The new head of SAP's cloud unit, Lars Dalgaard, discussed strategy and solutions. (Photo: SAP)

SAP Executive Board member and head of its cloud business unit stated the bold intentions succinctly: “Bring the biggest business apps provider in the world completely into the cloud.” His exuberance was matched only by his confidence: “We are completely ready.” SuccessFactors has brought incredible productivity gains for its customers pre-acquisition. The recently formed Cloud business unit, led by Lars, serves more than 17 million users. Now it looks to serve millions more.

With scale that covers companies of various sizes for a total of 56.8 million product users, Lars believes the company is now ready to take on a whole new wave of users. Lars called on customers in the audience to back him up. They obliged: A representative from joint SAP and SuccessFactors customer Under Armour stood up to attest to how businesses with both SAP and SuccessFactors in their landscape can benefit from the now combined talents and expertise.

To SAP’s expertise and intellectual property, SuccessFactors adds simplicity and speed, a people-centric design, and a beautiful user experience, Lars said. This, in addition to the cost benefits and agility of the cloud. The stage was set for the imparting of a clear strategy.

On the next page, we lay out the cloud strategy across four categories.

Obviously itching to deliver his first keynote at SAPPHIRE NOW, executive board member Lars Dalgaard takes the stage. (Photo: SAP)

Co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe delivered the second keynote at SAPPHIRE NOW. (Photo: SAP)

Tracking the progress of technology over SAP’s 40-year history is a humbling retrospective. The year of the company’s founding, 1972, was also the last year the Apollo program sent a human to the moon. The guidance system in that spacecraft consisted of a computer with 32 kilobytes of main memory, approximately half of what one would find in today’s musical birthday cards.

SAP was in business several years before it could acquire its first computer. The unit was a colossal Siemens mainframe, with two megabytes of main memory, the average size of an e-mail attachment today.

“Who would have imagined in 1972,” Jim Hagemann Snabe asked, “that 40 years later you would be able to hold in a phone a multi-core computer with more than 64 gigabytes of main memory, a GPS navigation system, a high definition camera, a video conferencing system, and an electronic wallet in one device that fits in your pocket …without changing the size of your pocket.”

The next 40 years will host even more extreme developments, Hagemann Snabe showed, with the world’s population going from seven to nine billion people by 2052. In China, an estimated 250 million people will move from rural areas into cities. Urban areas will increase by one million square kilometers, an area roughly the size of France, Germany, and Spain combined. The 60-plus population will triple, and for the first time in history outnumber children.

These changes will have massive ramifications for business and society and present great challenges. “Imagine the impact this has on healthcare, on housing, on labor, on pensions, on taxation,” Hagemann Snabe said. There’s also the strain on the earth’s natural resources to consider.

But the future is not set in stone, Hagemann Snabe argued, and SAP believes it can help customers and society to rise to the challenges to come. Technology will continue to progress, providing the base for innovation that plays a major role in creating a more sustainable future. “The choices we make today have a significant impact on the tomorrow we create,” Hagemann Snabe said.

Bill McDermott delivers the opening keynote at SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando. (Photo: SAP)

“If you’re between the ages of 18 and 24, you’re more likely to have a mobile phone than a job,” said Bill McDermott in the opening of his keynote at SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando. In his fast fact, the SAP co-CEO hit on two important realities in the business world: the pervasiveness of mobile technologies, as well as the economic challenges both businesses and people are facing.

Throughout his keynote, held in front of around 22,000 attendees and thousands more following online, McDermott made reference to how trends in technology can help businesses run better and improve people’s lives in a still delicate world economy.

“We can take society’s experience to a new level, a higher level of wellbeing,” he said. “You are addressing the world’s larger problems,” he addressed customers in the audience, “by using technology to lower healthcare costs, reshaping education, reinvigorating job markets and manufacturing, and reengineering social welfare programs so they can work again. It starts right here, right now, at SAPPHIRE NOW.”

Check out the SAP TV video below to get a feel for the atmosphere at the convention center in Orlando. You can watch the Bill McDermott’s keynote in full and catch up on other sessions on the SAP Virtual Events page.

Not to be forgotten, the ASUG keynote also took place in Orlando. World-renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong was a guest speaker. (Photo: SAP)

When it comes to real-time results, SAP doesn’t just talk the talk. The software company has also chosen to publish its new e-book, “SAP HANA Essentials”, in real time. What does that mean exactly? The book, released on May 14, 2012, initially contains three chapters on SAP HANA, including SAP HANA Overview, SAP HANA Hardware, and SAP HANA Implementation Projects. More chapters will be added throughout the year.

“This new approach to publishing allows our team to update content frequently and add links to additional content, so that information is always up to date. With ‘SAP HANA Essentials’, we’re making the publishing and learning process faster, better and less expensive,” says Jeffrey Word, vice president, Database & Technology, SAP.

The book is available for download on a range of mobile devices, from iPads and iPhones to Kindles and Barnes&Noble Nooks.

Roll out the red carpet! (Photo: Deutscher Preis für Onlinekommunikation)

Once a year, the top agencies, companies, NGOs, and political and social institutions in Germany gather in Berlin for the Deutscher Preis für Onlinekommunikation (German Prize for Online Communication). What do these organizations all have in common? Exceptional achievement in digital communication.

This year, the award committee received approximately 400 applications for 29 categories, from which they selected 100 projects for the shortlist. SAP.info made the cut for the category Web Magazine, along with submissions from BMW, Siemens, Bayer, and Metro.

Other categories included social media campaign, corporate web site, online community, corporate TV, viral communication, and digital annual report.

The competition came to a head on May 9, 2012, when project teams, including the SAP.info editorial team, arrived in Berlin to present to the jury. A mix of journalists, PR professionals, academics, and corporate communication experts, the jury based their decisions on a fleeting, eight-minute-long presentation from each team and, of course, the medium itself.

Later in the evening, the jury and nominees attended a gala event held at Kino International, a theater that once hosted film premiers in the former East Berlin. Dr. Hajo Schumacher, a well-known German journalist and author, moderated the event.

At 10 p.m. it was official. The prize for best web magazine was awarded to SAP AG and grasundsterne GmbH for their submission, SAP.info.

From left: SAP.info editor Heather McIlvaine, editor-in-chief Christoph Zeidler, and event moderator Dr. Hajo Schumacher (Photo: Deutscher Preis für Onlinekommunikation)

Kino International, located in former East Berlin (Photo: Deutscher Preis für Onlinekommunikation)

SAP recently published its fifth sustainability report, and people are taking notice. Its predecessor, the 2010 SAP Sustainability report, has won the JustMeans 2012 Social Innovation Awards for Best Integrated Report and Best Stakeholder Engagement, as well as the 2012 PR News CSR Award.

The 2012 Social Innovation Awards recognize companies implementing groundbreaking strategies and programs that drive social and environmental innovation and responsibility. Last year alone over 40% of the Fortune 100 participated in the awards program. This year’s award ceremony was held at the Ceres Conference at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. This annual conference gathers companies, investors, environmentalists and other stakeholders to examine some of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges. They explore ways to integrate sustainable solutions into business strategy and build long term shareholder value.

The 2012 PR News CSR Award is the industry’s best showcase for the most powerful, impactful social responsibility and green campaigns. The finalists in the awards program set new standards of excellence and point the way for other organizations to follow. To learn more, read the PR News CSR Awards special issue.

The latest sustainability report released In March 2012, has even more ways for customers, partners, employees, shareholders and the public to get involved. It spotlights SAP’s innovations in software for energy management and sustainable operations, as well as the company’s own sustainability transformation and social investment strategy. Much more than just a measurement tool, the report features a richly interactive design to engage and inspire people. Employees tell personal stories about how they’ve initiated or participated in sustainability efforts. People can comment on each page and share content through social channels. New this year is a feature called, “What matters to you,” that allows visitors to share their views and stories as well.

“Our new report marks an important milestone on our journey to helping the world run better and improving people’s lives,” said Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer, SAP. “As a company founded and thriving on the concept of innovation, we are excited about helping more and more companies run more profitably and sustainably around the world — including our own. We are proud of the positive recognition we have received, and look forward to the ideas and inspiration from the readers of our new report.”

Alex Atzberger, senior vice president (Photo: SAP)

Alex Atzberger occupies a small and unpretentious office on the 31^st floor of Ciros office tower on Nanjing Road overlooking the Central Business District in Shanghai. Across the street is the former Shanghai Race Course where horseracing and gambling were a favorite pastime for Shanghai’s establishment until banned by the Communist Government when they came to power in 1949. The former clubhouse is now home to an art gallery and a restaurant called “Kathleen’s.” If the Mercedes, Porsche, Maserati, and Ferrari dealerships dotting the neighborhood are any indication, Shanghai’s wealthy class now place their bets on sports cars rather than thoroughbreds.

Situated in the center of the largest city in the world’s biggest economy, Atzberger surveys the scene like a military strategist. A senior vice president at the age of 35, Atzberger is the mastermind behind SAP’s $2 billion investment plan in China and the person responsible for its implementation. The only adornment on Atzberger’s walls is a map of China studded with stickers marking the cities where SAP plans to open new offices.

Atzberger believes that China is the single biggest geographical opportunity for SAP. “We need to be in more cities,” he says of the company’s coverage strategy. But the overall strategy is a five-pronged, long-term plan that also envisions solutions for the China market, a stronger ecosystem of channel partners, higher awareness of the brand through targeted marketing efforts, and co-innovation with partners. A few years ago SAP transferred the head of its support organization to Beijing and is taking an aggressive approach to hiring this year. “Only if all these pieces come together can we be successful,” says Atzberger.

Expanding Network of Offices

SAP is establishing offices in what were once known as the second-tier cities, but are increasingly the powerhouses of the Chinese economy: cities like Wuhan, better known as a “furnace” for its scorching summer temperatures; and Xi’an, familiar to tourists as the home of the Terracotta Army. Beijing will continue to be irreplaceable as SAP China headquarters due to its proximity to the public sector and government, while Shanghai is and always will be the business center of China. Most of China’s formidable manufacturing industry is located in and around the cities near Shanghai. According to Atzberger, more than 70 percent of China’s GDP comes from 100 cities with a population of one million.

Atzberger admits that SAP needs to better explain the value it provides to customers in China, and that the business software has often been used “as an expensive typewriter.” SAP is in China to repair that situation through focused customer orientation and improved coverage. “We have an extensive need for education and awareness in the market,” he says, explaining that dedicated teams will focus on branding, channel engagement, and building a healthy ecosystem. The SAP Forums, for example, will be hitting the cities where SAP is opening offices.

Nanjing Road, the location of the SAP office in Shanghai (Photo: SAP)

A user guide to the tools and software in the SAP BusinessObjects BI suite. (Photo: SAP)

Whether you’re an executive looking to evaluate what-if scenarios for future planning or a business analyst wanting to create reports without having to go through the IT department, the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio has the right business intelligence (BI) tool for your requirements.

In September 2011, SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.0 became generally available, delivering updates for Web Intelligence, Dashboards, Crystal Reports, Explorer, and for the single, scalable BI platform that underlies the entire portfolio. SAP calls 4.0 its most significant BI release to date, and it’s no wonder: there is also utilization of in-memory computing, support for mobile devices, and integration of analytics for unstructured social data. But with so many powerful tools to choose from, how do you know which one is right for the job?

Of course, there’s no silver bullet when it comes to business intelligence, but the best strategy is to choose a client based on the business requirements, not the IT department. Are you an executive looking for an overview of corporate KPIs? Do you need to access this information on the go? Do you want to conduct ad hoc analyses?

In this article, we’ll review the various clients in SAP’s BI suite, explain who should be using them, and for what purposes.

SAP BusinessObjects BI suite (Screenshot: SAP)

Read here how to hook up SAP ERP with SAP Business ByDesign. (Photo: Fotolia)

SAP Business ByDesign is like a “mini SAP Business Suite” for the midmarket. It covers the most important business processes that run in small companies. These include financials, marketing, sales, services, human resources, manufacturing, planning and control of the supply chain, strategic and operational purchasing, and compliance.

SAP Business ByDesign comes in the form of software as a service (SaaS). The application is not installed on a company computer, but is hosted on external servers. Users work with SAP Business ByDesign through their Internet browser. Depending on its needs, the company can hire additional modules and new functions. In addition, the customer decides on what contract validity period best suits the company and when the licenses should expire.

Billing works using a flexible price model. There’s a fixed price for installation, which costs between €10,000 and €35,000, depending on the version. Then companies pay between €79 and €133 for each user every month. This includes service, maintenance, hosting, and support.

Small businesses and midsize companies often have limited IT budgets and resources compared with large enterprises, and the on-demand software should enable to them to save money and capacity. For example, there’s no need to hire a dedicated IT administrator responsible for the SAP software. Hosting and support is taken care of by the SAP partners and external IT service providers. To find an SAP Business ByDesign partner, click here.

Next page: SAP Business ByDesign for large enterprises

SAP employees at the headquarters in Walldorf, Germany (Photo: SAP AG)

Say the name SAP and many think big, established software company. It’s true SAP’s reputation is built on a heritage of engineering for major companies. Indeed, 180,000 customers in 24 industries worldwide count on SAP to run their mission-critical systems with flawless precision. But behind the code is a unique cadre of people who are transforming what SAP stands for and how it operates.

The Makings of An Employer of Choice

Case in point is SAP’s newly launched “Run at your Best” employer campaign. Designed to empower employees to run at their best, it’s an extension of SAP’s ‘Run Better’ branding campaign. The premise is simple: people who work and live at their best make the world run better. Its programs foster a workplace that values risk-taking, respects unique individual talents, interests and aspirations, and lets employees work the way they need to for high performance in a fast-paced, global company.

As Susan Bor, senior vice president, SAP Global Recruiting, puts it, “Our strength lies in empowering every employee with the freedom to contribute not only to our customer’s success, but something much bigger.”

Chief among the campaign’s tenets is that every employee can have a global impact. Employees highlighted in the campaign’s ads tell their personal stories about how SAP unleashes their passions so they can make a difference in the world. This is why Tolkyn Nurusheva, SME Channel Sales Manager in SAP CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States-Russia), leapt at the chance to participate.  Nurusheva describes herself as a typical “Gen Y” person. Her adult life has revolved around technology like social media, instant communication and smart TV.  She enjoys finding and using new applications on a daily basis. This self-proclaimed, “Number One Apple fan,” believes SAP is bringing the consumer technology lifestyle to the corporate world. She couldn’t be prouder to be part of that commitment.

“When you consider how much of our time we spend at work, it is essential that we are ‘engaged’ as employees, and proud of the brand that each of us, in our own small way, represent and contribute to every day,” says Nurusheva. “In SAP Kazakhstan, we are a small team yet part of a huge global enterprise.”