CONNECT Remote
SAP Partner Summit 2020

How SAP built a real partner community for an event

Since 2019, Converve has been the go-to event platform provider for the largest SAP Partner Summit. In 2021 and 2022, Converve continued to supplement their platform with with updated technology and new, cutting-edge features. Join us as we review the 2020 edition where we faced unprecedented challenges with the onset of a global pandemic.

“Converve's platform has helped us stay connected virtually with our partner community and enabled engaging conversations. The feedback from our participants validates our trust in the platform and reassures us that we took the right call.”
Elisabeth Schaible (SAP)

Overview

SAP is one of the world’s leading business process management software providers, developing solutions that enable effective data processing and the flow of information within organizations.

The ERP giant’s portfolio offers more than 100 solutions in every imaginable business field and boasts of more than 230 million users within its cloud. More than 2000 SAP partners support SMEs and mid-sized companies worldwide by deploying SAP’s powerful tools. There are over 500 partners located in the DACH region.

0 Different Countries

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The Event

SAP Connect “Remote” took place on November 3rd and 4th, 2020. The goal of the digital event was to allow approximately 1,500 attendees, divided between SAP employees and attendees from SAP partners in German-speaking countries, to connect with each other.

``CONNECT has long been synonymous with SAP's strong community with its partners``
SAP

The content presentation took center stage and the delivery was flawlessly executed on the platform. The latest product developments and sales strategies were discussed in more than 80 master classes and roundtables.

The Community Wall is all about networking. A tailor-made matchmaking algorithm suggests relevant contacts to the event participants.

Challenge

Together with Ottomisu, an agency for event technology & communication, we thought about how to digitalize SAP Connect to fit the new formats of safely hosting events.

“In the beginning, we didn't realize that this edition of SAP Connect would be a virtual event. However, we had taken a closer look at the digital event format earlier in 2020. One thing was resoundingly clear, for this event, we needed partners who could think on their feet and take on new challenges confidently.”
Lisa Romanenko (SAP)

We wanted to recreate the success and a sense of togetherness of SAP’s live events on a virtual stage. To achieve this, we needed an event platform that was:

  • Equipped with excellent interactive formats
  • Able to establish and strengthen a sense of community
  • Up to date with the latest tech.

“It was clear that SAP Connect must also meet the demands of the partner community virtually, which we are familiar with thanks to the trust we have earned over the years. We were looking for a platform that could host relevant content formats, have quantifiable business impact, create networking opportunities and inspire the audience while deepening human connection.” – Ottomisu

Solution

At Converve, we adapt our platform to our customer’s needs, not the other way around. This meant that the virtual edition of the SAP event had to be at the same level, if not better, as the live version in terms of diversity and creativity. SAP & Ottomisu had developed formats with Connect in the past which had to be a part of the virtual version of the event. Converve, with its highly flexible & customizable platform, was the perfect fit.
In close cooperation with the partners, we developed the event platform with unique features & content to meet the custom requirements of SAP Connect. There was nothing that couldn’t be done.

Among other things, the following were created:

  • A Community Wall with a range of networking opportunities.
  • The Discovery Lounge as a “living room” with important information & itinerary available at a glance.
  • Program overview & individual schedule with sample agenda option
  • Roundtables hosted by the organizer & participants.
  • A virtual experience mall that transfers Connect formats such as the “App Arena” or “Meet the Expert” into the digital world.
  • An extensive content library for knowledge exchange.
sap connect converve dashboard live stage
“If for whatever reason I missed a session, it was quite easy to re-watch it later. The Content Library was designed specifically for the event and the Recommendation Hub made that possible.”
Lisa Romanenko (SAP)
sap connect mediathek

You can watch the full platform in a 2-minute tour here.

Conclusion

CONNECT Remote has managed to remain THE live event for the SAP partner community, even in a virtual space. “With the multifunctional platform, we succeeded not only in preserving the character of CONNECT and the interaction of the community, but also in enhancing it with innovative modules at the same time,” is how Jörn Huber, CEO Ottomisu, sums up the project.

Mark Kessels, CEO of Converve GmbH, explains the success of the first fully digital CONNECT as follows:

  1. The CONNECT Remote was not just a series of webinars, but a complete package of content and interaction with participants. This created a new kind of event experience that was in no way inferior to the participant experience at physical events.

  2. Content is king. But networking is the queen. “Face2Face” is not a characteristic that only live events can have. Through upstream matching, the video meetings arranged via the platform could become even more effective and valuable than the classic ” meeting-by-chance” at the trade show booth.

  3. Experience as an event planner also plays an important role in digital events. A “fancy” digital event platform without a concept and experience would have had a high failure rate.

  4. In the future, events will become more independent of time & space and offer more democratic & inclusive participation options. The CONNECT Remote has already shown in an early phase what the future of events can look like.