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SAP Assignment – Dr. Hartley, Spring Semester, 2020
Due on the last day of class before spring break at the beginning of class.
SAP® (Systems, Applications & Products) is a market leader in enterprise application software.
SAP® helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom,
warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP® empowers people and organizations
to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the
competition. SAP® applications and services enable customers to operate profitably, adapt
continuously, and grow sustainably.
Write a paper that fully describes SAP®, including the company’s origin and background, its
worldwide growth as the market leader in enterprise resource planning, and the types of
services and products SAP® offers. Also fully discuss the SAP® University Alliance of which
the College of Charleston School of Business is a member. DO NOT use sources like
Wikipedia, etc., for this paper. Fully list your sources of information for this assignment (you
should have a minimum of five (5) sources cited for this assignment). Your paper should be a
minimum of 5 pages, single-spaced, plus the references page. Do not violate the College honor
code by working together with someone else on this assignment or by plagiarizing your work.
If you weren't in class today (Friday 2-6), we discussed the SAP assignment due next Friday.
Directions: 5 single-spaced pages followed by a 'list of works consulted' page. No footnotes
needed. If you find relevant information for your paper from a source, there is no need to
paraphrase. You can use it directly in your paper, but you must list the source at the end.
I hope this clears up any misunderstanding you may have had about the assignment.
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Kayla Kozak
Dr. Mark Hartley
SCIM 333
13 March 2020
SAP® (Systems, Applications & Products)
Definition
SAP stands for Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing (Anwendungen
und Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung in German). SAP was founded in 1972 in Walldorf,
Germany and now has offices around the world.
Originally known for leadership in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP has
evolved to become a market leader in end-to-end enterprise application software, database,
analytics, intelligent technologies, and experience management. A top cloud company with 200
million users worldwide, SAP helps businesses of all sizes and in all industries to operate
profitably, adapt continuously, and achieve their purpose.
SAP believes in a future where technology makes you better. Where responsible, healthy
business, and empathy for one another, are as important as the bottom line. Where our economy,
society, and environment prosper together.
https://www.sap.com/corporate/en.html
Origin and Background
In 1972, five entrepreneurs in Germany (Dietmar Hopp, Hasso Plattner, Hans-Werner
Hector, Klaus Tschira, and Claus Wellenreuther) had a vision for the business potential of
technology.
Starting with one customer and a handful of employees, SAP set out on a path that would
not only transform the world of information technology but also forever alter the way companies
do business. Now 47 years and more than 440,000 customers stronger, more than ever, SAP is
fueled by the pioneering spirit that inspired its founders to continually transform the IT industry.
The early years (1972-1980) - Building on the dream of “real-time” computing: Software
that processes data when customers need it rather than overnight in batches.
The SAP R/2 era (1981-1990) - Real-time touches more of the business: SAP R/2
packaged mainframe software application processes in real-time and integrates all an enterprise’s
business functions.
The SAP R/3 era (1991-2000) - Real-time reaches the desktop: A client-server version of
the standard application software allows businesses to run more efficiently around the world.
Real-time data where and when you need it (2001-2010) - Real-time moves to the Web
and beyond: Cloud computing, mobile, and in-memory computing open new horizons for real-
time data access…anywhere.
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In-memory, cloud computing and business network support record results (2011-2020) -
Continuing company growth is driven by the SAP HANA in-memory platform that makes
lightning-fast data analytics a reality. Strategic acquisitions coupled with continued innovation
make SAP a leader in cloud computing and e-commerce business networks. With the launch of
SAP S/4HANA and SAP C/4HANA, SAP unveils the next generation of enterprise software to
help customers become Intelligent Enterprises.
https://www.sap.com/corporate/en/company/history.html
Capital Market Story
In the digital era, businesses that can harness their data faster and more effectively will be
the ones that succeed through disruption.
As the world’s largest enterprise software company, SAP offers perspective on the
massive scale and power of data. Its customers have a vast amount of enterprise data assets
flowing through SAP ERP and cloud applications and business networks every day. Its enterprise
resource planning applications touch 77% of global transaction revenue, it runs the world’s
largest business network with over US$3.6 trillion in commerce annually.
“At SAP, our purpose is to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. Our
promise is to innovate to help our customers run at their best.”
SAP is committed to helping every customer become a best-run business. It engineers
solutions to fuel innovation, foster equality, and spread opportunity across borders and cultures.
Together, with its customers and partners, we can transform industries, grow economies, lift
societies, and sustain our environment. SAP is improving lives on a global scale through its
support of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
It has a powerful combination of fast-growing cloud business and a growing core. SAP
anticipates that the fast-growing cloud business along with growth in support revenue will drive
a higher share of more predictable revenue.
SAP expects the total of cloud subscriptions & support revenue and software support
revenue to be at approximately 70% of total revenue in 2020 and approaching 80% in 2023.
Why SAP is a good investment – perfectly positioned to benefit from the massive growth
drivers in the market, highly successful with a stable, predictable and sustainable business model,
is a leader in sustainability and supports the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, stands for
an attractive and dependable dividend policy, strives for excellent shareholder return, and
receives an excellent credit rating, rewarding its well-balanced financing strategy.
https://www.sap.com/investors/en/capital-market-story.html
Featured Products
SAP S/4HANA - Improve decision making and increase productivity with a digital core
that supports all your mission-critical business processes. Built on the SAP HANA platform, the
SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management solution is designed with the SAP Fiori user experience
and delivered in the cloud and on-premise.
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SAP Cloud Platform - Build and deploy apps quickly with our cloud platform-as-a-
service (PaaS). With SAP Cloud Platform, you can deliver secure business apps that integrate
and optimize your IT landscape, drive agility, and accelerate digital transformation – in weeks,
instead of years.
SAP HANA - Accelerate business processes, deliver more business intelligence, and
simplify your IT environment with our in-memory data platform that provides the foundation for
all your data needs.
Concur Expense - Integrate travel spend, ERP, accounting, and card data into a single,
cloud-based and mobile system that manages the entire expense process – from spend requests to
reconciliation.
SAP Ariba Strategic Sourcing Suite - Manage sourcing and suppliers across all spend
categories with a single closed-loop, source-to-contract suite of solutions that handles the
advanced requirements of direct materials sourcing.
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Suite - Increase responsiveness, reduce IT
costs and workload, and drive better decision making by providing easy, self-service access to
insights on a unified platform for data and analytics.
SAP Commerce Cloud - Deliver exceptional, seamless customer experiences by
integrating all digital and physical customer touchpoints – including online, mobile, call center,
and social media – onto a single platform.
SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central - Transform the work experience with a cloud-
based, multilingual solution that serves as a “system of record” for people- and HR-related data,
as well as a platform for streamlining core HR processes.
https://www.sap.com/products.html
Technology and Innovations
Digital Transformation - Traditional business models are being radically disrupted in the
digital economy. Discover what it means and takes to transform – explore strategies, best
practices, and more.
Machine Learning - Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and deep learning are
powering a new breed of software innovation. See how the technology can harness an ocean of
Big Data to create business opportunities.
Blockchain - Blockchain has the potential to majorly disrupt every industry. This
distributed ledger technology goes far beyond cryptocurrencies to include everything from land
titles and intellectual property to votes.
Internet of Things - The Internet of Things (IoT) is connecting machines to machines
(M2M) and machines to people in nearly every industry. Explore this world of networks –
including the IIoT and Internet of Everything (IoE).
Cloud Computing - From SaaS and PaaS to private and hybrid – learn more about cloud
technology and its benefits. You can also investigate the latest cloud trends and hot topics, such
as security and public cloud options.
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Big Data - Big Data continues to explode in volume and variety, and companies must
keep up. Learn about the latest Big Data tech trends, including real-time analytics and AI – and
find out what they can do for business.
https://www.sap.com/products.html
Industries
Intelligent enterprises start the transformation journey in their home industry. SAP offers
solutions driven by intelligent technologies for best-practice business processes that help you run
better in the experience economy.
Listed fields - Energy and Natural Resources (building products, chemicals, mill
products, mining, oil and gas, utilities), Financial Services (banking, insurance), Consumer
Industries (agribusiness, consumer products, fashion, life sciences, retail, wholesale distribution),
Discrete Industries (aerospace and defense, automotive, high tech, industrial machinery, and
components), Service Industries (airlines, engineering, construction, and operations, media,
professional services, railways, sports and entertainment, telecommunications, travel, and
transportation), Public Services (defense and security, future cities, healthcare, higher education
and research, public sector).
https://www.sap.com/industries.html
Careers
What does life look like at SAP? It doesn’t just create software – it’s big on making the
world a better place and improving people's lives. The organization is proud to announce
that @SAPANZ has confirmed unlimited paid leave for emergency service volunteers and more
to help fight the bushfires across Australia!
Closing the gender gap: Women at SAP - The high-tech industry is known for its male-
dominated workforce…but SAP has been working hard to counter this trend. Gender equality is
an important part of its mission – and it’s committed to having at least 28% of women in
leadership by 2020 and 30 percent in 2022.
Featured Opportunity: SAP Application Innovation Services – “Attention software
engineers with an investigative mindset, a customer-first attitude and focus on delivering high-
quality solutions. Join SAP Application Innovation Services to become a software super sleuth!”
Featured Opportunity: SAP SuccessFactors Human Revolution - SAP SuccessFactors has
started a Human Revolution. Using the latest technology, it is unlocking human potential and
transforming customer’s workforces in ways they never imagined. It is digitally transforming
their businesses into the next generation of intelligent enterprises. The organization is looking for
the best talent to join its team and deliver continuous innovations in the cloud while bringing
purpose to employees’ lives and more meaning to their work.
One of the 2019 World's Best Workplaces - Great Place to Work ranks SAP number 6 on
the 2019 World's Best Workplaces list, which highlights the top 25 companies rated by their
employees as offering an excellent employee experience. SAP rose to sixth on the list this year,
up from thirteenth in 2018.
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2020 Global Top Employer - SAP is a Global Top Employer for the Third Year in a
Row! The Top Employers Institute recognizes leading employers around the world — those that
provide excellent employee working conditions, nurture and develop talent throughout all levels
of the organization and strive to continuously optimize employment practices.
Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Best Places to Work 2020 – 93% would recommend SAP
to a friend, 96% approve of CEOs Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein, 4.5/5 overall rating
https://www.sap.com/about/careers.html
College of Charleston Partnership
Microsoft. Walt Disney. IBM. Coca Cola. Nestle. BMW. These are just a handful of
companies that many students at CofC aspire to work for after they graduate. Now, with SAP
software training, students will be better equipped to compete for jobs.
The School of Business recently joined the SAP University Alliance to give students
access to the same software tools used to run some of the biggest names in international
business. Alan T. Shao, Dean of the School of Business, made membership in the SAP
University Alliance a top priority by using generous gifts made to the Dean’s Excellence Fund to
join. The School of Business is only one of three schools in South Carolina to join the Alliance.
SAP is a Germany-based company that produces the world’s leading Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) business software and whose clients include thousands of large and mid-sized
companies. It integrates transactions in accounting, production, supply chain management, sales
and distribution, logistics, HR, and other processes that enable businesses to create value.
Decision Sciences Professor Jose Gavidia, Ph.D. is the coordinator of the SAP University
Alliance. “When we enhance our business curriculum with our students’ mastery of this
software, we become a very desirable place for companies to hire from,” Gavidia said. “Joining
the SAP University Alliance is a large piece of our overall strategy to graduate motivated,
capable students.”
Business faculty who teach accounting, finance, decision sciences, marketing, and other
courses are being trained on different SAP software modules. As they begin to fold it into their
coursework in January, students will gain applied learning experiences that are in high demand
in the job market today.
The School of Business hosted a faculty training session in November to prepare for SAP
software used in the spring semester. Professors will work on fictitious companies and their
supply chain partners to allow students to coordinate various business functions using SAP
software.
Students can use SAP software to better understand individual business subjects in a
realistic context. ERP software allows students to reinforce theoretical concepts by applying
them in a realistic business setting.
"SAP ERP is complex software, and users tend to specialize in individual modules,”
Gavidia said. “Our students will graduate with a broader understanding of how ERP software can
be used to optimize business processes.”
https://alumni.cofc.edu/sbnews/sap-alliance-university
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Works Consulted
“Capital Market Story: SAP Investor Relations.” SAP, 2020, www.sap.com/investors/en/capital-
market-story.html.
“Industry Solutions Directory.” SAP, 2020, www.sap.com/industries.html.
“SAP Careers & Job Opportunities.” SAP, 2020, www.sap.com/about/careers.html.
“SAP History: About SAP SE.” SAP, 2020, www.sap.com/corporate/en/company/history.html.
“SAP Software Solutions: Business Applications and Technology.” SAP, 2020,
www.sap.com/index.html.
“School Joins SAP University Alliance.” SAP Alliance University - School of Business News –
College of Charleston, 2013, alumni.cofc.edu/sbnews/sap-alliance-university.
“Software Products for Best-Run Businesses.” SAP, 2020, www.sap.com/products.html.
