Stronger and more successful together

In particular, we promote networking among partners and provide a platform for productive and value-added business collaborations. As an association, we are in regular contact with SAP and enable information and knowledge transfer with a "partner focus" as well as access to specific SAP information and contacts.

In working and topic groups, we develop partner-relevant topics, promote a targeted exchange of knowledge and give SAP partners a common voice. For our members, we recently launched the IA4SP Partner Info Sessions as a regular series of events, hand-picked presentations on selected topics related to SAP solutions and technologies, partner management, sales and marketing, and more.

The session on the topic of "Rise with SAP", which focused in particular on questions and needs of partner companies in this context, took place back in February. Axel Vetter from SAP presented what exactly "Rise with SAP" entails and means for customers as well as partners.

Variety of working groups

The working groups, which we invite interested parties to join, have also successfully started their work this year despite the lockdown. The "Digital Sales" working group started the year with the topic "Trade Fair Stand and Beyond - Where Do New Customer Leads Come From?

For this purpose, the two working group spokespersons Andreas Dietrich (Prodato Integration Technology) and Andrea Grosse (Just4People) won Michael Müller from MLD Digits as an external speaker and competent discussion partner for the topic complex "virtual trade fairs".

The "Digital Transformation" working group also issued an invitation to the workshop together with the Values Factory. The focus: "Targeted transformation into the new normal". Topics here included the impact of the pandemic situation and response on future market and business developments and how providers can respond to this, e.g. with new forms of targeted cooperation in the partner ecosystem.

The intensive discussion showed that the targeted handling of the consequences of the pandemic, a pandemic-related new level in digitization and the resulting overall enormously accelerated new normality plays a strategic role for many SAP partners and IA4SP members.

Theme and working group days

The virtual IA4SP-AK day took place at the end of March. During the event, the spokespersons of the working and topic groups presented the current status of their groups. By popular request, another focus was once again on "Rise with SAP".

Christian Mehrtens (SAP) presented the new partner organization of SAP Germany and was also available to answer questions. In addition, the association was able to win the editor-in-chief of E3 magazine, Peter Färbinger, as a speaker, who presented his usual competent assessment of the "Rise with SAP" program.

The IA4SP Promise

The year 2021 has started with a multitude of smaller and larger challenges. Our goal as an association is to increasingly support our members to be successful in this changed market environment.