IBM
IBM ’ s SAP Practice is dedicated to the evolution of both companies and their joint strategy to drive the next generation of business processes
SAP wasn ’ t always the technology giant it is today and was originally founded by five engineers who left IBM to start the company . IBM Global SAP Practice leader Matt Schwartz remembers joining SAP in 2004 , when it had fewer than 10,000 people in North America . “ It was a much smaller , more intimate organization ,” Schwartz recalls . “ I pretty much knew every SAP consultant but it is a much different situation now .”
The growth of SAP has been exponential and fueled by a number of acquisitions which has created a new level of complexity . “ It was easier to sell , consume and understand what SAP was at that time ,” Schwartz admits . The company , its customer base and its product offerings have expanded . “ I ’ d say the biggest change is that it was very easy to understand what SAP stood for 20 years ago . It was an integrated ERP system . It was one application and now it ’ s a multitude of applications – it ’ s an ecosystem . SAP calls it an Intelligent Enterprise . We believe the value now is connecting those Enterprise applications and adding intelligence to them through intelligent workflows .”
SAP rising Do smaller , nimbler companies offering cloud native software solutions pose a threat to monoliths like SAP ? “ Its Déjà vu all over again , right ?” Schwartz replies with a grin . “ If you look back 20 years companies were buying SAP for finance and supply chain while others purchased a combo of SAP and best of breed capabilities in Supply Chain like i2 and Manugistics , PeopleSoft for HR and Ariba for procurement . You had clients that went with best-of-the-breed solutions and had SAP for their digital core back then , and this continues to happen today even with the newer SaaS solutions in the market . SAP has reached an understanding that customers will continue to make these choices and the power is in seamlessly linking these applications through capabilities in their Business Technology Platform underpinned by the capabilities of the cloud providers .
“ Our ability to help clients understand the business case for change , the value of the transformation and how SAP can help them drive that transformation , helps SAP achieve all their goals ”
MATT SCHWARTZ IBM GLOBAL SAP PRACTICE LEADER
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