It’s been a year since the launch of the SAP BTP Operations Certification, and the response has been convincing. The SAP BTP Operations Certification has become a beacon for our partners. Let´s review the past year to better assess the achievement of the new certification service.
What were the initial goals and objectives when launching the new service, and have they been met?
The SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) is an important part of the overall SAP strategy. Not only have customers repeatedly asked SAP for reliable partners who have experience with SAP BTP, but SAP partners themselves have also expressed a desire to underscore their capabilities in dealing with SAP BTP by offering a corresponding certification. Our partners are aware of the importance of SAP BTP in the market and want to ensure that they have the necessary expertise to help customers leverage this technology. Having the SAP BTP Operations certification demonstrates the ability to deliver high-quality solutions to customers and differentiate themselves from competitors.
Interest in our new offering was high right from the start. The article with the release alone reached high click numbers within a very short time. Partners then wrote to us asking when they could get the certification. Many partners added the SAP BTP Operations certification when it came to renewing their existing certifications as part of the biennial audits. There were even partners wanting to add this certification to their existing certification scope immediately. They all share the motivation to differentiate and stand out in the market with a SAP-certified service offering, allowing them to position themselves to customers as a reliable and trustworthy service provider. So, in summary – yes, our initial expectations were more than met.
Did the service meet our expectations in terms of partner appeal (attractiveness), and how have partners reacted to this new service?
Innovative partners have been offering services for SAP BTP for quite a while for our customers. Some of our global partners deliver BTP services in conjunction with SAP or to SAP, working on industry-specific solutions together. When we approached the first partners regarding this new certification the feedback was overwhelming. The partners see the advantage of making their experience in the operations of BTP solutions more visible in the market. In the first 12 months since the launch, we certified several partners at a global level as well as local partners, mostly in EMEA and the Americas. We expect this exponential growth to continue well into 2024, covering all regions.
What feedback or insights have we received from your partners who have opted for the new service?
We have seen many very interesting scenarios and solutions on SAP BTP, which have been developed or are currently being developed by partners. Some of these solutions are already available for production, others are showcases or proof of concepts, especially in the data-to-value area. The partners see the central importance of SAP BTP and welcome the certification to be able to prove their knowledge and experience in this area.
What lessons have we learned from the past year, and are any adjustments needed to further enhance the new service’s success?
Generally, we recognized that we cover the important topic areas within the scope of our SAP BTP certification. Of course, we were happy about that. But SAP BTP is a topic where we always must stay up to date and make regular changes, both to the content and to the names – just to take the example of ‘AppGyver becomes SAP Build Apps’. With other certifications that we offer, the content is not as dynamic as with SAP BTP.
Just recently, we adjusted the BTP operations certification to have it enabled for RISE with SAP. This ensures that our partners are supported with an understanding of the relevant areas of RISE with SAP. It enables our partners to emphasize their capabilities not only for SAP BTP operations but also for RISE with SAP.
How does the new service align with our long-term business goals and strategy?
SAP BTP is one of the strategic pillars of SAP, and for our partners, it is even more important to be a trusted advisor for their customers in this area. When customers choose RISE with SAP, embedded tools, and frameworks like Clean Core, as well as included entitlements for Signavio, SAP Build, and SAP BTP, they need help to keep pace with technology advancements and quickly consume new strategic innovations.
In addition, partners must adhere to a clean core strategy. The focus should shift from modifying the core system to building extensions and add-on solutions using the SAP BTP extensibility framework and SAP Build for automation and low-code, no-code applications.
The more customers undergo cloud transformation, the more important it is for partners to underline their SAP BTP capabilities with people certifications, and furthermore with a company certification like SAP BTP Operations.
You can find the most important information as well as an overview of all certified partners on our SAP Outsourcing Operations Partner Guide.
To clarify your questions about the certification requirements and the certification process itself, please read our presentation.
The SAP Certification for Partners program is part of the larger PILS (Partner Innovation Lifecycle Services) team at SAP, which is a global team of experts who help partners develop innovative solutions on SAP platforms and products to enable customer success. They offer a comprehensive set of guided services to partners who provide hardware, IT operations, and software extensions. These include co-innovation, certification, and technical services to help customers transform their business and run intelligent enterprises.
Visit PILS at SAP.COM: https://www.sap.com/partner/certify-my-solution.html
Visit PILS at PartnerEdge.COM: https://partneredge.sap.com/en/partnership/services/co-innovation.html