Business process vendor, Software AG, has been ramping up its channel activity in the past year as it plans to focus more of its business towards an indirect strategy.
In July, the vendor hired Stanimira Koleva as its senior vice president and COO for Asia Pacific and Japan, partner engagement was on top of her list of priorities.
Since the company’s inception in 1969 and numerous acquisitions along the way, it has undergone a revamp of its product portfolio, from a developer of database management systems through to digital business platforms, and adding portfolios around analytics and big data.
It also focuses on building real-time, customer experience management.
Koleva said the company embarked on recruiting and enabling partners in the past year.
In Australia, about 70 per cent of Software AG’s business is direct, but Koleva is looking to drive this towards a 50/50 balance. Up until two years ago, the vendor’s business was 90 per cent direct.
“I’m a strong believer the partner ecosystem delivers IT value to customers and that’s a major strategy for me,” she said. “In Australia, I’m looking to take advantage of the trends around Cloud to gain a share in the mid-market."
Software AG has a partner program that offers margins, reference fees and joint marketing initiatives.
Koleva said it would be looking to enhance its partner program to encompass three types of partners such as services, implementation and deployment partnerships; OEM and managed services partners.
Presently, Software AG maintains partnerships with specialised partners such as Leonardo Consulting and Indian system integrators such as Tech Mahindra.
“I’m hoping to advance partnerships with some of the top two or three Australian-based SIs,” she said. “This is not going as fast as I would like to because my portfolio requires a specialist skills set. Eventually, I may pursue an ecosystem strategy, where I can have partners working with each other and leveraging skills where it exists.”
Financial services, banking and insurance make up 40 per cent of its customer base, as its products help monitor customer behaviour, fraud detection or do market surveillance to catch patterns and behaviours. Koleva spotted market opportunities within customers seeking out a hybrid Cloud environment, Internet of Things and smart connected cities.
“Lately we’ve been diversifying around the manufacturing industry, which is making major strides in Internet of Things and predictive maintenance,” she said. “Retail is also expressing interest in real-time capabilities.”
