Samer Naguib, Channels & Alliances Director at SAS, says the company is growing across MEA through a strong partner ecosystem, enabling partners with AI, analytics, and professional services for full customer success.
Can you explain SAS’s growth strategy and the role of channel partners in expanding your business?
Absolutely. SAS’s growth strategy is centered around our channel partners, which is one of the main pillars of our business. We are expanding our partner ecosystem and driving business through our partners, particularly in what we call growth markets. Coming from an enterprise background where we have long served large banks and government entities, we are now focused on reaching new industries and markets with different maturity levels. We understand that we cannot achieve this expansion alone, so our approach is to onboard, enable, and support partners who can drive our growth in these regions. This forms the essence of our global strategy.
Do you have a structured channel plan or partner program in place to support this ecosystem?
Yes, we do. While we haven’t branded it under a specific name, we have a clear and well-defined strategy for different partner levels and ecosystems. We recently introduced a distribution-based business model where each distributor covers specific regions and markets. They help us with partner enablement, onboarding, and support to ensure full market coverage.
We’ve segmented our partners into two categories. The first group consists of focus partners, who are directly managed by our Channel Organization through dedicated channel account managers. These managers work closely with them on business planning, marketing, and field support. The second group comprises partners managed by our distributors. This structure allows us to balance close collaboration with strategic partners while ensuring wide regional coverage through our distributors.
Beyond that, we’re also strengthening alliances with major cloud and technology providers such as Microsoft, Google, AWS, and Red Hat. These partnerships ensure that SAS solutions are optimized for leading cloud platforms. Additionally, we work closely with global system integrators like KPMG, Accenture, Deloitte, and EY, who not only provide advisory services but now play a bigger role in technology implementation.
Which markets are currently your main areas of focus for expansion?
Our focus markets in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa include Saudi Arabia, which is one of our most important regions. In fact, we recently announced the opening of our MENA regional headquarters in Riyadh during our SAS Innovate event. Saudi Arabia currently has over 30 active partners, both local system integrators and regional players, collaborating with local firms. Beyond the Kingdom, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, and South Africa are also priority markets for us as we continue to strengthen our partner ecosystem.
What kind of partners are you looking to onboard as part of this expansion?
We’re primarily looking for partners with strong industry domain expertise and a willingness to innovate by building their own intellectual property on top of the SAS platform. Another key factor is their ability to deliver an end-to-end customer journey — covering sales, pre-sales, delivery, customer success, and support. The more complete their engagement with the customer, the stronger the partnership. We want partners who can replicate the same high standards of customer experience that SAS delivers directly.
How does SAS manage after-sales support for customers once the partner has deployed the solution?
We follow a three-tiered support model. The first tier involves building basic technical capacity within the customer’s team so they can manage simple administrative tasks. The second tier is the partner’s responsibility, where they provide deeper technical support and optimization based on their experience with SAS solutions. The third tier is SAS itself, where customers can directly access our standard global support services. This model ensures quick response times and a seamless support experience from basic troubleshooting to advanced technical issues.
Partner profitability is always a key concern in the channel. How do you ensure your partners remain competitive and profitable?
SAS gives partners flexibility in pricing, which is one of our biggest advantages. We provide a certain level of discount based on specific criteria, but we don’t control the end-customer price. Partners are free to set their pricing to align with customer needs and market dynamics. Of course, we do have a deal registration process to protect partner investments and ensure fairness, but the pricing flexibility gives them a better chance to win deals and maintain healthy margins.
Professional services are a major revenue driver in the channel. How is SAS helping partners build capabilities in this area?
We recognize that professional services play a critical role in both customer success and partner profitability. SAS has its own professional services organization for enterprise clients who prefer to work directly with the vendor. However, not all customers want or can afford that option, so we are investing in partner enablement programs to help them build professional service capabilities. Through training, certifications, and enablement initiatives, we are developing partner capacity to deliver implementation and support services independently. This allows us to scale faster while maintaining high-quality service delivery across markets.
Are you also expanding your focus to the SME market?
Yes, we are. Traditionally, SAS has been strong in core industries such as banking, insurance, government, and telecom. Now we are extending into what we call supported industries, which include sectors where there’s growing demand for AI and analytics-driven solutions. To address these opportunities, we’re creating new offerings and packages tailored to SME requirements in terms of complexity, pricing, and business needs. This allows us to make our solutions more accessible and relevant to a wider market.
Finally, what message would you like to share with partners who are considering joining the SAS ecosystem?
My message to current and potential partners is that we are deeply committed to growing through our ecosystem. Our partners are an integral part of our success, and we are fully dedicated to investing in their enablement and profitability. SAS offers tremendous opportunities in analytics, AI, and business transformation, and we invite partners to join us in delivering these innovations to the market. Together, we can create real impact and drive meaningful digital transformation across industries.
