Author: Peter M. Färbinger, E3-Magazin

For 50 years, SAP sold an open ERP system based on Oracle, IBM DB2, and Microsoft SQL Server databases. With the dual stack (Abap and Java) of the SAP NetWeaver platform, the global market leader expanded even more.

SAP's more than fifty-year history is full of changes at the top of the Executive Board and so-called dual leadership. Professor Hasso Plattner has always been responsible for the dual solution. This time, however, following the departure of long-term Supervisory Board Chairman Plattner, the new SAP dual leadership emerged evolutionarily, almost by itself and in maximum harmony.

SAP R/3 was a black box. Modern ERP systems follow more of a "best of breed" approach. Cloud computing and AI are giving rise to powerful composable enterprise architectures. Finance and HCM specialist Workday shows how it's done.

CIOs, CTOs and, above all, Chief Technology Officers encounter many challenges in their roles at SAP. The turnover is high, and the rewards are few. What is the root cause of this issue?

The DSAG Annual Congress 2024 highlighted the necessity for an efficient SAP Basis team during and after an SAP RISE project. During a RISE conversion, numerous tasks are transferred to SAP, necessitating the presence of a controlling Basis team to oversee the process.

SAP CEO Klein and CFO Asam are performing exceptionally well, as evidenced by the company's share price performance. However, outside of the financial implications, there is a sense of unease, uncertainty, and apprehension within the SAP community.

SAP's database platform has lost one of its attractions: the Hana House in Palo Alto, California, has closed its doors. Professor Hasso Plattner is no longer Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and his legacy is now being disposed of.

Is SAP innovative? We don't know. The ERP company is notably reticent with regard to innovations, research, and development. Opinions differ as to why this is the case.

A study on data integrity—carried out out by Precisely and Drexel University's LeBow College of Business—reveals widespread issues with trust in data and the impact on data and AI initiatives that trust or lack thereof has.

It is essential that IT platforms provide a transparent structure for users and integrate ERP applications in a comprehensive manner. Following the introduction of NetWeaver and subsequent developments such as HCP (Hana Cloud Platform), SAP has now unveiled BTP (Business Technology Platform). It represents the future of ERP.

The SAP community of existing customers, partners and IT providers is emancipating itself and is getting better and better at achieving its goals without SAP. The question of the relevance of SAP itself resonates in the triad of the DSAG Annual Congress 2024 in Leipzig.

The old IT adage applies: Never change a running system! The DSAG investment survey reveals that only just over half of DSAG members believe that the relevance of SAP for the future of their company will remain the same.