Road to Hell

SAP can do a lot of things very well! What is missing on closer analysis, however, is a current unique selling point. SAP under CEO Christian Klein has left the path of virtue. To put it positively: SAP has arrived in the mainstream. The disadvantage of this development is that SAP currently has no unique selling point.

Cloud computing at SAP is without glitz and glamor. What is available at SAP is also available to existing SAP customers at the hyperscalers. Rise with SAP, Abap Cloud (see Steampunk) and SAP Cloud ERP are ERP tools and models that offer users no added value compared to other IT solutions. SAP's long journey has seen many technical innovations and exclusive offerings, but the SAP roadmap has become increasingly arbitrary and therefore narrower.

It is currently an artistic challenge for SAP to maintain the balance between IT mainstream and ERP excellence. With every step taken in recent years, SAP has lost a piece of its unique selling point. SAP now has functioning cloud computing, ambitious AI and no ERP strategy: SAP's existing customers are suffering from SAP CEO Christian Klein's lack of imagination. What comes after SAP Cloud ERP? What is the next innovative step after SAP Hana? Which ERP concept is viable for the next fifty years?

The development began a long time ago: SAP ex-CEOs Jim Hagemann Snabe and Bill McDermott managed the ERP group and tried to keep up with their IT competitors by making acquisitions in the area of cloud computing. Hana was the last innovative step in SAP's history. After that, the SAP CEOs oriented themselves towards the competition and tried to copy it, which did not reveal encouraging prospects for existing SAP customers.

SAP CEO Christian Klein successfully consolidated the legacy of Jim Hagemann Snabe and Bill McDermott, but to date Christian Klein has not been able to set his own course: SAP has copied cloud computing and AI from its market competitors. The entire SAP community is waiting for the next innovative step from the SAP CEO.

What's next for SAP? On closer inspection, SAP has very interesting approaches in the area of platforms (SAP BTP and BDC) and of course AI, including the GenAI Hub and Joule. However, SAP CEO Christian Klein is still operating in the IT mainstream. There is obviously a lack of imagination and courage to create a unique selling point again, just as the SAP founders did over fifty years ago.

SAP is becoming increasingly interchangeable. With AI solutions from friends, partners and competitors, SAP is also losing its unique business and organizational selling point. AI agents are analyzing the past and building the ERP future without SAP. SAP CEO Christian Klein lacks perspective.

What's next for SAP? The cartoon by Robert Platzgummer (1975 to 2016) was first published in the February 2016 issue of E3. At that time, the SAP dual leadership team of Jim Hagemann Snabe and Bill McDermott was at work. The aim was to find a successful ERP path after the Hana innovation.