Jump to content

SAP: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 49°17′38″N 8°38′22″E / 49.2938038°N 8.639581°E / 49.2938038; 8.639581
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
reorganized article
Line 60: Line 60:
The company's official name became ''SAP [[Aktiengesellschaft|AG]]'' (a public limited company) after the 2005 [[annual general meeting]].
The company's official name became ''SAP [[Aktiengesellschaft|AG]]'' (a public limited company) after the 2005 [[annual general meeting]].


In 2014-05-21, SAP AG announced during the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on the same day, 99 percent of the shareholder votes approved the conversion of legal form to a European stock corporation (Societas Europaea, SE) and at the same time, elected the first Supervisory Board of SAP SE. The conversion of the company's legal form would take place upon entry in the commercial register, expected to be in July 2014.<ref>[http://news.sap.com/2014/05/sap-annual-general-meeting-shareholders-2014/ Conversion of Legal Form to European Company (SE) Approved; SAP Shareholders Elect Jim Hagemann Snabe to Supervisory Board of SAP SE]</ref>
In 2014-05-21, SAP AG announced during the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on the same day, 99% of the shareholder votes approved the conversion of legal form to a European stock corporation (Societas Europaea, SE) and at the same time, elected the first Supervisory Board of SAP SE. The conversion of the company's legal form would take place upon entry in the commercial register, expected to be in July 2014.<ref>[http://news.sap.com/2014/05/sap-annual-general-meeting-shareholders-2014/ Conversion of Legal Form to European Company (SE) Approved; SAP Shareholders Elect Jim Hagemann Snabe to Supervisory Board of SAP SE]</ref>
<ref>[http://news.sap.com/2014/05/conversion-of-legal-form-to-european-company-se-approved-sap-shareholders-elect-jim-hagemann-snabe-to-supervisory-board-of-sap-se/ Conversion of Legal Form to European Company (SE) Approved; SAP Shareholders Elect Jim Hagemann Snabe to Supervisory Board of SAP SE]</ref>
<ref>[http://news.sap.com/2014/05/conversion-of-legal-form-to-european-company-se-approved-sap-shareholders-elect-jim-hagemann-snabe-to-supervisory-board-of-sap-se/ Conversion of Legal Form to European Company (SE) Approved; SAP Shareholders Elect Jim Hagemann Snabe to Supervisory Board of SAP SE]</ref>


===SAP SE era===
===SAP SE era===
In 2014, SAP changed from an AG to a European Company ([[Societas Europaea|Societas Europaea or SE]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/about/investors/investorservices/faq/index.html|title=Company Q & A|publisher=Investor Relations, SAP |accessdate=27 May 2015}}</ref>
In 2014-07-07, SAP announced it has turned its legal form to a European Company ([[Societas Europaea]], SE) in the same day. As a result, it German subsidiary was renamed to SAP Deutschland SE & Co. KG.<ref>[https://news.sap.com/2014/07/sap-se-now-european-company/ SAP Now European Company (SE)]</ref><ref>[http://news.sap.com/2014/07/sap-now-european-company-se/ SAP Now European Company (SE)]</ref> The conversion cost the company approximately €4 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20160224162330/https://www.sap.com/corporate-en/about/investors/investorservices/faq/index.html|title=Company Q & A|publisher=Investor Relations, SAP |accessdate=27 May 2015}}</ref>

In 2014-07-07, SAP announced it has turned its legal form to a European Company ([[Societas Europaea]], SE) in the same day. As a result, it German subsidiary was renamed to SAP Deutschland SE & Co. KG.<ref>[https://news.sap.com/2014/07/sap-se-now-european-company/ SAP Now European Company (SE)]</ref><ref>[http://news.sap.com/2014/07/sap-now-european-company-se/ SAP Now European Company (SE)]</ref>


=== Focus on cloud ===
=== Focus on cloud ===
Line 76: Line 74:


The company announced plans in 2016 to invest heavily into technology relating to [[Internet of things|Internet of Things]] (IoT) as part of a strategy to capitalize on the growth in that market. For that purpose, €2 billion is planned for investment in relevant sectors by the end of 2020.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2016/09/28/sap-invest-billion-internet-things-2020/|title=SAP Plans to Invest $2.2 Billion in the Internet of Things by 2020|agency=Reuters|publisher=Fortune|access-date=2017-07-17}}</ref> SAP will also launch a new product line called SAP IoT, which "will combine large amounts of data from things connected to the Internet with machine learning and SAP's real-time database S/4 HANA."<ref name=":0" />
The company announced plans in 2016 to invest heavily into technology relating to [[Internet of things|Internet of Things]] (IoT) as part of a strategy to capitalize on the growth in that market. For that purpose, €2 billion is planned for investment in relevant sectors by the end of 2020.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2016/09/28/sap-invest-billion-internet-things-2020/|title=SAP Plans to Invest $2.2 Billion in the Internet of Things by 2020|agency=Reuters|publisher=Fortune|access-date=2017-07-17}}</ref> SAP will also launch a new product line called SAP IoT, which "will combine large amounts of data from things connected to the Internet with machine learning and SAP's real-time database S/4 HANA."<ref name=":0" />

⚫
====SAP S/4HANA====
⚫
In 2015, the company launched S/4HANA, the newest generation of the SAP Business Suite. It was written natively for the [[SAP HANA]] platform. It offers cloud, on-premises and hybrid deployment options to customers, with its benefits including a smaller data footprint, higher throughput, faster analytics and faster access to data. It also allows existing SAP Business Suite customers to upgrade to this product from SAP Business Suite.<ref>{{cite web|title=Answers on SAP upgradation to SAP S/4HANA|url=http://news.sap.com/what-is-sap-s4hana-13-questions-answered/}}</ref>

⚫
In 2016, SAP introduced SAP HANA, Express Edition which is meant to run on personal computers or on cloud computing platforms for students and other small-scale developers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zdnet.com/article/sap-aims-to-court-more-hana-developers-launches-express-edition/ |title=SAP aims to court more HANA developers, launches express edition |publisher=ZDNet |date=16 September 2016 |accessdate=19 November 2016 |author=Larry Dignan}}</ref>


On January 29, 2019, SAP announced plans to cut approximately 4,000 positions at the company in a strategic plan to shift to more modern cloud-based technologies such as [[blockchain]], [[quantum computing]], [[machine learning]], [[Internet of Things]], and [[artificial intelligence]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Ron |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/sap-job-cuts-prove-harsh-realities-of-enterprise-transformation/ |title= SAP job cuts prove harsh realities of enterprise transformation |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=2019-01-29 |accessdate=2019-01-29 }}</ref>
On January 29, 2019, SAP announced plans to cut approximately 4,000 positions at the company in a strategic plan to shift to more modern cloud-based technologies such as [[blockchain]], [[quantum computing]], [[machine learning]], [[Internet of Things]], and [[artificial intelligence]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Ron |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/sap-job-cuts-prove-harsh-realities-of-enterprise-transformation/ |title= SAP job cuts prove harsh realities of enterprise transformation |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=2019-01-29 |accessdate=2019-01-29 }}</ref>
Line 384: Line 377:


SAP Cloud Platform is based on open source technology, developed & supported in partnership with SUSE. The company is also in partnership with Cloud Foundry for a beta offering of SAP Cloud Platform that enables customers to test out and give feedback for the functionalities coming with Cloud Foundry.
SAP Cloud Platform is based on open source technology, developed & supported in partnership with SUSE. The company is also in partnership with Cloud Foundry for a beta offering of SAP Cloud Platform that enables customers to test out and give feedback for the functionalities coming with Cloud Foundry.

⚫
==SAP S/4HANA==
⚫
In 2015, the company launched S/4HANA, the newest generation of the SAP Business Suite. It was written natively for the [[SAP HANA]] platform. It offers cloud, on-premises and hybrid deployment options to customers, with its benefits including a smaller data footprint, higher throughput, faster analytics and faster access to data. It also allows existing SAP Business Suite customers to upgrade to this product from SAP Business Suite.<ref>{{cite web|title=Answers on SAP upgradation to SAP S/4HANA|url=http://news.sap.com/what-is-sap-s4hana-13-questions-answered/}}</ref>

⚫
In 2016, SAP introduced SAP HANA, Express Edition which is meant to run on personal computers or on cloud computing platforms for students and other small-scale developers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zdnet.com/article/sap-aims-to-court-more-hana-developers-launches-express-edition/ |title=SAP aims to court more HANA developers, launches express edition |publisher=ZDNet |date=16 September 2016 |accessdate=19 November 2016 |author=Larry Dignan}}</ref>


==SAP Store==
==SAP Store==
Line 446: Line 444:


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|2}}


==External links==
==External links==

Revision as of 00:52, 6 March 2020

"SAP (company)" redirects here. For other companies, see SAP (disambiguation).

49°17′38″N 8°38′22″E / 49.2938038°N 8.639581°E / 49.2938038; 8.639581

SAP SE
Company typeSocietas Europaea
FWB: SAP
NYSE: SAP
DAX Component
ISINDE0007164600 Edit this on Wikidata
IndustryEnterprise software
FoundedWeinheim, Germany
(1972; 52 years ago (1972))
FounderDietmar Hopp
Hans-Werner Hector
Hasso Plattner
Klaus Tschira
Claus Wellenreuther
Headquarters
Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16, Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg
,
Germany
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsSee list of SAP products
RevenueIncrease €27.553 billion (2019)[1]
Decrease €4.495 billion (2019)[1]
Decrease €3.387 billion (2019)[1]
Total assetsIncrease €60.229 billion (2019)[1]
Total equityIncrease €30.839 billion (2019)[1]
Number of employees
100,330 (2019)[1]
Websitewww.sap.com

SAP SE (/ɛseɪˈpi/; abbreviation of "Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing") is a European multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations.[2][3][3] The company is especially known for its ERP software. SAP is headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with regional offices in 180 countries.[4][3] The company has over 425,000 customers in over 180 countries[5] and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.[6]

History

Formation

When Xerox exited the computer hardware manufacturing industry in 1971,[7] it asked IBM to migrate its business systems to IBM technology. As part of IBM's compensation for the migration, IBM was given the rights to the Scientific Data Systems (SDS)/SAPE software, reportedly for a contract credit of $80,000.

Five IBM engineers from the AI department[8][9] (Dietmar Hopp, Klaus Tschira, Hans-Werner Hector, Hasso Plattner, and Claus Wellenreuther, all from Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg) were working on an enterprise-wide system based on this software, only to be told that it would no longer be necessary. Rather than abandoning the project, they decided to leave IBM Tech and start another company.[10]

In June 1972, they founded the SAP Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung ("System Analysis and Program Development" / "SAPD") company, as a private partnership under the German Civil Code.[11]

Their first client was the German branch of Imperial Chemical Industries in Östringen,[12] where they developed mainframe programs for payroll and accounting. Instead of storing the data on punch cards mechanically, as IBM did, they stored it locally in the Electronic System while using a common Logical database for all activities of Organization.[clarification needed] Therefore, they called their software a real-time system, since there was no need to process the punch cards overnight (for this reason their flagship product carried an R in its name until the late 1990s). This first version was also a standalone software that could be offered to other interested parties.[13]

Enterprise Resource Planning

In 1973, the first commercial product was launched. SAP completes its first financial accounting system - RF. This system serves as the cornerstone in the ongoing development of other software modules of the system that will eventually bear the name SAP R/1.[11]

This offered a common system for multiple tasks. This permitted the use of a centralized data storage, improving the maintenance of data. From a technical point of view, therefore, a database was necessary.[14]

In 1976, SAP GmbH Systeme, Anwendungen und Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung ("Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing") is founded as a sales and support subsidiary. Five years later, the private partnership is dissolved and its rights are passed on to SAP GmbH.[11]

The headquarters moved the following year to Walldorf, Germany. Three years later, in 1979, SAP launched SAP R/2, expanding the capabilities of the system to other areas, such as material management and production planning. In 1981, SAP brought a re-designed product to market. However, SAP R/2 did not improve until the period between 1985 and 1990. SAP released the new SAP R/3 in 1992. SAP developed and released several versions of R/3 through 1995. By the mid-1990s, SAP followed the trend from mainframe computing to client/server architectures. The development of SAP's internet strategy with mySAP.com redesigned the concept of business processes (integration via Internet).[10] As a result, R/3 was replaced with the introduction of SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) 5.0 in 2004.[15] Architectural changes were also made to support an enterprise service architecture to transition customers to a services-oriented architecture. The latest version, SAP ERP 6.0, was released in 2006. SAP ERP 6.0 has since then been updated through SAP enhancement packs, the most recent: SAP enhancement package 8 for SAP ERP 6.0 in 2016.[16]

Corporate restructuring

In August 1988, SAP GmbH became SAP AG, and public trading started on 4 November 1988. Shares were listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges.[10] In 1995, SAP was included in the German stock index DAX and, on 22 September 2003, SAP was included in the STOXX Europe 50.[17]

SAP AG era

The company's official name became SAP AG (a public limited company) after the 2005 annual general meeting.

In 2014-05-21, SAP AG announced during the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on the same day, 99% of the shareholder votes approved the conversion of legal form to a European stock corporation (Societas Europaea, SE) and at the same time, elected the first Supervisory Board of SAP SE. The conversion of the company's legal form would take place upon entry in the commercial register, expected to be in July 2014.[18] [19]

SAP SE era

In 2014-07-07, SAP announced it has turned its legal form to a European Company (Societas Europaea, SE) in the same day. As a result, it German subsidiary was renamed to SAP Deutschland SE & Co. KG.[20][21] The conversion cost the company approximately €4 million.[22]

Focus on cloud

Since 2012, SAP has acquired several companies that sell cloud-based products, with several multibillion-dollar acquisitions seen by analysts as an attempt to challenge competitor Oracle.[23] In 2014 SAP bought Concur Technologies, a provider of cloud-based travel and expense management software, for $8.3 billion, SAP's most expensive purchase to that date.[24] Analysts' reactions to the purchase were mixed, with Thomas Becker of Commerzbank questioning whether Concur was the right choice for SAP, while Credit Suisse called the acquisition an "aggressive" move.[25]

In 2014, IBM and SAP began a partnership to sell cloud-based services.[26] Likewise, in 2015, SAP also partnered with HPE to provide secure hybrid cloud-based services running the SAP platform.[27] Both HPE and IBM provide infrastructure services to SAP, and SAP runs its SAP HANA cloud solution on top. SAP has announced additional partnerships with Microsoft in order to give customers tools for data visualization, as well as improved mobile applications.[28]

SAP exceeded its revenue projections due to the expansion in its cloud business and the success of SAP HANA. The growth can also be partially attributed to the acquisitions of Concur and Fieldglass.[29]

The company announced plans in 2016 to invest heavily into technology relating to Internet of Things (IoT) as part of a strategy to capitalize on the growth in that market. For that purpose, €2 billion is planned for investment in relevant sectors by the end of 2020.[30] SAP will also launch a new product line called SAP IoT, which "will combine large amounts of data from things connected to the Internet with machine learning and SAP's real-time database S/4 HANA."[30]

On January 29, 2019, SAP announced plans to cut approximately 4,000 positions at the company in a strategic plan to shift to more modern cloud-based technologies such as blockchain, quantum computing, machine learning, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.[31]

Finances

For the fiscal year 2017, SAP reported earnings of EUR€4 billion, with an annual revenue of EUR€23.5 billion, an increase of 6.3% over the previous fiscal cycle.[32] SAP's shares traded at over US$105 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at US$128 billion in December 2018. This makes SAP the most valuable company in Germany.[33]

Year Revenue
in bn. EUR€ 		Net income
in bn. EUR€ 		Total Assets
in bn. EUR€ 		Employees
2013 16.815 3.326 27.094 66,572
2014 17.560 3.280 38.507 74,406
2015 20.793 3.064 41.390 76,986
2016 22.062 3.646 44.277 84,183
2017 23.461 4.018 42.497 88,543

Acquisitions

Acquisition number Acquired company Acquisition date Specialty Country of origin Acquisition costs
70 Qualtrics Nov 2018[34] Collect, Manage , act on Experience data USA $8.0b
69 Contextor Nov 2018[35] Robotics Process Automation France
68 Coresystems Jun 2018[36] platform for field service management Switzerland
67 CallidusCloud Jan 2018[37] Sales Performance Management Tool USA $2.24 b
66 Recast.ai Jan 2018[38] Conversational User Experience Technology France
65 Gigya Sep 2017[39] Identity Management Israel $350m
64 Abakus Dec 2016[40] Marketing attribution USA
63 Plat.One Oct 2016 IoT USA
62 Altiscale Aug 2016 big data and Hadoop Hosting USA $125m+
61 Fedem Technology Jun 2016 IoT Norway
60 MeLLmo Inc. (Roambi) Feb 2016 Mobile Business Intelligence USA
59 Concur Technologies Sep 2014 Travel and Expense Management USA $8.3b
58 SeeWhy May 2014 Behavioural target marketing USA $1.1b
57 Fieldglass Mar 2014 Contingent labour and services USA
56 KXEN Oct 2013 Predictive analytics France
55 hybris May 2013 E-Commerce Solutions Switzerland $1.5b
54 Camilion Mar 2013 Insurance solutions Canada
53 SmartOps Feb 2013 Inventory optimization USA
52 Ticket-Web Feb 2013[41] Ticket systems and special CRM solutions for sports and entertainment Germany
51 Ariba Oct 2012 Supplier network USA $4.3b
50 Syclo Jun 2012 Mobile asset management USA
49 datango Jan 2012 Electronic performance support technologies Germany
48 SuccessFactors Dec 2011 Human Capital Management USA $3.4b
47 Right Hemisphere Sep 2011 3D visualization USA
46 Crossgate Sep 2011 B2B eCommerce Germany
45 Secude Mar 2011 Security software (Not the whole company, only some assets were acquired) Germany
44 Cundus Dec 2010 Disclosure Management Germany
43 Sybase May 2010 Database, middleware, mobile software USA $5.8b
42 TechniData May 2010 Environmental, Health and Safety Germany
41 SAF Sep 2009 Inventory Management Switzerland $91m
40 Highdeal May 2009 High-volume billing France
39 Visiprise Jul 2008 Manufacturing Execution USA
38 Saicon INC Oct 2014 US Recruitment India
37 BusinessObjects Oct 2007 Business Intelligence France $6.78b
36 Yasu Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Oct 2007 Business Rules Management Software India
35 Wicom Communications May 2007 Internet Communication software Finland
34 MaXware May 2007 Identity software Norway
33 Outlooksoft May 2007[42] Planning & consolidation USA
32 Pilot Software Feb 2007 Strategy Management software USA ~$200m
31 Factory Logic Dec 2006 Lean scheduling and supply synchronisation USA
30 Praxis Software Solutions Jul 2006 Web-based CRM and eCommerce USA
29 Frictionless Commerce May 2006 SRM software USA
28 Virsa Systems Apr 2006 Compliance solutions USA
27 SAP Systems Integration Dec 2005 Consulting services Germany
26 Callixa Nov 2005 Enterprise Integration Information software USA
25 Khimetrics Nov 2005 retail software USA
24 Triversity Sep 2005 POS software Canada
23 Lighthammer Jun 2005[43] Manufacturing Intelligence and Collaborative Manufacturing USA
22 DCS Quantum Feb 2005 Automotive Dealer Management United Kingdom
21 TomorrowNow Jan 2005 Grey market support USA
20 ilytix Jan 2005 SAP BusinessOne Business Intelligence Norway
19 A2i Jul 2004[44] Master Data Management USA
18 SPM Technologies Dec 2003[45] IT architecture consulting Germany
17 DCW Software Jul 2003 OS/400 Applications Germany
16 Guimachine Dec 2002 NetWeaver Visual Composer toolkit USA
15 IMHC May 2001 Integrated managed health care from IDS USA
14 Expression May 2002 real-time file sharing ?
13 Topmanage Feb 2002 SAP BusinessOne Suite Israel
12 Paynet International AG Dec 2001 Invoice Processing Germany
11 COPA GmbH Nov 2001 Beverage industry consulting Germany
10 Infinite Data Structures May 2001 Trade Management / CRM USA
9 Toptier Mar 2001 Enterprise Information Portal and Integration Infrastructure USA ~$400m
8 Prescient Consulting Feb 2000 Consulting services USA
7 In-Q-My Technologies GmbH 2000 J2EE Server Bulgaria
6 Campbell Software 1999 Workforce Management USA
5 AMC Development 1998 Call Center telephony integration software USA
4 OFEK-Tech 1998 Warehousing and distribution centre software Israel
3 Kiefer & Veittinger 1997 Sales force Applications Germany
2 Dacos 1996 Retail solution Germany
1 Steeb 1991 Software and Consulting Services Germany

Business and markets

As of 2016, SAP is the world's third largest software and programming company.[46] The corporation operates in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, North America, and South America.[47]

SAP focuses on 25 industries and six industry sectors: process industries, discrete industries, consumer industries, service industries, financial services and public services.[48] It offers integrated product sets for large enterprises,[49] mid-sized companies and small businesses.[50]

Enterprise service-oriented architecture

Service-oriented architecture has been incorporated into the SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and other products defined within the SAP Enterprise Services Architecture (Enterprise SOA).

Enterprise SOA

SAP Enterprise Service Oriented Architecture (or Enterprise SOA) is SAP SE's service-oriented architecture implementation.[51] Enterprise SOA is enabled by the SAP NetWeaver platform and builds on the benefits of Web services. SAP has positioned Enterprise SOA to deliver the benefits offered by service-oriented architecture, including enabling both flexibility and business efficiency. SAP markets Enterprise SOA(Service-oriented architecture) as a cost-effective way of adding new applications to existing infrastructure.[52] SAP Solutions that currently use Enterprise SOA are mySAP CRM, mySAP ERP, and mySAP SRM.

Partnerships

SAP partners include Global Services Partners with cross-industry multinational consulting capabilities,[53] Global Software Partners providing integrated products that complement SAP Business Suite solutions,[54] and Global Technology Partners providing user companies with a wide range of products to support SAP technology, including vendors of hardware, database, storage systems, networks, and mobile computing technology.[55]

Extensions partners are companies which provide functionality that complements SAP product capabilities. Their products are certified, sold, and supported by SAP. These partner companies include Adobe, CA Technologies, GK Software,[56] Hewlett-Packard, IDS Scheer, Mendix,[57] OpenText,[58] Knoa Software, and BackOffice Associates.[59]

SAP has also partnered with Apple to work on the mobile experience for SAP enterprise customers. As part of the partnership, a new SAP HANA Cloud Platform SDK would be delivered exclusively for iOS. As a result, developers can build applications based on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform for the iPhone and iPad devices. The partnership was announced in May 2016.[60]

In 2019, SAP announced a three-year partnership "Embrace" with Microsoft that should allow its clients to move their business process into the cloud.[2]

SAP PartnerEdge

SAP products for small businesses and midsize companies are delivered through its global partner network. The SAP PartnerEdge programme, SAP's partner programme, offers a set of business enablement resources and program benefits to help partners including value-added resellers (VARs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) be profitable and successful in implementing, selling, marketing, developing and delivering SAP products to a broad range of customers.[61]

Communities

SAP Community Network (SCN) is a community of SAP customers, partners, employees, and influencers – typically in roles such as: developers, consultants, integrators, and business analysts – who gain and share knowledge about ABAP, Java, .NET, SOA, and other technologies, plus analytics and dashboards, business process best practices, cloud, mobile, big data, and a range of other topics via blogs, discussion forums, downloads and code samples, training materials, and a technical library.[62]

Organization

SAP uses a two-tier structure of boards, with an executive board and a supervisory board. As of 2016, members of the executive board were Bill McDermott (former CEO and Chairman, joined in 2008), Robert Enslin (2014), Bernd Leukert (2014), Luka Mucic (CFO, 2014), Michael Kleinemeier (2015), Stefan Ries (2016), Steve Singh (2016) and Gerhard Oswald (1996).[63] Juergen Mueller will join the executive board in 2019.[64] In October 2019, Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein were appointed as co-CEOs of SAP.[65]

Functional units of SAP are split across different organizational units for R&D needs, field activities and customer support. SAP Labs are mainly responsible for product development whereas the field organizations spread across each country are responsible for field activities such sales, marketing and consulting. Headquarters is responsible for overall management as well as core engineering activities related to product development. Worldwide customer support is not provided by the field organizations but by a unified organization called Active Global Support (AGS).[66]

SAP Labs

SAP Labs are R&D locations that develop and improve SAP core products. SAP Labs are strategically located in high-tech clusters around the globe.

Locations of SAP Labs
Country Main location(s)
Germany Walldorf/Rot, Markdorf, Berlin
United States Silicon Valley
India Bangalore
China Shanghai
Brazil São Leopoldo
Bulgaria Sofia
Canada Vancouver, Montreal, Waterloo
South Korea Seoul
Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City
Israel Ra'anana
CIS Moscow
France Paris, Sophia Antipolis
Ireland Dublin
Hungary Budapest
Slovakia Bratislava
Czech Republic Brno
Poland Gliwice

The four most prominent labs of SAP SE are located in Germany, India, China and the US. Labs Walldorf was founded in 1972 and became SAP's primary location. At the beginning, the focus of SAP's expansion was entering highly developed IT markets; in 1993 Palo Alto became a part of SAP Labs. Aiming to acquire talented employees, SAP opened another lab in Bangalore in 2003.

Among the latest SAP Labs are labs in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. All three labs have been established in 2016. The labs in India are now the largest labs outside Germany.

In order to manage SAP Labs, SAP Labs Network (SLN) was created. SLN is a global unit that manages regional Labs and shares best business practices. It coordinates and distributes development projects among individual SAP Labs locations, accelerates product delivery, gives SAP full access to talent, and drives SAP corporate strategy regarding innovation and business growth.[67]

SAP User Groups

SAP User Groups are independent, nonprofit organizations of SAP customers and SAP partners. They serve as communications channel for their members towards SAP and for SAP towards the markets. The Americas' SAP Users' Group (ASUG) is the company's largest user group, with 100,000 individuals at 3,800 companies. ASUG members are professionals who work in more than 17 industries. Many are technical and business process experts in the SAP ecosystem; they have varied levels of experience, and come from small businesses to global corporations, as well as universities. In 2007, the SAP User Group Executive Network (SUGEN) was established.

SAP provoked controversy and frustration among its users in 2008 by raising the cost of its maintenance contracts. The issue was the subject of intense discussion among user groups.[68]

SAP Cloud Platform

SAP Cloud Platform is SAP's platform-as-a-service (PaaS)[69] that is used to deliver in-memory capabilities and microservices for building and extending, mobile-enabled cloud applications. The infrastructure is offered through a global network of SAP managed data centers. SAP Cloud Platform is an open platform-as-a-service, which includes the in-memory SAP HANA database management system, connects to both on premises and cloud-based systems running SAP or other third-party software and relies on open standards, like Java, JavaScript, Node.js and Cloud Foundry for integration options.

SAP Cloud Platform is promoted to build and extend business applications with rapid innovation cycles. SAP and Apple Inc. partnered to develop mobile applications on iOS using cloud-based software development kits (SDKs) for the SAP Cloud Platform. SAP founding development partners[70] for their Cloud Platform include Accenture, Celonis, EnterpriseAlumni, and Walmart.

SAP Cloud Platform is based on open source technology, developed & supported in partnership with SUSE. The company is also in partnership with Cloud Foundry for a beta offering of SAP Cloud Platform that enables customers to test out and give feedback for the functionalities coming with Cloud Foundry.

SAP S/4HANA

In 2015, the company launched S/4HANA, the newest generation of the SAP Business Suite. It was written natively for the SAP HANA platform. It offers cloud, on-premises and hybrid deployment options to customers, with its benefits including a smaller data footprint, higher throughput, faster analytics and faster access to data. It also allows existing SAP Business Suite customers to upgrade to this product from SAP Business Suite.[71]

In 2016, SAP introduced SAP HANA, Express Edition which is meant to run on personal computers or on cloud computing platforms for students and other small-scale developers.[72]

SAP Store

SAP launched the SAP store in March 2015 as its principal e-commerce property to allow customers to buy its products directly on the Web rather than through traditional sales channels. Customers can purchase free trials or starter editions and can pay by credit card or PayPal.

SAP App Center

Launched in 2016, the SAP App Center is an online application marketplace for third-party applications that integrate with and extend SAP products. Applications are available for free, as well as via yearly or monthly subscription models. Applications available range from integrations with content management software to mobile approval management and payment platforms. As of July 2018, it features over 1,500 applications.

Conferences

SAP has two annual conferences:

  • SAPPHIRE is SAP's customer-facing event, where it generally announces major product changes and strategic direction. It is typically held in the spring in North America.[73][74]
  • SAP TechEd is the company's more technical conference, aimed at SAP's ecosystem of consultants and software development partners.[75][76] SAP TechEd has been held annually since 1995.

Competitive landscape

SAP competitors are primarily in the enterprise resource planning software industry. In this field, Oracle Corporation is SAP's major competitor. SAP also competes in the customer relationship management, marketing & sales software, manufacturing, warehousing & industrial software, and supply chain management & logistics software sectors.[77]

Oracle Corporation filed a lawsuit against SAP for malpractice and unfair competition in the California courts in 2007. SAP lost the case in 2010 and was ordered to pay $1.3 billion, which was cited as the largest copyright infringement judgment in history.[78] The verdict was overturned in 2011,[79] and the lawsuit was finally settled in 2014 for $356.7 million.[80]

The resulting pressure saw SAP and SUGEN (SAP User Group Executive Network) agree to a major benchmarking exercise to prove the value of the new support pricing policy to customers. In December 2009, SAP delayed its Enterprise Support price rises until agreement had been reached on the benchmarks and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).[81]

In January 2010, SAP reversed its direction on Enterprise Support and reintroduced its standard support package for customers. The move to reinstate standard support – at 18 percent of annual license fees, "will enable all customers to choose the option that best meets their requirements", the company said.[82]

In August 2013, SAP acquired German software company Hybris for eCommerce capabilities.[83][84]

Philanthropic efforts

SAP has donated several millions of dollars to a variety of global health causes including the Product Red campaign and the Global Fund.[85][86] In addition, SAP has distributed free software in South Africa as part of an effort towards developing future markets there.[87] The company also encourages employees to volunteer through social sabbaticals, sending teams of people to different countries to aid non-profits. SAP employees have volunteered in China, India, Brazil, and South Africa.[88]

Sponsorships

The SAP Arena opened in Mannheim in 2005, and is the home of the Adler Mannheim ice hockey team and Rhein-Neckar Löwen handball team. Since 2013, the company is name sponsor of the SAP Center at San Jose, California. The team also sponsors the Formula One racing team McLaren, German football team TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, NFL teams the New York Giants and New York Jets, the City Football Group, and eSports squad Team Liquid.

SAP ambassadors include German tennis player Angelique Kerber, German eventing rider Ingrid Klimke, and South African golfers Ernie Els, Gary Player and Branden Grace.

Autism hiring

SAP also engages in outreach activities within its company. In 2013, the company launched an initiative to hire employees with autism and Asperger syndrome, citing their undervalued ability to contribute to its workforce. SAP aims to compose 1% of its workforce with individuals with autism by the year 2020.[89]

Bribery and corruption

East African allegations

In February 2019, SAP was accused of ‘improper conduct’ linked to state contracts in Kenya and Tanzania. An anonymous whistle-blower claims, through a firm of attorneys, that SAP used Twenty Third Century Systems (TTCS) to bribe officials at the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to win a US$6.6-million enterprise resource planning software tender that involved the provision of software licenses and services.[90]

South African allegations

In July 2017, allegations were made that SAP had been involved in business transactions with the controversial and politically influential Gupta family in South Africa. SAP was accused of paying CAD House, a Gupta-controlled company, R100 million in order to secure a Transnet deal. SAP denied the allegations, claiming that the money was paid as "an extension of the sales force", despite CAD House having no prior SAP experience.[91][92]

The Guptas' dealings with SAP were revealed in a widely publicized e-mail leak.[93][94]

As a consequence of the allegations, SAP launched an investigation that led to four of its South African managers being placed on administrative leave along with the seizure of their mobile phones and computers.[95] Claas Kuehnemann was named as acting managing director for Africa while the investigation continued.[96]

On 26 October 2017, SAP announced that it had voluntarily reported itself to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a possible violation of US law, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, related to the South African bribery allegations. SAP's own investigation, conducted by law firm Baker McKenzie, revealed that SAP had paid $7.7 million in commissions to third-parties linked to the Gupta family while securing contracts worth $48 million with Transnet and Eskom.[97][98][99]

Panamanian bribery

In May 2015, SAP agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges over a former executive's scheme to bribe Panama government officials in order to win lucrative technology contracts.[100][101]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "SAP Q4 2019 Quarterly Statement" (PDF). SAP SE. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  2. ^ "SAP Company History". Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "SAP Software | SAP Implementations | SAP Company Profile". Panorama Consulting Solutions. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  4. ^ "SAP at a Glance: Company Information". Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  5. ^ "SAP Corporate Fact Sheet". SAP. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Börse Frankfurt (Frankfurt Stock Exchange): Stock market quotes, charts and news".
  7. ^ Holmes, Edith. "IBM Opposes Retelling of Whole Xerox Story in Court", Computerworld, p. 42, 26 January 1976.
  8. ^ "History of SAP AG". Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  9. ^ International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 16. St James Press, 1997.
  10. ^ a b c Staff. "SAP History: From Start-Up Software Vendor to Global Market Leader". Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  11. ^ a b c "The early years | SAP History | About SAP SE". SAP. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  12. ^ SAP UK – ICI Success Story, Sap.com (1 January 1999); retrieved 24 April 2011.
  13. ^ "Standard Application Software for Real-time processing is developed".
  14. ^ "Vom Programmierbüro zum globalen Softwareproduzenten: Die Erfolgsfaktoren der SAP von der Gründung bis zum R/3-Boom, 1972 bis 1996". Chbeck.metapress.com. 14 November 2008. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  15. ^ Solutions, Cipher Business. "SAP ECC Modules - Cipher Business Solutions". Cipher Business Solutions. Retrieved 29 March 2017. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ "The latest version of SAP ERP available is SAP ECC 6.0 EHP7, What do you understand by ECC ?". 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  17. ^ "STOXX Limited Announces Changes to its Blue-Chip Index Series" (Press release). Stoxx. 1 September 2003. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  18. ^ Conversion of Legal Form to European Company (SE) Approved; SAP Shareholders Elect Jim Hagemann Snabe to Supervisory Board of SAP SE
  19. ^ Conversion of Legal Form to European Company (SE) Approved; SAP Shareholders Elect Jim Hagemann Snabe to Supervisory Board of SAP SE
  20. ^ SAP Now European Company (SE)
  21. ^ SAP Now European Company (SE)
  22. ^ "Company Q & A". Investor Relations, SAP. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  23. ^ Wong, Kenneth; Bass, Dina (23 May 2012). "SAP to Acquire Ariba for $4.3 Billion in Push Into Cloud". Bloomberg News.
  24. ^ "SAP To Acquire Concur Technologies To Boost Cloud Sales". Forbes. 22 September 2014.
  25. ^ Mahadevan, Neetha; Doerner, Stephan (19 September 2014). "SAP to Acquire Concur Technologies". The Wall Street Journal.
  26. ^ "IBM and SAP Score Win Over Amazon". BusinessInsider. 14 October 2014.
  27. ^ "HP News - HP and SAP Accelerate Journey to SAP® S/4HANA on HP Helion Managed Cloud". Hewlett-Packard. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  28. ^ "Microsoft and SAP Strengthen Ties with Mobile, Data, Cloud Partnership". TechCrunch. 19 May 2014.
  29. ^ SAP Posts Strong 2014 Results, Cloud Business to Drive Future Growth , Forbes, 22 January 2015
  30. ^ a b "SAP Plans to Invest $2.2 Billion in the Internet of Things by 2020". Fortune. Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  31. ^ Miller, Ron (29 January 2019). "SAP job cuts prove harsh realities of enterprise transformation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  32. ^ "SAP Bilanz, Gewinn und Umsatz | SAP Geschäftsbericht | 716460". wallstreet-online.de. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  33. ^ "SAP Key Statistics | SAP SE ADS Stock - Yahoo Finance". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  34. ^ https://www.sap.com/corporate/en/investors/capital-market-story/acquisitions.html#2018. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. ^ "SAP adds Contextor, robotic process automation". The Inquirer. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  36. ^ "SAP Announces New Suite of Solutions to Modernize CRM and a New Data Management Suite". SAP News Center. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  37. ^ Miller, Ron. "SAP snags CallidusCloud for $2.4 billion". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  38. ^ [1]
  39. ^ Lunden, Ingrid. "SAP buys customer identity management firm Gigya for $350M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  40. ^ "Marketing satendr software & tool vendor - SAP Hybris". abakus.me. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  41. ^ "SAP plant Übernahme von Ticketing-Anbieter Ticket-Web". SAP News Center. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  42. ^ Farber, Dan. "SAP acquires OutlookSoft for corporate performance management". ZDNet. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  43. ^ "SAP Acquires Lighthammer To Beef Up Manufacturing Apps". InformationWeek. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  44. ^ "SAP acquires A2i to boost data management capabilities". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  45. ^ "SAP SI kauft SPM Technologies" (in German). computerwoche.de. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  46. ^ "The World's Biggest Public Companies, Software & Programming". Forbes. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  47. ^ "Worldwide Office Directory of SAP".
  48. ^ "Business in Brief: Markets". SAP. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  49. ^ "Midmarket Solutions: SAP ALL-IN-ONE – Solutions for mid-size companies". Annual Report 2006. SAP. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  50. ^ "Industry Solutions: Innovation – One Industry at a Time". Annual Report 2006. SAP. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  51. ^ SAP - Enterprise Service-Oriented Architecture: Adoption Program Archived 13 January 2014 at archive.today, global.sap.com; accessed 27 May 2015.
  52. ^ "When Does a Web Service Become an Enterprise Service?" by Dr Franz-Josef Fritz (SAP AG), SAP Insider, April–May–June 2004.
  53. ^ SAP – Global & Local Partner Directories: Global Services Partners. SAP AG. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  54. ^ SAP – Global & Local Partner Directories: Global Software Partners. Sap.com (30 June 2009). Retrieved on 7 July 2011.
  55. ^ SAP – Global & Local Partner Directories: Global Technology Partners, go.sap.com; retrieved 7 July 2011.
  56. ^ SAP Offers Retailers in North America a Full Range of Store Solutions to Optimize Their Businesses Through Extended Global Reseller Agreement With GK Software. sap-news.com (28 May 2013). Retrieved on 22 May 2015.
  57. ^ Mendix Announces Global Reseller Agreement with SAP, Providing Enterprises Low-Code Development for Building Enterprise Apps at Speed and Scale. Mendix.com (26 September 2017). Retrieved on 28 March 2018.
  58. ^ OpenText Named Solution Extension Partner of the Year and SAP Database and Data Management Partner of the Year in 2017 SAP® Pinnacle Awards. prnewswire.com (16 May 2017). Retrieved on 09 March 2018.
  59. ^ "Solution Extensions | Digital Jouney | SAP". SAP. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  60. ^ "Apple & SAP Partner to Revolutionize Work on iPhone & iPad". SAP News Center. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  61. ^ SAP – SAP Solutions for Small Businesses and Midsize Companies: Press Fact Sheet, July 2007 Archived 26 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. SAP.com; retrieved 7 July 2011.
  62. ^ SAP – Communities. go.sap.com; retrieved 7 July 2011.
  63. ^ "SAP Executive Board". SAP.
  64. ^ "Chief Innovation Officer Juergen Mueller to Join SAP SE Board". PR Newswire.
  65. ^ "SAP Sets Course with Next-Generation Leadership Team | SAP News". SAP News Center. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  66. ^ "SAP launches Global Support Center".
  67. ^ "R&D Locations | SAP Labs | About SAP SE". SAP. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  68. ^ SAP faces user wrath over price hikes. Computerworlduk.com. Retrieved on 7 July 2011.
  69. ^ https://cloudplatform.sap.com/index.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  70. ^ "Winners of 2015 SAP Pinnacle Awards announced - Inside SAP". www.insidesap.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  71. ^ "Answers on SAP upgradation to SAP S/4HANA".
  72. ^ Larry Dignan (16 September 2016). "SAP aims to court more HANA developers, launches express edition". ZDNet. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  73. ^ "SAP unveils SuccessFactors cloud computing roadmap as it squares up to Oracle". V3.co.uk. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  74. ^ "SAP Rolls Out Updates at SAPPHIRE". InternetNews. 17 June 2003. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  75. ^ "SAP TechEd '05 in Bangalore". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 22 September 2005. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  76. ^ "SAP TechEd to Go Deep on Mobility". Pcworld.com. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  77. ^ Staff. "SAP Competitors".
  78. ^ Levine, Dan (23 November 2010). "SAP to pay Oracle $1.3 billion in landmark decision". Reuters. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  79. ^ "Oracle Verdict Against SAP Is Overturned". Associated Press. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2015..
  80. ^ "Oracle, SAP Settle Long-Running TomorrowNow Lawsuit". Reuters. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2015..
  81. ^ SAP delays Enterprise Support price rises. Computerworlduk.com; retrieved 7 July 2011.
  82. ^ SAP does U-turn on Enterprise Support. Computerworlduk.com; retrieved 7 July 2011.
  83. ^ "SAP Closes Deal to Acquire MDM Maker Hybris". eWEEK. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  84. ^ "SAP buys Hybris, gains customer experience, power", informationweek.com; accessed 27 May 2015.
  85. ^ "(RED) Partners". (RED). The ONE Campaign. 14 October 2012. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  86. ^ "What This Giant Software Company Is Doing to Advance Global Health". Inside Philanthropy. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  87. ^ "The Business Case for Strategic Philanthropy". TriplePundit. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  88. ^ "How EY and SAP are championing corporate volunteering". The Guardian. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  89. ^ "SAP in autism recruitment drive". BBC News. 22 May 2013.
  90. ^ "SAP, EOH affiliate TTCS caught up in bribery allegations - TechCentral". techcentral.co.za. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  91. ^ "#GuptaLeaks: Software giant paid Gupta front R100m 'kickbacks' for state business". News24. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  92. ^ "amaBhungane - #GuptaLeaks: Software giant SAP paid Gupta front R100m "kickbacks" for state business". amabhungane.co.za. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  93. ^ "Guptas just tip of SA's corruption ice-berg - Saftu". Fin24. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  94. ^ "Software giant pulled into Gupta saga with allegations of R100 million kickbacks". Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  95. ^ "Germany's SAP to investigate South Africa kickback allegations". Financial Times.
  96. ^ "SAP names Kuehnemann as acting MD". ITWeb Technology News. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  97. ^ "SAP Provides Update on Ongoing Investigation into Its South Africa Business". SAP News Center. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017.
  98. ^ Meyer, David (26 October 2017). "SAP Is Being Investigated by the U.S. Over a Major International Kickback Scandal". Fortune. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017.
  99. ^ "US justice department launches investigation into SAP-Gupta dealings". Mail and Guardian. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017.
  100. ^ "#PanamaBribery: SAP settles with SEC over Panama bribery scheme". Reuters. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  101. ^ https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2016-17.html
Wikimedia Commons has media related to SAP.
  • Official website Edit this at Wikidata
  • Business data for SAP SE:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SAP&oldid=944146388"