InsideSAP

By Sam Sliman

President, Optimal Solutions Integration, Inc.

You read that right. This three-part article will take a look at how SAP is helping individual companies, as well as the entire global business community, not only endure today's economic turbulence but also begin the inevitable return to sustained growth — perhaps at a pace much quicker than that which was possible during previous economic downturns.

While some businesses fare better than others, no company is immune to unstable or deteriorating economic conditions, a lesson we've recently learned only too well as what began primarily as a crisis in the U.S. financial sector quickly spread globally and across virtually all industry segments.

Today's is certainly not the first economic drop off, and historical comparisons during difficult times are inevitable. We've heard references to the Great Depression, a "long and deep recessionary environment" and “not a V-shaped (fast) recovery” — but can we really use the past to accurately predict our near-term economic future?

These are not Pollyannaish notions. The US — and the global business community, to a lesser extent — is in the final stages of a massive investment in IT. Perhaps the most significant portion of that investment is in ERP. This downturn — and the inevitable upturn — truly are different, because they are the first in which companies have the full benefit of SAP.

Breadth, scope and role of SAP in today's global economy

SAP co-CEO Leo Apotheker began his address at the recent Business Suite 7 launch in New York with a few interesting and provocative observations regarding the connection between the current global economic crisis—arguably “the worst since W.W.I”—and the transformative power of technological innovation.

Apotheker framed this connection in terms of a paradox for the IT industry. On the one hand, he named technology the “conduit” responsible for the blistering speed with which the economic crisis transversed geographic and business boundaries.

“[This crisis] spread so fast and went everywhere because we [the IT industry] have done a very good job,” said Apotheker. “We have connected the world. We have integrated [global] enterprises.”

The paradoxical upside of the technology/economic crisis relationship, according to Apotheker, is evidenced by the fact that despite this very serious crisis, IT has enabled the vast majority of global businesses to march on. Said Apotheker, “Because we are still ticking today the way we are ticking despite the crisis is also because of IT.”

Looking forward at the role technology in general and SAP software in particular can play in an economic upturn, Apotheker posed the obvious question, “Fortunately, [many companies] have great IT infrastructure. So the question is, where do we take it from here?”

That SAP is a very big company with a large global customer base is obvious enough. How this fact plays out in today's increasingly interconnected global economy merits a quick look.

During the public launch of SAP Business Suite 7, SAP shared some interesting statistics that offer a glimpse into the breadth, scope and role SAP plays in today's global economy:

- 85% of the Fortune 500 run SAP software

- 80% of Fortune 1,000 companies run SAP software

- 60% of Fortune 2,000 companies run SAP software

- 70% of the world economy's transactions in some shape or form touch an SAP system

- 2.5 billion utility bills are processed by SAP software each year

- 65% of all chocolate in the world is manufactured using SAP software

Additional SAP stats that speak to the company's size, reach and global impact include:

- Based on software revenue, SAP is the number one business software supplier in every industry and solution segment

- SAP has developed and markets more than 25 industry-specific software solutions

- SAP has more the 82,000 customers across 120 countries

- Approximately 64,000 SAP customers are small businesses or midsize companies

- SAP is the first leading vendor to deliver a comprehensive suite of integrated SOA-based enterprise software solutions

- 43,000 systems currently run on the SOA-ready SAP NetWeaver platform

- 13,000 systems currently run on NetWeaver-based SAP ERP 6.0

Suffice it to say that SAP — by virtue of its expansive global reach, multi-industry penetration and proven capabilities—is uniquely positioned, perhaps more so than any other technology vendor, to serve as both a barometer of prevailing economic conditions and a facilitator for future business growth.

Part two of this article will look at the role SAP is playing in the early detection, rapid response and creative adaptability to the global economic crisis.

The third and final installment of “SAP's Role in an Economic Upturn” will examine how SAP helps companies quickly get right-sized for rapid return to sustainable growth.

Optimal Solutions Integration Inc. is a premier SAP consulting firm and authorised SAP channel partner. Article first published February 2009. http://optimalsol.com/