The global and independent platform for the SAP community.

Author: no-name

Our mysterious, anonymous columnist.
I have borrowed a series title from the German-language Manager Magazin, because many things are also going very well and successfully at SAP. But there is just as much room for valuable and sustainable optimization.
We have a long-standing relationship with a number of leading software providers, including SAP, Microsoft, Siemens, IBM, Oracle, and many others. Each of these companies has a proven track record in IT and has been instrumental in helping us manage our organization effectively.
It's frightening how little SAP boss Klein knows about us customers. Since the sales reps now limit themselves to only delivering the latest price list instead of offering more extended consultations with customers, the SAP spirit of old has disappeared.
A successful SAP Business Technology Platform partner summit took place in Heidelberg, Germany. The efforts to establish an open system alongside the frozen core are commendable. My proposal is that the BTP become public domain.
Regular readers of my column know that I am the co-head of an SAP regulars' club that now has 27 CIOs as members. The mood in the group is always good, although we are waiting for Christian Klein to reset.
Many are familiar with the book Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter. The first time I tried to read the English original in 1989, I failed. However, after a lecture by AI pioneer Jürgen Schmidhuber, I purchased the German edition and devoured it from cover to cover.
I had lunch with our senior lawyer in the cafeteria the other day and we ended up staying until 5 in the afternoon. It wasn’t the food that made me feel ill, but rather his concerns about the use of generative AI in light of the GDPR.
SAP is a shell of its former self. It has everything other IT vendors lack: content and knowledge. However, hyperscalers have the technology.
Life is ever changing, and for whatever reason, the day may come when it is time to leave the cloud. SAP does not have a policy for this. Customers, however, should. They should have a cloud exit strategy plan in place.
Only about a third of the DSAG (German-speaking SAP User Group) members trust SAP's strategy. SAP CEO Christian Klein's visions are correct, but the way they are presented and communicated misses the mark with the SAP community.
There is pressure to act, which SAP CEO Christian Klein obviously does not feel. He spends his days doing petty repair work. He works dedicatedly and forgets the purpose and vision of SAP.
A new ERP architecture is emerging, driven by SAP technology but less to SAP's own liking. CEO Christian Klein has already taken note of the first setbacks and lowered the revenue expectation for cloud computing.

Working on the SAP basis is crucial for successful S/4 conversion. 

This gives the Competence Center strategic importance for existing SAP customers. Regardless of the S/4 Hana operating model, topics such as Automation, Monitoring, Security, Application Lifecycle Management and Data Management the basis for S/4 operations.

For the second time, E3 magazine is organizing a summit for the SAP community in Salzburg to provide comprehensive information on all aspects of S/4 Hana groundwork.

Venue

More information will follow shortly.

Event date

Wednesday, May 21, and
Thursday, May 22, 2025

Early Bird Ticket

Available until Friday, January 24, 2025
EUR 390 excl. VAT

Regular ticket

EUR 590 excl. VAT

Venue

Hotel Hilton Heidelberg
Kurfürstenanlage 1
D-69115 Heidelberg

Event date

Wednesday, March 5, and
Thursday, March 6, 2025

Tickets

Regular ticket
EUR 590 excl. VAT
Early Bird Ticket

Available until December 20, 2024

EUR 390 excl. VAT
The event is organized by the E3 magazine of the publishing house B4Bmedia.net AG. The presentations will be accompanied by an exhibition of selected SAP partners. The ticket price includes attendance at all presentations of the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2025, a visit to the exhibition area, participation in the evening event and catering during the official program. The lecture program and the list of exhibitors and sponsors (SAP partners) will be published on this website in due course.