Concur, an SAP company, has launched a new program to enable partners such as cloud solution providers, next-generation VARs, and traditional IT partners, to expand their cloud-based offerings to include travel, expense, and invoice management solutions.
The Concur Solution Provider program has been launched initially in the US and Canada, with the UK and Australia to follow.
According to IDC, by the end of 2015, 71 per cent of US small businesses deployed cloud solutions, up from only 21 per cent in 2013. Chris Chute, research vice president, global SMB cloud and mobility practice, IDC, attributes this acceleration to “small business managers keen to discover new cloud services that can enable stronger productivity”.
The small- and medium-sized business (SMB) sector represents the fastest growing segment within Concur.
“Travel and expense is the second-largest area of controllable business spend – a challenge especially significant to SMBs. With a partner-focused initiative like the Concur Solution Provider program, we can help partners expand the value they provide SMBs while driving business growth and profitability,” said Christal Belmont, SVP and GM of SMB and national accounts, Concur.
The new program will be led by Sachin Vora, who recently joined Concur as senior director of global business development, after 10 years building SMB and channel partner programs at Microsoft.
Concur recently announced plans to integrate with Office 365, allowing businesses to simplify travel booking and expense reporting – for example, by enabling users to submit expenses from Outlook and book travel based on Outlook calendar meetings.
“As evidenced by Concur’s integration with Office 365, the partnership between SAP and Microsoft continues to grow. This move by Concur to redouble efforts on the solution provider channel and Microsoft CSPs is a great opportunity for partners to drive digital and cloud transformation into their SMB customer base and deliver real value by aligning cloud services,” said Arnie Mondloch, senior director of SAP and Microsoft alliance, Microsoft.
