Content strategy

Two questions arise from this assertion: first, what strategy; second, who at SAP is not responsible for content strategy. By their very nature, the two questions are related. This one-to-one relationship says nothing other than that SAP has no content strategy, but everyone feels responsible for it - a polite euphemism for chaos.

Was everything better in the past? No, quite the opposite: The "new" SAP under Christian Klein is honestly striving for dialog, understanding and accommodation. SAP could almost be accused of having an open-door policy. Christian Klein and all employees are obviously convinced that it is time to listen to existing customers. The effort to communicate in a community-oriented manner is definitely there.

Christian Klein is the great role model and he does his job perfectly. He courageously approaches everyone and does not shy away from discussion. He can listen patiently. But he also knows exactly what he wants, what is good for SAP and what is good for the community. Employees in his immediate circle say he is a workhorse, tireless, consistent and strict. Older members of the SAP community know all of these outstanding qualities from former SAP Executive Board member and current Supervisory Board member Gerd Oswald, with whom Christian Klein also went to school. All's well that ends well!

Where are the successes? SAP's stock price is rising and SAP is becoming more valuable - surely the result of the wise actions of Christian Klein and CFO Luka Mucic. But where are the successes for the SAP community and existing customers? All honest efforts have so far yielded very little because a strategy is missing - not just a content strategy.

Example content strategy: With much public noise, the Suite 7 maintenance extension (SAP Business Suite) was announced at the beginning of this year. ERP/ECC 6.0 goes into extension until 2027/2030. It was a necessary and right step! Shortly after this decision was published, the DSAG Technology Days were held in Mannheim, Germany, and attendees were expecting more details and precise information from SAP Chief Technology Officer Jürgen Müller, because for now there was only a somewhat lengthy press release.

Those with access to SAP Service Notes found at least one NetWeaver roadmap in February of this year to go with the Suite 7 maintenance renewal. However, the big and much-decisive question was not answered: What about AnyDB? What happens to the non-Hana database licenses after 2025? It was clear to all present that, from a purely technical point of view, Oracle, Microsoft and IBM databases will still be in service after December 31.

But what about support, maintenance and licenses? Jürgen Müller promised a timely answer to the AnyDB issue back then in Mannheim. The community is still waiting for it today, and many analysts and journalists have grown tired of asking about it - sit it out, right? Also a content strategy.