SAP - Pretty Best Friends

Digital transformation is, in short, the implementation of new processes or the adaptation of existing processes with the help of modern applications and new technologies with the aim of becoming part of the digital economy as a company and being completely digitally networked both internally and externally.

SAP Core as a competence case

The other day I wrote about how SAP Core is a good base for this and how companies can connect their other applications from SAP or the many specialized third-party vendors to it.

Shortly thereafter, at the DSAG Annual Congress (with yet another record number of participants), Marco Lenck and his DSAG Executive Board colleagues presented, among other things, a current survey of DSAG members about the drivers of digital transformation among DSAG member companies. Here, increasing the efficiency of existing business processes (62 percent of respondents) and developing new business models (40 percent) were the biggest drivers.

It is interesting to note that the other alternatives requested, such as market dynamics, intensification of contacts with one's own eco-system, intensification of service or transparency, were mentioned less frequently.

The role of SAP was also evaluated:

"As companies increasingly rely on hybrid landscapes in digitization, SAP is challenged to make their setup, expansion, and operation, including licensing models, as simple, attractive, and flexible as possible. Otherwise, projects will continue to falter.

warns Marco Lenck in the DSAG press release for the DSAG Annual Congress.

Co-CEOs Morgan and Klein

Now, SAP has always been good for surprises, and the current announcement on the change at the top management was well planned by a small circle around Plattner and McDermott.

Jennifer Morgan joins the board as a woman who, as the former head of the Cloud Business Group, will lead the area of SAP that has the most growth.

The multi-billion dollar acquisitions are also concentrated there. SAP has not particularly emphasized the fact that Ms. Morgan is the first woman to head a DAX company.

Not mentioning this in particular is a sympathetic move, especially since in the U.S. even large IT companies such as IBM, with Virginia (Ginni) Rometty, are quite naturally headed by a woman.

In terms of internal digital transformation, Morgan has supported the expansion of SAP's business model: to additionally rely on its own cloud services in addition to licensing, maintenance and consulting revenues.

CDO and/or COO

When I mentioned the painful lack of Chief Digital Officers at German companies the other day, I mentioned SAP in a positive light because in the absence of the CDO, at least the COO should take on these tasks as well, which has been the case at SAP so far with Christian Klein.

This raises hopes that Klein will continue to make the issue of digital transformation, which is important for most SAP customers, a top priority.

After the announcement of the fantastic quarterly results and the changing of the guard, SAP shares rose by more than nine percent in one day. According to Mirko Maier, analyst at LBBW. "two-thirds ... of the share price increase is due to the great numbers, and one-third is due to the hope that with different management, user concerns will be more in the forefront".

The dual leadership has a lot of work ahead of it. Both are likely to announce the first touches at SAP's extraordinary Capital Markets Day on November 12 in New York City.