House Memo: Educational Work Again

We have known this effect - the demand for information and educational work - for many years from the SAP community.

A few weeks ago, the DSAG user association once again confirmed this basic sentiment:

The restrained adoption and low adaptation rate of SAP innovations are also due to the lack of communication and educational work from Walldorf. There is simply a lack of knowledge about Hana and S/4.

For many existing SAP customers, the new SAP products are a closed book. DSAG e. V. is working hard to alleviate the knowledge deficit. Likewise, the E-3 magazine tries to keep the flow of information going with continuous reporting parallel to the singular events and workshops.

We are supported by numerous existing customers, partners and analysts - only SAP remains inactive. There are no briefings for us in Barcelona (TechEd) or Orlando (Sapphire).

Freelance journalists are largely ignored once it comes to writing a text for Hana or S/4.

However, it would be wrong to assume that SAP does not do any "educational work". At the beginning of February, a briefing for financial analysts was held at the New York Stock Exchange.

The series of presentations was opened by SAP CEO Bill McDermott, followed by
not (!) CFO Luka Mucic, but Chief Technology Officer Bernd Leukert.

What did financial analysts understand regarding Machine/Deep Learning, IoT, Fiori and HCP?

SAP may be proud of its own innovations, but educational work, enlightenment, distribution of knowledge and information - that is something else.

SAP partners, analysts and altruistic millionaires have understood the function and value of journalism, knowledge transfer and educational work. SAP itself still seems to be stuck in a Stone Age concept of press relations:

The Group defines who is allowed to know what and when. When press releases were still sent to editorial offices by fax machine, this system worked adequately.

But now there is e-mail, Twitter, video streaming, Facebook, blogging - SAP makes use of these, but not in partnership. The fear of having to relinquish control, of not being able to dictate views but only to discuss them, has obviously caused great uncertainty.

The result is isolation and communication standstill: A TV network with its own presenters is built up before the free press is engaged. You use your own resources to operate the social media channels before you discuss the topics ambivalently with journalists.

Is SAP afraid of media reality? Of the free flow of communication in the SAP community?