SAP's Disinformation

There is a discrepancy between the strategic announcements made by SAP in Walldorf and the operational reality of SAP customers, creating a breeding ground for disinformation and false narratives. Buzzwords such as "Intelligent Enterprise" or "run simple" are often used, but upon closer inspection, they turn out to be marketing-driven shells with no tangible benefits for customers, which contributes to additional uncertainty.

SAP should refute false narratives with great care and comprehensive communication on all channels and actively shape the transfer of knowledge in the community. Refuting something after it has been said or "only" misunderstood is not effective—it lingers in people’s minds!

Disinformation should not arise in the first place. SAP should prevent disinformation through verified communication planning and orchestration with sources (most often SAP customers). This will make the company and its corporate communication crisis-proof, strengthening trust and planning security in the long term.

ERP smokescreen narratives carry the risk that SAP customers will make strategic mistakes by following technical trends instead of questioning their actual business benefits. The dogma of a pure cloud strategy, which ignores the hybrid reality of most companies, is particularly critical. This strategy can drive companies into dependencies without a clear exit strategy while stigmatizing functioning on-prem solutions as obsolete. Those who blindly follow these narratives risk making poor investments and losing their digital sovereignty.

To become mentally crisis-proof in this volatile environment, SAP customers must establish a culture of "resilience and accountability" that makes decisions transparent, comprehensible, and fact-based. True resilience does not come from passively consuming SAP roadmaps but from sound educational work and breaking down information asymmetries.

Companies urgently need a competent internal Customer Center of Expertise (CCoE) capable of critically questioning glossy promises and checking technical visions against business needs. Only those who understand that digitalization is a business transformation, not just an IT project, can protect themselves from false prophets in the community. Mental strength comes from having the courage to engage in open discourse and demand transparency instead of isolating oneself in an echo chamber of mutual confirmation. Ultimately, independent knowledge is the only effective shield against the costly consequences of misleading narratives in a radically changing ERP world.