on SAP’s empathy for customers, part of our strategy of building customers for life. Our focus on that will increase in 2019. Look for a blog here early next year expanding on this topic.
2. Packaging Solutions, The Sequel
The growth in the number of SAP-qualified partner-packaged solutions in 2018 was amazing. The solutions are solid, encompassing a wide swath of technologies, industries and regions. Now it’s time to sell the heck out of them. With hundreds of partners now offering packaged solutions, we expect revenue generated around them to grow dramatically in 2019. Customers understand the value, pipelines are growing, and partners investments will begin to pay off.
3. Cloud Goes Mainstream
We’ve been talking cloud for many years now. First, as an exciting concept and then as a strong business solution for customers of all sizes. In 2019, I think we’ll stop talking about cloud business as a special solution that is treated differently within an organization. We’ll just talk about it as business because it’s so integral in the way we run companies and live our lives.
More and more innovative trends and solutions are being created and developed by SAP partners for customers every day. I look forward to another great year of new services, new tools and new programs that help the world run better and improve people’s lives. Bring on 2019!