From HP to SAP: Channel VP Meaghan Sullivan's First 6 Weeks

Channel veteran Meaghan Sullivan jumped from Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) to SAP (NYSE: SAP) about six weeks ago. As VP of Global Channel Marketing at SAP, Sullivan sees multiple partner opportunities — from Big Data to mobile device management — going forward. But how will Sullivan help SAP partners to accelerate their sales? Here’s the update.

“I come from a company [HP] that has an established channel. Coming to SAP, we have a great foundational channel model here but it’s at the adolescent stage.”

SAP wants 40 percent of its software revenue to come from partners by 2015. That figure includes indirect revenue and revenue from third-party solutions. Right now, the figure is about 33 percent.

How will SAP accomplish lift its partner-generated revenues? Sullivan points to the people, noting that SAP’s channel team includes a growing number of seasoned leaders — such as fellow HP veteran Kevin Gilroy.

Sullivan mentioned several channel partner opportunities going forward, including:

And of course there are key brands like BusinessByDesign and SAP’s ERP software portfolio.

Partner Marketing Initiatives

So how will Sullivan help to empower channel partners? Her responsibilities include:

That’s right: Distributors are very important to SAP going forward, particularly in the SMB space — which SAP calls SME (small and midsize enterprise).  Stay tuned for more on that…