Business Chief April 2019

SAP
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DATA IN THE ECOSYSTEM
Data, of itself, is dumb, says Arlen
Shenkman. “There has long been
a debate in large companies and among
enterprise software specialists about
the intrinsic value of data. My personal
perspective is that data only has value
when it helps you make better decisions
and makes employees, customers and
product users have a better experience
with you. That can’t happen unless you
know what they think about you.”
For 50 years SAP has been focused
on customer success driven by the
quality of its products: that remains the
focus, but today it’s no longer enough.
There’s no doubt that the acquisitions
of the past ten years have deepened
and broadened SAP’s reach. Innovation
can’t happen in isolation, he insists.
“Without doubt M&A has driven a very
robust portfolio of products, each of
which enhances our focus on the success
of our customers – and that, we
believe, is the key to our own success
as a global organization.”
So, it’s probably not quite the thing
to regard the Qualtrics acquisition as
a complete reinvention of the company.
SAP always had this focus, based on
customer service delivered through
APRIL 2019