Run simple

Apparently, SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner is a big fan of car manufacturer Tesla. He mentioned the American company several times during his keynote at Sapphire 2017 in Orlando.

He spoke of the simplicity of operation. While European cars have a myriad of buttons and switches that can hardly be mastered without studying a relevant manual, the Tesla gets by with a large touch-sensitive screen and a pretty good user interface - according to Plattner.

Once again, he expressed his dislike of technical devices that can only be operated after consulting a manual. He likes things to be simple, and he also demands access to SAP software to be simple and logical.

In his opinion, studying thick manuals is a thing of the past. It was therefore not surprising that he also praised the current campaign of his CEO Bill McDermott in his keynote speech: Run simple.

It should be the reduction to the essentials that makes our lives easier. Intuitive access to the functions of a technical device without using an instruction manual is thus the ultimate goal.

"Run simple" is evident not only in the screen of a Tesla, however, but also in the lean structure of Hana and S/4, where many Abap tables and aggregates have been eliminated.

This path back to the origin, to a new simplicity and perhaps modesty, can possibly lead to success. However, in the case of complex global IT systems that have to fulfill networked, business management tasks, the call for "simplicity" seems a bit exaggerated.

Most experts agree that complex tasks require equally complex IT systems. These new solutions must not be complicated, but should meet all expectations. This inevitably results in a certain complexity, which McDermott obviously does not see.

Hasso Plattner doesn't seem to be quite sure of his point either: He often mentioned the Tesla concept in praise and compared the elegant screen with the various switches, wheels and buttons of a "European dashboard".

Ultimately, however, he also confessed that the ergonomic design of a European car with its many switches can certainly be operated blindly, while the touch-sensitive screen of a Tesla always requires the driver's attention.

The ability to control certain functions even without eye contact thus appears to be a not inconsiderable security gain. "Run simple" with Tesla and SAP may thus have an aesthetic elegance and impress a simple mind like Bill McDermott - but Professor Hasso Plattner is certainly right that dedicated switches and buttons, for which you sometimes also need an operating manual, can be operated more safely and thus more conveniently.

"Run simple" may perhaps apply to SAP software. But it certainly doesn't make a complex car any easier or safer to operate. The competition for the best "user experience" thus goes into the next round - perhaps Sapphire 2018 has an answer to this?