Why Germany is going down the drain

At an SAP meeting, friends and executives asked me about my ongoing criticism. I've been a member of the SAP community for over 30 years and have seen numerous board members come and go. The number of executives definitely exceeds one hundred. I can therefore call myself a constant factor and close observer of SAP, DSAG and the community.

SAP is not going down the drain, of course, but - as an interesting series of articles in the German-language Manager Magazin explains - is heading for further success: The series is called "Warum Deutschland den Bach raufgeht", which is an exciting statement in two senses. The authors are suggesting that things are on the up economically, socially, politically and culturally, but going up the creek, i.e. swimming against the current, also means going back to the source.

No member of the SAP community wants to go back to the R/3 era. This seems to be the direction of travel. But this is where the problems of the ERP world market leader begin. Going back to the roots is counterproductive. IT and computer science have developed successfully, and SAP can benefit from these innovations. So where should SAP turn? What is the right roadmap?

SAP CEO Christian Klein and CFO Dominik Asam are managing the Group extremely well. The SAP share price exceeded the magic 200 euro mark and some analysts see an initial target of around 230 euros. Where does this success come from? Klein and Asam manage the resources and assets prudently. They are currently living off the substance that is widely available due to successful predecessors. It is similar to the German economy as a whole: there is a high potential of opportunities from the past, which must now be exploited.

Christian Klein is sleeping through the future. The substance is there, so that successful operation is currently guaranteed. Many transformation projects are running satisfactorily at SAP, but the only statement regarding the future of the ERP world market leader is: SAP S/4 Hana is in regular maintenance until 2040! This statement by Christian Klein is important and reassuring, but it is not enough for strategic ERP planning.

Global corporations like the one I work for as Group CIO need more far-reaching planning scenarios. We need information about ERP beyond S/4 and we need a BTP roadmap and vision. If things turn out differently, then we have the realization that life is change, but we definitely need a discourse about the SAP ERP future beyond S/4 including BTP.

The SAP community is missing this discourse and therefore no longer considers SAP to be as relevant as in previous years. The latest DSAG investment survey has clearly highlighted this shortcoming. Only a third of DSAG members still see a growing relevance, while more than half view SAP's importance as remaining the same or stagnating. This view does not fit in with the approach of "going up the creek", as Manager Magazin wants to motivate its readers. But going up the creek seems particularly important in the current situation. In the spirit of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato's allegory of the cave, which deals with the ascent and descent from the cave into the light, enlightenment at SAP also appears to be urgently needed.

A clarification of the future of SAP naturally involves new personnel. After years of consolidation and working through the Bill McDermott legacy through Hasso Plattner and Christian Klein, it is time to redefine the goals. With the departure of Hasso Plattner as CEO, now would be a good time to reorganize the top of the SAP Executive Board as well - so that it goes down the drain. Christian Klein has achieved great things, but he seems to think less about his own future and that of SAP.

The aforementioned S/4 maintenance promise until 2040 is not enough. The SAP community needs a pragmatist and visionary again, like Henning Kagermann was. There is currently only one person on the Executive Board who could act in a similar way to Henning Kagermann: Thomas Saueressig. Whether headhunters from outside can bring someone in is uncertain.