United Vars to Strengthen Worldwide Activities / SAP Midmarket Partner Network

Filderstadt, 09 March 2010 – The initiative behind the global SAP midmarket partner network known as United VARs dates back to 2005 and was followed one year later by six systems resellers signing the joint partnership agreement at the CeBIT 2006. Since then this community, which was co-initiated by All for One Midmarket AG, continues to expand selectively. The goal is to cover all key geographical markets in which small to mid-sized SAP customers from the manufacturing industry are operating internationally today. »With our new partners Headstart (Espo / Finland), Augusta Reeves France (Paris), Chelford (London) and Elsys Consulting Services (Istanbul and United Arab Emirates), our community now numbers 19 members and offers on-site services for SAP projects in more than 40 countries,« announced Detlef Mehlmann, head of alliance management at All for One Midmarket AG and chairman of the United VARs steering committee. »Our partners from the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are playing a very special role for the export activities of our customers from Germany,« added Mehlmann.

The idea behind this network is to serve and support small to mid-sized SAP customers throughout the world by engaging and involving the leading SAP partners in their respective countries. »This way everyone benefits, since it is almost impossible to establish an international office that could even approach those highly capable local players when it comes to consulting skills and selling power in their home markets,« explained Alejandro Daniel O'Davoren, Deputy General Manager of Seidor, Barcelona. Through the United VARs network, each partner excels and stands out with the kind of service that it would otherwise be unable to deliver alone. This partner network functions in a similar fashion to Lufthansa’s Star Alliance and other comparable networks, such as those for law firms and advertising agencies. In international SAP projects, the initiating partner usually assumes the role of global contractor and then integrates the local United VARs partner as subcontractor. Uniform implementation and process methodologies ensure consistent quality standards. The network has also proven itself invaluable in the area of customer support following an SAP solution’s operational start-up phase. Whereas customer support from SAP is primarily made available in English, the service and support delivered by United VARs partners are geared to small and mid-sized companies and provided in the local language. That goes down very well with our customers.

Annual Conference in Barcelona with Pat Hume
In addition to the regular conference calls to explore joint projects, and bilateral meetings and steering committee sessions to monitor and support ongoing projects, the United VARs annual conference to be held in Barcelona from 15 to 17 March will provide a venue for communicating directly with SAP. »I’m very excited about meeting with United VARs,« said Pat Hume, Senior Vice President SAP Global SME Indirect Channel. »SAP has announced significant and positive changes in the area of a newly enhanced maintenance and support model, which is a direct response to customer and partner inputs such as United VARs.«

Last year a good dozen projects were realised in connection with United VARs and which involved All for One Midmarket AG as a global contractor and subcontractor. This is a clear sign of what should increasingly come into play in 2010. As far as management board spokesman Lars Landwehrkamp is concerned, there is full agreement that the economic recovery in Germany will be »strongly driven by worldwide exports«. He also noted, »Our internationalisation strategy for further expanding the United VARs partner network comes at just the right time.«