The following table lists guidelines for SAP hosting partners and SAP global hosting partners:

Partnership Guidelines	SAP Partner - Hosting	SAP Global Partner - Hosting
SAP nomination process	Country SAP alliance management or SAP outsourcing partner engagement	SAP outsourcing partner engagement, SAP global partner management, or SAP Executive Board
SAP approval process	Country SAP alliance management	SAP outsourcing partner engagement, SAP global partner management, or SAP Executive Board
Market segment standing	Not applicable	Among top companies, rated in terms of importance to SAP and customer satisfaction
Experience with hosted SAP solutions	Required	Required
Sales and marketing activities	Supportive role	Supportive role
Geographical presence (customers, operations)	Country-specific, regional	All three SAP regions: EMEA, Americas, and Asia Pacific
Organizational structure (process consistency: IT service management)	Local	Global
Understanding of country-specific markets and regulations	Required	Required
Joint activities using SAP partner enabling services	Optional	Required
Business plan that defines joint creation of additional business	Required	Required
Qualification of Partner Operation, with certificate from SAP	Required	Required
Qualification timeframe	Re-qualification every 2 years	Initial qualification – all regions within 6 months; re-qualification every 2 years
Reference customers in hosted model	Local reference customers	Global reference customers
Multi-time zone support	Not applicable	Required 24/7; own or through partner network, with multilingual service
mySAP Business Suite solution-focused offering powered by SAP NetWeaver	Required	Required
Technical support capability	Required	Required

In addition to adhering to the partnership guidelines described here, hosting partners must satisfy various technical requirements, depending on the type of service or solution they offer. For more information, contact the SAP hosting partner infoline or have a look at the targets and metrics of the program.