Taking SAP's Premier Partner Recognition Program to the Pinnacle

Ten years ago, I reviewed seating arrangements for our partners who would be attending the annual SAP Pinnacle Awards dinner in Orlando, FL. Much like planning a wedding, I needed to consider who would be at which table, ensuring parity, and ruminated on which guests might make the most out of being together.

Despite the effort we put into the set-up, the majority of our invited guests left the dinner "empty handed". Why? We basically asked our partners to patiently sit and wait for their award category to be announced, and then much like nominees at the Academy Awards, there would only be one winner.

It is true that most partners acknowledged it was an honor just to be nominated, but understandably, not everyone appreciated committing an entire evening to sitting with strangers or distant acquaintances, only to find out they did not receive an award. Something had to change.

In 2012, the SAP Pinnacle Award program had been relaunched. Based on feedback from partners, we did away with the awards dinner and placed more of an emphasis on recognition and promotional opportunities that would support our partner’s marketing efforts. We introduced distinctive branding and logos, a newly designed custom trophy, a strong focus on PR, and top-tier recognition activities. Over the years we have evolved the program to support our partners and business priorities, moving into 2022 we are enhancing the program once again!

The SAP Pinnacle Award is SAP’s premier and only global partner recognition program, spotlighting SAP’s top-performing partners. There’s tremendous significance in this achievement because it signals to prospects and customers which partners are doing an exemplary job, both supporting their customers, and in working with SAP.  Winners and finalists are showcased for their elite status of excellence in driving SAP business and co-innovation, and most of all helping our mutual customers succeed.

“Our partners are key to turning the Intelligent Enterprise into reality,” said Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE. “Despite challenging times, our ecosystem has once again demonstrated its innovation power, dedication and excellence in helping our customers unlock new ways of running their business. Together, we continue to deliver quality solutions, services, and experiences, allowing our customers to thrive and succeed with SAP solutions.”

Coinciding with the 20th anniversary, the SAP Pinnacle Awards program will recognize different achievements in 2022, which are tightly aligned with our business strategy. The three core focus areas will be: Customer Success, Intelligent Enterprise Innovation, and Sustainability and Social Impact, each with its own set of categories.

We publish the award criteria well in advance of our winner and finalist announcements, which provides our partners with information they can use to drive their business. 

We are also encouraging partner participation. The Social Impact category will be open for self-nomination from January 10, 2022 through February 28, 2022. This is a great opportunity for partners to highlight efforts they have been made to make the world run better and improve people’s lives.

Lastly, we are enhancing our comprehensive benefits package. Prior to 2020, many of the recognition activities coincided with physical events. However, in 2020 the pandemic, emphasized the need to adapt our recognition to virtual events and placed an even greater emphasis on digital marketing, promotion and PR. As we look to 2022 and beyond, we continue to enhance the benefits package to showcase our partners’ achievements.

If you are looking to find the right SAP partner to work with, or if you are an SAP partner aspiring to be recognized with an SAP Pinnacle Award, I encourage you to learn more at www.sap.com/pinnacle.

And if you are interested in partnering with SAP, please visit https://www.sap.com/partner.html for information on the award-winning SAP PartnerEdge program.