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SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) has released a Regional Strategic Services Partner (RSSP) initiative to amplify the capabilities and reach of established partners in the APJ region that are on a rapid growth trajectory.
Through this initiative, SAP will provide strategic support to eligible partners, which may include coordinated industry-aligned solutions, joint go-to-market strategy and access to SAP regional and market unit industry expertise.
The RSSP initiative will enable partners to scale their SAP practice more quickly across the APJ region and collaborate more closely with SAP to deliver joint customer success.
Distinct from the company's existing Global Strategic Services Partner (GSSP) program that includes a select group of SAP's strategic global partners in the consulting, infrastructure and technology space, the RSSP initiative aims to facilitate collaboration within partner entities residing in the region that demonstrate capability and capacity requirements specific to APJ.
To qualify for the RSSP initiative, partners are required to meet or exceed a defined set of SAP criteria including geographical presence, vertical industry competencies and alignment on a joint sustainability strategy.
"APJ is one of the fastest-growing regions for SAP and our partner ecosystem plays an integral role in customers' transformation,” SAP APJ president Paul Marriott said.
“With over 24,000 registered partners globally and close to 20 per cent in APJ, there is a large SAP-certified community that can benefit customers and the broader ecosystem.”
Japan-headquartered integrated management consulting firm ABeam Consulting has become the first partner on board the RSSP initiative. ABeam has offices around the Asia Pacific region including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.
"This is a recognition of the fast growth of SAP business in Asia Pacific and the quality of our flexible and adaptive services that take into account diverse local business practices and needs,” ABeam president and CEO Tatsuya Kamoi said.
“It also highlights our advantages in delivering cutting-edge solutions and realising customer value, as well as the scalability of our integrated deployment across our Asian offices.”
In January, SAP revealed its revenue rose 11 per cent in 2022 with the cloud component of that climbing 33 per cent, but net income dropped 68 per cent, prompting restructuring and layoffs in its CRM activities.
The company was also exploring selling its majority stake in Qualtrics, the experience management platform it bought for $8 billion in 2018, to refocus on its core business.
SAP already sold a minority stake in Qualtrics in an IPO in early 2021 and CEO Christian Klein said he expected to continue to partner with Qualtrics going forward, but the sale would allow SAP to reinvest in other areas of its business.
The layoffs — effecting around 2,800 staff, or 2.5 per cent of SAP’s global workforce — are part of “a targeted restructuring,” Klein said. “It’s not performance-based.”
