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Hasso Plattner, SAP Co-Founder and Chairman |
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Mastermind Keynote:
SAP Aims to Be No. 1 CRM Software Provider
Wednesday, 26 March 2003
Claiming that "there is no second place," SAP co-founder and chairman Hasso Plattner said Tuesday that his company's clear objective is to be the number one player in business applications software: "Number one in numbers, thought leadership and speed of development," he said.
Speaking during a wide-ranging Mastermind Keynote interview on Tuesday at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003 in San Diego, Mr. Plattner discussed the state of SAP, its business strategies and its challenges.
Gartner analysts Bruce Bond and Yvonne Genovese conducted the question and answer session, probing Mr. Plattner on SAP's software integration capabilities, applications strategy, clients' software upgrade concerns and recently announced executive changes at the giant software company.
Mr. Plattner explained that SAP's new two-pronged technology strategy - database-based applications and service-based applications - is necessary for SAP to maintain its status as the world's leading provider of business management enterprise software. He touted the company's flagship product, mySAP.com, as offering a broad and diverse range of solutions, such as enterprise resource planning, financial management, human resources functionality, supply chain and customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence, project management and portals.
Although Mr. Plattner promised continued innovation in both sectors, he acknowledged that new SAP service-based applications would come to fruition sooner and with more innovation.
The market is demanding applications that cross traditional application boundaries, he said, citing CRM systems that can link business processes in sales, finance, operations and other enterprise areas, Traditionally, however, applications "had to own the data," Mr. Plattner explained. "But with the Internet, everything now is accessible. Now we can build applications that don't have to own the data. Applications don't know, or care, where the data comes from."
A key goal for SAP in 2003, he added, is to supplant Siebel Systems as the market-leading CRM software provider. "Our clear objective is to pass Siebel in CRM sales in 2003." Beyond CRM, SAP will focus on dominating other markets among the 23 industries – "more than anyone else," he claims - the company supports with its software.
Citing concerns of some of Gartner's clients that many SAP clients are running software that is no longer supported by SAP, Mr. Bond questioned Mr. Plattner on SAP's software maintenance and support strategy.
"We have to work with clients individually," he replied. "Some of these software systems are old. They are pre-Internet! There is an installed base that we have to carry forward. But we're not going to leave [clients] in the desert. They will have lots of options."
Mr. Plattner said that SAP aims to be more than a software vendor that provisions maintenance services. To foster closer customer relationships and position itself as a trusted business advisor and strategic partner to its clients, SAP is extending its internal consulting capabilities and will expand its strategic alliances.
After three decades at the helm of the company that he helped found in 1972, Mr. Plattner has relinquished his CEO title and remains chairman of SAP. Co-CEO Henning Kagermann is the new CEO. Mr. Plattner said that while he will stay involved in day-to-day activities, he'll concentrate his duties on mid- and long-term strategies, especially advocating the two-fold applications strategy.
Michael Gomez
Gartner Staff
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