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CitiXsys, a software product and services company and a global ISV for SAP, will provide retail, warehouse management, inter company solutions and credit card applications around Business One. It is the only Indian organization to provide micro-vertical solutions for PartnerEdge program.
PartnerEdge provides a best-in-class approach for supporting software solution and reselling partners by leveraging a collaborative selling model and a micro-vertical product strategy around SAP Business One.
In an exclusive interview with CRN, Puneet Mohan, Vice President Global Marketing and Manish Chaturvedi, VP Sales, CitiXsys said the company initiated these products using its own IP.
Said Mohan, “We help SAP optimize and improve technology and with PartnerEdge we want to tell the channel community that we will jointly collaborate with resellers and partners across verticals for the SME market. We will provide resellers a platform for enterprise applications. The collaboration will also be in terms of underlining technology, providing framework, improving technology, developing solutions around B1 and joint go to market strategies.”
These strategies involve lead generation, education through webinars, etc since a lot of people are developing solutions around SAP. “The differentiator between them and us would chiefly be that our solutions would be co-produced, co- labeled, co-branded something on the lines of `as endorsed by SAP,’ he explained. There are close to 400 B1 resellers globally.
Said Chaturvedi, “Because the product is aimed at SME and the market is niche, the objective of PartnerEdge is to provide one forum for products and solutions.”
“The reseller will invent the whole wheel with PartnerEdge. He will act as a solution provider in the particular geography, across a particular region. (on the lines of regional distribution network). In return, we will provide them a platform to take their product globally,” he said.
This would benefit the Indian resellers who typically fit the medium to small size bill. “Most of these companies cannot afford the implementation part (deployments). We will standardize implementation templates for them and also issue how to guides. The objective is to enable the reseller community into the implementation module and ensure that deployments are not delayed,” said Mohan.
Chaturvedi said that initially partners would share revenues earned from license sales. “At present, ISVs and B1 issue separate licenses to named as well as corporate users. There are different strategies for different offerings and since each partner has his unique license price, we are working on a uniform licensing policy. However, it is too early to comment on it, since the strategy is yet to be frozen. It will work on the lines of a reseller login and password system.”
He said that the initiatives will enable partners reduce deployment time to about four to six weeks, including B1. On investment, he said that CitiXSys has invested considerable time and man hours, but wasn’t at liberty to part with figures.
The company also has a strategy lined for its own channel partners. “We have about 80 partners in India. Most of them are involved in concept and solution selling. Some are also box pushers. We will provide them scope for customizing their offerings.”
“As a part of PartnerEdge, we will train and enable them in the use of newer technologies, provide demo products, sales, services and implementation support, help them close deals, provide consulting and product support. There will be joint marketing campaigns and leads generated during these campaigns will be passed on to the partners.”
“Besides others, we are working very closely with HP for retail. We are on the verge of signing large SIs in India,” Mohan said. |