Is SAP History Repeating Itself?

The project to reuse cartoons, some of which are more than a decade old, came about by accident after Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein took a closer look at where they wanted to take SAP. We realized that history does in fact repeat itself.

To our own surprise, we were able to reuse many of the caricatures created during the reigns of Henning Kagermann, Léo Apotheker, Jim Hagemann Snabe, and Bill McDermott. Which raises the question of whether SAP is treading water. Are SAP's new products really a step into the future or are they just recycled ideas? The fact is that SAP seems to be learning little from its past mistakes. The young SAP executives seem to have to repeat the mistakes of their predecessors in order to gain their own experience—which is understandable from a human perspective, but not very productive.

Robert Platzgummer (1975 to 2016) was a freelance illustrator and draftsman in Munich. We began working together shortly after the turn of the millennium and quickly developed a professional friendship. Platzgummer was tireless when it came to drawing and sketching. He was never seen without a pencil and sketchpad—neither in the Munich subway nor at the academy. His figures always had the right proportions and perspective.

Robert Platzgummer quickly began to build up an extensive photo archive of SAP board members. Hasso Plattner was Robert Platzgummer's favorite subject, of course, but there are also legendary caricatures of Henning Kagermann. Another favorite subject was the legendary SAP duo Snabe and McDermott.

Platzgummer's drawings have become legendary, even if SAP has protested a few times. Opinions seem to differ when it comes to apt caricatures. The Munich-based cartoonist's sense of humor was not always understood in Walldorf, SAP’s headquarters. But when a special E3 book with all of Platzgummer's caricatures was published to celebrate an anniversary, SAP purchased a hundred copies and distributed them free of charge.

Why are Platzgummer's caricatures timeless? Because history repeats itself over and over again, and certain patterns of behavior remain the same over many years. Professor Hasso Plattner is a striking and unique personality, and all the caricatures about the co-founder of SAP are as true today as they were twenty years ago.

We can also use many Plattner images from the past because the SAP Executive Board is innovative but very consistent in its operational activities. Challenges that arose many years ago have often been solved, but just as often these tasks have reappeared on the agenda in a new form.