E-3 Rubrik: No/Name – Kolumne

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.

End-to-end business processes remind me of my early days with SAP R/3. A lot of things didn't work then, but when they did, they were consistent, evaluated, and definitely E2E. SAP CEO Klein talks a lot about integration.

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.

There is pressure to act, which SAP CEO Christian Klein obviously does not feel. He spends his days doing small-scale repair work. Working with commitment and forgetting the big picture - Klein is left without a strategy.

SAP has taken a wrong turn: Instead of consolidating menus, screen masks and processes, a ChatGPT-like voice input is to be put over the disastrous UI. Why does SAP always start solving problems from the wrong side?

It is not our software contracts that are meant, but the termination of our own employees. In terms of labor law, it is probably possible. Organizationally, CEO Christian Klein is completely overwhelmed.

In the new year, there are to be three Sapphires as face-to-face events: Orlando, Barcelona and São Paulo. That's good, but we need answers from existing SAP customers now, not in May and June 2023. The stakes are high.

Instead of focusing on its core competence, SAP wants to forcefully become a cloud applications company. Everyone in the community knows that this plan will fail, because SAP's strengths lie elsewhere.

My expectation is that SAP will demonstrate a transparent, medium-term and consistent corporate policy. What do I get? Unctuous words, devout listening, and a cozying up to our DSAG association.

At a crystallization point, the further course of the roadmap is decided. Will the project freeze and break up, or will it become fluid, agile and successful? Christian Klein has recklessly led his SAP to such a point.

Whereas it used to be "SAP or non-SAP", I am now hearing "SAP and non-SAP" more and more often. That's good news for us existing customers. For SAP, it could become a problem. The ERP world market leader is not prepared for cooperation.