InsideTrack THE
The InsideTrack Contents
Q2 2025 Edition
Thought Leader
Rafael Brugnini, Chief Partner
Officer, interviews Pablo
Signorelli, Head of EMEA
Corporate, on the opportunity for partners – and how SAP is helping them to seize it.
Partner Business Essentials:
Partner-Led
Matt Sinclair, Partner Autonomy Lead, EMEA, is in the hot seat as Rich Phillips, Vice President, Head of Channel, EMEA quizzes him on the latest Partner-led Territory updates.
Spotlight on: Artificial Intelligence
SAP’s Innovation Evangelist, Timo Elliott, shares his insight, knowledge and advice on where partners should be focusing their attention next when it comes to investing and deploying AI.
Special Feature: Sapphire 2025
Peter Roberts, Vice President, Global Strategic Partners, EMEA, shares his key takeaways from this year’s event.
Network News
The very latest updates for partners from SAP EMEA.
THOUGHT LEADER
The New Frontier
Rafael Brugnini, Chief Partner Officer EMEA and Pablo Signorelli, Head of EMEA Corporate, go headto-head, looking at where partners should be investing and how SAP has invested to help them to get there.
Pablo Signorelli and the Corporate Opportunity
Pablo, where should we be advising our partners to invest?
Pablo: Firstly, investing in SAP Business Suite and our artificial intelligence solutions is going to be essential for success.
Secondly, Partner-Driven was launched at the start of the year and it has grown from a baby into a thriving child! We want to invest in it further and so we’ll be extending the
territories in 2026. Plus, we’re aiming for one hundred percent (or as close as possible!) indirect business for Corporate. Today, we’re at about sixty percent indirect, so moving to one hundred percent creates a phenomenal window of addressable market opportunity for our partners.
I would also advise them to invest in sales, pre-sales, demand gen capabilities and implementation capacity.
Fantastic opportunity! Anything else?
Pablo: Yes, at Sapphire Madrid this year, I met with a range of different partners –
of all sizes – and all of them are actively choosing to move more into the Corporate market segment. They can all see the size of the opportunity in the Corporate space and they’re ready to invest and capture that opportunity.
And what about the shift to public cloud? Are partners embracing it?
Pablo: Some are, definitely, and have been on that journey for the past three years and now they are harvesting that investment. But there needs to be a big mindset shift among a lot of partners.
I would say to those partners, don’t compare public and private cloud – they are totally different worlds. Public is the future and yet it’s here today. It’s time to forget about on premise, it’s time to forget about private for new customers, the new world is public and customers are demanding public cloud, so let’s go and sell public. The solution is ready now. This is the product you need to adapt your business processes. I understand it’s a big change but for newer SAP partners, it’s super easy because they’ve been born into public cloud. For those older partners, we have the tools to help them to make that shift. It’s time to start investing.
Rafael Brugnini and SAP’s Partner Investment
How is SAP investing in our partners to help them to seize the opportunity?
Rafa: We have lots of tangible examples. We have added resources, we’ve created new roles so that we can work more closely and effectively with partners. We’re putting a lot of money on the table to improve processes and invest in them.
One of the biggest areas we’re working on is demand generation and on the presales side. We have a very experienced services ecosystem but now we’re working on beefing up the demand generation and selling capabilities to enable our partners to drive more business autonomously and capture the big opportunity out there in the market.
Plus, with things moving so fast, we’ve invested in lots of new tools that help partners to transform faster. Joule for consultants – as one example – will help them to deliver faster and therefore deliver more projects.
Investment In You
Here’s how SAP has invested in a range of new approaches and training programmes to empower partners to mature, become more selfsufficient and seize the market opportunity...
• In H1 2025, 16 bootcamps on SAP Business Suite and 14 on the Business Data Cloud were delivered to keep partners on track with SAP strategy and new solution releases.
• An influx of coaching services were added to the Partner Benefits Catalogue, to help partners to:
• Activate their demo environment (including Joule)
• Compete in hackathons
• Attend hands-on sessions
• Enjoy one-to-one dedicated coaching across the SAP Business Suite
• A new approach is being taken to help partners to create their own IP, thus giving them a stronger competitive advantage in the market-place. This includes:
• Boosting partner differentiation and profitability through Qualified partner package solutions. The QPPS are built, sold and supported by SAP Sell Partners as integrated, fixed-scope solutions which combine SAP cloud software with a partner’s own unique IP and services, their industry or line-ofbusiness expertise and their own extensions or applications
• The launch of the Industry Partner Opportunity map which allows partners to be the front-runner in developing solutions or extensions for priority industries, helping to foster an innovative, collaborative relationship with SAP.
In this head-to-head interview, Rich Phillips, Vice President, Head of Channel, EMEA, puts Matt Sinclair, Partner Autonomy Lead, EMEA, in the spotlight to garner the latest updates on the SAP EMEA PartnerLed Territory programme. Click here to watch
Spotlight on AI with
Timo Elliott
Timo Elliott, SAP’s Innovation Evangelist, roundsup the hot topics for partners looking to gain the competitive edge on artificial intelligence.
Double Down
From SAP Business Technology Platform to the evergreater drive for data, data (and more data), Timo outlines the key focus points for partners to double down on. Click
HOT TOPIC 2:
Accelerating Implementations
Hitting the accelerator on the implementation and adoption of AI will be important for partners looking to differentiate themselves in the market place. Timo explains how.
Agentic AI is built for adaptability so it’s time to rethink how to brief it in and how else it can be put to use. Timo provides examples and clear next steps.
Building AI around people, with people involved, is going to deliver the greatest – and most positive – impact in business. Here’s Timo on how to go about it.
Sapphire SPECIAL FEATURE
SAP and the Unfair Advantage
Peter Roberts, Vice President, Global Strategic Partners EMEA, attended Sapphire 2025 in Madrid.
Here, he shares his key take-aways and the opportunities they bring for partners across the EMEA region.
Sapphire 2025 was held in Madrid in May. An entire week dedicated to the very latest technological and strategic updates from SAP.
The over-riding take-away message? “Applications, data and AI.”
Peter Roberts, who attended the event, says: “In the past, Sapphire has always been about the move to the cloud, about RISE and GROW with SAP.
“But, this year, there was a sense that –for the most part – those messages have landed, they’re embedded in partners’ and customers’ business strategies. This year was different as it was about unparalleled Applications, unmatched Data and unrivalled AI.”
Applications
“Instead of ERP alone, it’s now about the Business Suite. The strategy is Cloud ERP and business applications for Financial management, Supply Chain management, Human Capital management, Spend management and Customer Experience,” explains Peter. “This is what SAP is pitching now and that came across really strongly at Sapphire. It was all about the SAP Business Suite.
“There were some amazing demos that demonstrated the seamlessness between S/4 and lines of business. One in particular featured different c-level personas (Chief Finance Officer, Chief HR Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief IT Officer and Chief Revenue Officer), each of them discussing a common business requirement. It began with the CFO managing the company profit and loss, looking at topline growth and the bottom line. He turned to the CRO to see if he had a CX-orientated activity that would drive growth, and then he looked at the supply chain with the COO to ensure low risk delivery. It was brilliant. What it demonstrated too was that, now that we have the Business Data Cloud, there is one common data layer for ERP and all the business applications which makes this all possible.
“So when we say ‘apps’ it’s the entire Business Suite we’re referring to, which is completely unique in the market place. We have a completely joined-up solution for all those c-level personas.”
Data
SAP is also uniquely placed to be able to serve up and provide access to data.
“Our partnership with DataBricks – which I think was a genius move on SAP’s part – means no one else on the planet can access the data in the way we can. DataBricks enables us to do that – it’s made this magic happen whereby the data and processes all work together seamlessly. That, for me, was a really powerful take-away.”
Artificial Intelligence
From the minute Peter touched down at Madrid airport, it was clear that one item in particular was going to be dominating the agenda at Sapphire: artificial intelligence (AI).
“SAP Business AI messaging was everywhere, from the airport advertising hoardings to the boards featuring our sponsors at Sapphire itself. There was so much buzz!” he says.
Embedded AI is designed to make things ‘faster and better’ but, as Peter adds, it isn’t about ‘throwing everything away and doing everything with AI’, rather, it’s there to enhance and improve business processes.
“If you take the SAP Business Suite and infuse it with AI, you can deliver some of your business processes forty, fifty even one hundred percent faster. That’s the way AI is going, looking at it through the SAP lens.
“And the other major battlefield is agentic AI: agents that connect all the different strands of a business together through SAP Business AI. SAP agents can access the business processes within SAP systems and we are totally unique in being able to offer that. No one else can access SAP process data and only SAP can do that directly with our agents. Just as we can with our data, requiring no copying of data thanks to DataBricks.
“This is where SAP has the unfair advantage: we can get all the data and processes directly. NO ONE else can do that. If you use our agents to get at the data and processes then you can build anything else you need around that.
And with the announcement that Joule and the Business Data Cloud are now available on non-SAP as well, the agentics battle has just hotted up.”
“…the unparalleled applications, unmatched data and unrivalled AI.”
Peter continues: “By virtue of the fact that 75% of businesses worldwide run SAP, our AI strategy is stronger than any of our competitors’. The Business Data Cloud has been delivered and has been accepted as being an extremely powerful solution. And with the inclusion of DataBricks, we now have the best applications, the best data and the best AI.”
Peter says he came away from Sapphire feeling like ‘we’d won the tech battle’: “We have an amazing roadmap and it was endorsed by everyone there.”
He adds: “My feeling from Sapphire is that we’ve taken this market by the scruff of its neck and provided direction, showing our customers – and our partners – where they can go with our apps, data and AI – the very best on the market.”
Up:
Key Sapphire Takeaways Rounding
Clean Core Always
Keeping a clean core is ‘paramount’ said Manos Raptopoulos, Chief Revenue Officer APAC, EMEA and MEE in his Sapphire keynote.
Says Peter: “This should be the goal of any one of our customers in order to be able to unlock the business value of AI.”
Opportunity for All
Says Peter: “Accenture has announced that they’re refreshing their business to specifically go after the Corporate (formerly Midmarket) segment using RISE with SAP andGROW with SAP. They would normally stay in the Large Enterprise space. And they’re not the only partners to be actively considering this. The opportunities are there for all partners.”
Lower Partner Implementation Costs
“There’s a big shift in the way our partners are using AI within their own businesses to reduce delivery timescales, reduce costs and free them up to do more projects and do them quicker,” explains Peter. “They want to be able to do more, they don’t want to be on projects that take a long time to deliver. AI is a significant part of the delivery methodology now and that will be a major boost to those customers who want new solutions as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.”
Catch up on all the news and announcements and watch on-demand replays from Sapphire Madrid here
Network News
The latest news updates for partners from across the region and SAP.
Sign-up Now for the next Partner Innovation Meeting
The next Partner Innovation Meeting for EMEA is scheduled to be broadcast live from the SAP Digital Hub in Galway on Thursday, 10th September.
Kicking off at 11am CET, the webinar will take a closer look at PartnerLed Territories, the latest updates on artificial intelligence and, of course, give partners the chance to table their questions to Team PES.
Click below to confirm your attendance!
Click here to register
Save the Date for the SAP EMEA & MEE Joint Partner Summit
The date is set for the first ever combined EMEA and MEE Partner Summit. Open to partners across both regions, the Summit takes place on 3rd and 4th November in Berlin. Mark the date in the calendar and look out for further details on how to register attendance.
Introducing WalkMe: Powering Digital & AI Adoption Across the SAP Ecosystem
WalkMe, the global leader in Digital Adoption Platforms (DAP), helps SAP customers and partners to accelerate digital transformation by simplifying complex workflows, reducing support and training costs, and maximising the value of software investments.
WalkMe overlays seamlessly onto SAP solutions, including S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, Ariba, Concur and BTP, delivering real-time, AI-powered guidance and automation in the flow of work. With advanced capabilities in generative AI and proactive friction detection, WalkMe enables organisations to streamline key processes across departments and deliver a more intuitive user experience—critical in today’s cloud-first, AI-enabled business environment.
Leading organisations such as IBM, Nestlé, ThermoFisher Scientific, and the U.S. Department of Defense use WalkMe to drive people-centric digital adoption, unlock business agility at scale, and maximise software return-on-investment.
Why It Matters
Despite major investments in digital and AI transformation, many organisations still struggle with adoption. WalkMe helps close that gap by:
• Guiding users with real-time, in-app assistance
• Reducing training and support overheads
• Presenting data insights to optimise digital engagement
WalkMe is available globally, listed in the SAP Pricebook, and is a certified SAP partner solution.
• Contact the WalkMe Partner Alliance team
• Explore enablement kits on the Propel Partner Portal
The InsideTrack
The Essential Upate for SAP Partners.
Illustrating the Inside Track
This edition of the Inside Track features the stunning illustrative work of Lydia Hill, a freelance illustrator based in Sheffield, England. Her diverse and quirky style is much in demand among clients such as AWS, Trustpilot, Vauxhall and Hoefler&Co.