SAP AG wants to make it easier for partners to create, market and sell applications built on its platforms with a new component to its SAP PartnerEdge program  that offers access to SAP technologies a single, simplified framework under one global contract.

The SAP PartnerEdge program for Application Development was announced at the SAP Americas Partner Leadership Summit being held this week in Miami. The program is geared toward partners looking to develop and monetize mobile, cloud, database and high-performance in-memory apps, according to company officials.

“We are convinced that our technologies help companies speed up their business innovation to maintain competitive advantage,” said Eric Duffaut, president of global ecosystem and channels for Walldorf, Germany-based SAP. “Joining forces with a strong partner ecosystem that innovates on top of our platforms enables us to best serve our customers’ rapidly evolving needs.

The fee-based SAP PartnerEdge for Application Development lets partners to choose from a set of innovation packs built around SAP’s databases and its HANA cloud and mobile platforms and SAP Netweaver technology. The innovation packs contain technology-specific license rights and support custom development for partners developing apps with their customers. PartnerEdge for AppDev participants also get go-to-market support, application reviews and use of the online SAP Store. Partners concerned about maintaining a one-on-one relationship with their clients can bundle and sell SAP runtime licenses with their custom applications.

“More and more IT solution providers are engaged in building their own software products. With the launch of this new partnering model, SAP aims to provide all the components to enable partners and the developer community to innovate across SAP technology platforms,” said Darren Bibby, vice president of channels and alliance research at analyst firm International Data Corp. “This comprehensive program structure is forecast to allow partners to flexibly expand their technology scope and market reach.”

SAP has been focused on building its channel community in recent years. SAP has set a goal of reaching one billion people (and $20 billion in revenue) by 2015, which means expanding its presence in SMB is a must. After a few missteps in reaching that audience, it has built its presence in the space with its partner network, a charge led by longtime channel veteran Kevin Gilroy, now the company’s senior vice president of global channels.

The enterprise software vendor crossed the $1 billion mark in partner-driven revenue for the first time in 2012, with channel sales growing 86 percent year-over-year.

The SAP App Dev program is available at www.sapadpc.com. Interested partners can try it out for free for 12 months with limited access.