SAP topic selection and strategy
The stock market demands SAP visions
SAP shares are performing well. SAP CEO Christian Klein and CFO Dominik Asam have good news for the financial analysts, which always boosts the share price. Both are good at using the right buzzwords and know exactly what financial analysts want to hear: Cloud and AI.
It wasn't always like this: In an hour of great honesty and transparency, Christian Klein also warned of upcoming and expensive challenges - whereupon the SAP share price plummeted to as low as 80 euros. The lessons from this clear statement were quickly learned at SAP. The Executive Board members are currently avoiding talking about topics other than cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Environmental, Social and Governance
AI was the dominant theme at Sapphire in Orlando. On the European mainland in Barcelona, SAP was more realistic: in addition to AI, there were also other important topics such as sustainability, green IT and ESG (environmental, social and governance).
Due to the current EU legal situation, ESG is a major challenge for companies and therefore also for all existing SAP customers. SAP is treating the topic with caution, albeit not with the same commitment as AI - which many users believe is a mistake.
ESG is an important and sustainable necessity, but obviously not an issue for a strong share price. This divergence between necessity and vision can often be found in the SAP universe. SAP CEO Christian Klein has not yet found an answer to this contradiction, which means that the topics of cloud computing and AI remain dominant.
How Relevant Is SAP?
A remarkable survey by the German-speaking SAP User Group (DSAG) has shown that an increasing number of existing SAP customers now rate SAP's relevance as only average. The reason for this may lie in the choice of topics: cloud and AI are the absolute leading topics for the stock market, while long-standing existing SAP customers have completely different problems.
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. The study revealed three main points: Firstly, companies start their IT transformation in order to reposition themselves organizationally; secondly, one in three companies bemoan a lack of transformation expertise within their own workforce; and thirdly, existing customers see early collaboration with external consultants as essential to their transformation success.
SAP would therefore be relevant if the global ERP market leader were to focus more on the business and organizational challenges of its existing customers. A robust organizational and operational structure is still the best response to crises and market challenges.
