SAP and Business Object’s Aussie partners over the awkward phase

Rob Wells, Business Objects’ local vice president and managing director, told CRN that SAP as a company has a clear strategy around its future direction and what it wants to do to add-value to customers.

Enterprise software vendor SAP reached an agreement to acquire Business Objects in a friendly takeover worth some US$6.8 billion in October 2007, according to Wells the deal was finalised in February this year.

“When SAP acquired Business Objects the goal was and still is to work closely but remain somewhat independent for two reasons. Roughly speaking only 30 percent of Business Object’s customer base is using SAP solutions. We also have 31 partners in Australia and New Zealand they don’t want to lose out because of the acquisition,” said Wells.

Business Objects’ channel model has been evolving and going well. One of the things SAP is looking at is the importance of Business Object’s channel partner model in A/NZ.

“Our channel model produces 35 percent of the company’s overall revenue and it grew 100 percent year on year. This becomes important for SAP as the vendor drives its channel into the small-to-medium/enterprise market,” said Wells.

According to Wells there were mutual opportunities for both organisations’ channel partners to cross-sell products. “I think it’s pretty comfortable now. In any changing environment there was a moment of discomfort where partners didn’t know and understand what was going on.

"We followed through with action in creating closer assimilation of the products, and creating greater opportunities for channel partner,” he said. "Over the next six-12 months there will be a lot more products starting to evolve with combined Business Objects and SAP platforms."