After more than three decades working side by side with partners, SAP’s John Scola has built a reputation as a pragmatic, community-minded leader who never loses sight of what really matters in the IT channel: Partner economics, shared success and showing up for one another through constant change. As part of a series of Q&As with GTIA board members, Scola, global vice president, partner ecosystem success at SAP, reflects on the moment that shaped his partner-first philosophy, explains why AI represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for solution providers and outlines how GTIA, vendors, and ITSPs must work together—without silos—to lead the next wave of transformation. Equal parts realism and optimism, Scola’s perspective is rooted in giving back to a community he’s spent his career helping grow. Here’s what he had to say.
You’ve spent more than two decades helping SAP partners build profitable, cloud-first businesses. What’s one defining moment that most shaped your philosophy on partner ecosystem success?
The defining moment was when I met my first partner, probably more than three decades ago, but who is counting. That was early in my career, and I hadn’t fully wrapped my head around what a partner truly is. When I realized that partners are business owners, employers, who are doing their best every day for their customers, their employees, their families—trying to make payroll, put food on the table and build a business that they can be proud of and one day sell or pass on. That was the moment that I realized that partner economics are paramount to driving a health partner ecosystem. Economics need to drive every decision. Thus, when the world shifted to SaaS, the economics were thrown out and we needed to figure out not only how we as a vendor remain profitable, but how to we help our partners on this journey.
Your work has focused on simplifying programs and creating executable growth plays for partners around the world. What do you see as the biggest opportunity for the channel ecosystem over the next few years?
AI—it’s simply a massive and the opportunities are endless. The channel needs to bring AI to their customers and guide their customers on the AI journey, which will drive a tremendous amount of opportunity for the channel and the customers that they transform. AI consumption will be tremendous, but the services to drive change management and transformation will be much more. It’s going to be a great ride for all of us.
How has your work with GTIA shaped your perspective on the community and on what vendors should be doing to drive partner success?
You could really feel the energy at ChannelCon 2025—the ITSP community was definitely ready for a new approach, and I feel that GTIA is delivering on that. GTIA and vendors need to come together to lead the transformation that is coming to the ITSP community. For GTIA, that’s about showing the vision of what is coming down the road with world-class research, a vendor neutral approach and great reach into the ITSP community. GTIA is perfectly positioned to guide the ITSP community to the next phase of growth. For vendors, they need to lead with economics—demonstrating how innovation and transformation drive profitable business and long-term growth. We need to be in it together—succeeding as a unified team, not as silos.
As a GTIA board member, what impact are you most committed to making for ITSPs and vendors who want to collaborate more effectively and profitably?
If it hasn’t come across already, the overarching theme for me is transformation. We’ve heard the term “innovate or die” for years, and now we hear about transformation. AI is driving that. We—as GTIA, vendors and ITSPs—need to come together to ensure that we all drive that transformation. Our joint customers are asking for us to the take the lead, show them the way—and I don’t think any one of us alone has the answer. We need to come together, share experiences, share visions and share the success. We win as one.
And just for fun, when you’re off the clock and away from the channel, what hobby or interest helps you recharge?
Which clock are you referring to, cause my clock doesn’t turn off. When I’m not at my desk, I like to stay active and be outside—that allows me to focus and let the “on the clock” world disappear. I’m into a lot of different sports: Biking (road, gravel or mountain), hiking, snowboarding, skiing, fishing and gardening. I simply like to be active, and I love to test and push myself. Always up for a new physical challenge… although I gave up running many years ago.
Meet the GTIA Board of Directors! Read the blog series.
