On the Scene: Clarity Is SAP’s New Enterprise

For the rest of the August 2009 issue of CRM magazine, please click here.

Software giant SAP may have a new focus, judging from the messages set forth in Orlando, Fla., by key SAP executives during this year’s SAPPHIRE user conference. While last year there was a heavy emphasis on “changing the game”—Web 2.0 applications and functionality in the German juggernaut’s CRM solution offerings—this year’s message implied that the game had really changed: The worldwide economic recession now requires enterprises—of all sizes—to possess and demonstrate clarity, transparency, and flexibility.

During the opening keynote address, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker—shedding the “co” from his title after the retirement of Henning Kagermann—made it crystal clear to the 10,000 in attendance (and 8,000 attending virtually) that, despite some of the positive signs from the stock market, more bumps in the road are coming. “Uncertainty is here to stay,” he said. “So, we need to prepare the world to be a different place and emerge out of crisis.”

Mary Wardley, program vice president for IDC, explains that being able—especially today—to convince companies to continue to invest large sums of money in ripping and replacing systems is a challenge. “Purchasing in a more incremental fashion is resonating with companies now,” she says. “SAP took the right approach.”

The recession arguably affected on-site attendance at SAPPHIRE this year—the 10,000 present marked a 50 percent drop from last year. Granted, this year 8,000 utilized SAP’s virtual conference, making it technically the most well-attended SAPPHIRE to date. Rodney Masney, immediate past chairperson of Americas’ SAP User Group (which teams up with SAP to put on SAPPHIRE), said matter-of-factly, “In this tough economic environment, just getting 10,000 people here is a big deal.”

Ray Wang, vice president and principal analyst for Forrester Research, says that, while many exhibitors found show traffic to be light, quality over quantity ruled the day. “The quality of the attendees was significantly better,” he says. “In fact, the key topic was how they could reduce overall cost of ownership with SAP and what to do with their SAP roadmap.”

Part of this had to do with what makes—as myriad SAP executives put it—a clear, transparent, and flexible enterprise. During the show, SAP unveiled two pieces to this puzzle. The first piece, SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, is a business intelligence solution intended to enable anyone in the organization to navigate and mine data without specialized staff.

Wang says it will be important for the company to highlight in the next few years just how the components of this offering play a role in the SAP ecosystem. “SAP must convince as many of its customers to adopt [BusinessObjects Explorer] where it can in order to meet license revenue targets,” he says. “I think there will be a day where we just assume BI is present and pervasive in the system.”

SAPPHIRE also marked the general availability of an integrated and native mobile solution with BlackBerry users via its partnership with Research in Motion, first unveiled in May 2008. “The BlackBerry is the corporate standard for mobility,” Wang says. “Key SAP information needs to be served up to mobile workers, so this is a win-win. The real question is how quickly will SAP deliver features in this new platform?”

According to Jujhar Singh, SAP’s senior vice president of CRM product management, that answer may be very close at hand. While he couldn’t disclose a time frame more specific than “coming shortly,” he explained that SAP has taken the approach to utilize partners including Sybase and Syclo to help develop mobile applications for enterprise asset maintenance and field service. Sybase, for example, is working now on iPhone and Windows Mobile applications for SAP.

While the message from SAP was clear, that still leaves execution of the philosophy. Wang explains that, despite SAP’s already-solid position in the large-enterprise market, being able to deliver to the small-to-midsize-enterprise (SME) space is now the driver for future success.

“Most people don’t realize that SME requirements are the same as large ones,” he says. “The only difference is they don’t have the staff to manage the complexity and administer complicated systems that large enterprises do. This is where on-demand and software-as-a-service play a role in minimizing the complexity for users. SAP will need to succeed in SME in order to continue its growth.”

You may leave a public comment regarding this article by clicking on "Comments" at the top.
To contact the editors, please email editor@destinationCRM.com.
Every month, CRM magazine covers the customer relationship management industry and beyond. To subscribe, please visit http://www.destinationCRM.com/subscribe/.

Related Articles

SAP Announces 10 New BusinessObjects Applications

DEMO Fall '10: SAP Co-CEO Bill McDermott announces the launch of new applications and champions SAP's partnership ecosystem.

SAP Promises a "Leading" Mobile Platform in 9 Months

Top executives from SAP and its recent Sybase acquisition deliver a corporate roadmap.

SAP Declares "ByDesign Is Here" (Sort Of)

SapphireNow '10: SAP's co-CEOs deliver back-to-back keynote addresses celebrating not only their first 100 days at the helm, but also the general availability of on-demand offering Business ByDesign 2.5 — two months from now.

SAP Insists "Mobile Is the New Desktop"

SapphireNow '10: SAP executives explain the recent Sybase acquisition and set a date for the general availability of on-demand software Business ByDesign 2.5.

After CEO Ouster, Plattner's Plea: "Please Trust SAP. We Have Not Forgotten You."

Announcing the exit of Chief Executive Officer Léo Apotheker, SAP returns to a "Co-CEO" format, appointing Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe to split leadership duties.

SAP Sets Sustainability in Motion

With the launch of Business Objects Sustainability Performance Management, SAP wants to provide companies with holistic views into their sustainable strategies and actions.

SAP Calls on Companies to Embrace "The New Value"

SAP World Tour '09: Morning keynote addresses challenge attendees to take charge — or risk failure.

CIO vs. CFO: The C-Suite Deathmatch

SAPPHIRE '09: Experts attempt to dispel stereotypes about the battles that rage over technology-purchasing decisions.

Speed and Clarity Drive SAP's Success

SAPPHIRE '09: Keynote addresses by several SAP executives reflect the company's desire to quickly deliver business value for companies during the downturn.

SAP Promises "Innovation You Can Trust"

SAPPHIRE '09: SAP co-CEO Leo Apotheker lays out his company's roadmap to navigate the economic crisis. "The only antidote to uncertainty is clarity," he says.