E3 Category: Coverstories

SAP is riding an unprecedented wave of success in terms of its own share price. At the time this issue of E3 went to press, the share price on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange stood at 196 euros. About two years ago, the short-term low was 81 euros. Clearly, SAP CEO Christian Klein and his CFO Dominik Asam are doing an excellent job.

IT transformations are no walk in the park and pose challenges for existing SAP customers. With their own specialist knowledge, practical experience and human resources, SAP users often find themselves in a predicament.

An international study by SAP partners NTT Data Business Solutions and Natuvion shows that companies underestimate the lead time and complexity of digital transformation projects.

Professor Hasso Plattner has stepped down as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, marking a turning point in time. It never mattered what position or job Plattner held at SAP, because his presence, vision and determination led the company to success over many decades.

The days of monocausal systems and singular solutions are long gone. Even SAP has recognized this development and has provided open and transparent platforms and frameworks alongside the Hana and S/4 monoliths.

Computer science pope and university professor Niklaus Wirth was familiar with the duality of algorithms and data structures. The three IT professionals, AWS, NetApp and PCG, have taken this approach and turned it into The Power of Three.

AWS, Amazon Web Services, lives up to its name. The company is a leading partner for services in and around the cloud. The services are aimed at customers and partners alike. Power of Three is a perfect example.

Our services for our SAP customers include SAP Basis and technology consulting, especially in the cloud, as well as comprehensive services for SAP transformations and migrations.

The S/4 conversion is the biggest challenge for existing SAP customers since the changeover from R/3 Enterprise to SAP Business Suite 7. An S/4 architecture means the release change to the Hana database, the decision about private cloud or public cloud and the adaptation of the license model.

After SAP failed with its Data Hub and is now trying again with Datasphere, specialized IT companies are already much further ahead. Fivetran has built a universal data platform that aims to impress with its efficiency.

The IT field of artificial intelligence has been around for many decades. HR management as an IT/Org topic is just as old. The idea of a composable ERP, on the other hand, is very new, which is naturally more than just best-of-breed.

We are currently experiencing a hype around generative artificial intelligence. Within the discussion, there are numerous voices that see the role of AI in the world of work in a positive light. However, there are also negative voices that argue that AI could replace certain jobs.