Had I not shared a ride with Denis Browne, head of SAP's Imagineering Lab and heard what his group is doing, I could have sworn innovation was a banned term at Sapphire. When I asked co-CEO Leo Apotheker what he is hearing from customers as he transitions in to his new role, he said they want SAP to keep their businesses running. In other words, boring but predictable.
I have written before SAP does not do a good job showcasing what it has in the labs. But this Sapphire seemed particularly barren - other than some discussion around its BPM strategy and the mobile CRM announcement with the Blackberry (which RIM, not SAP, is leading the R&D investment in) I scanned the press releases for product innovation after I left Sapphire and did not see much. Indeed, as Charlie Wood points out SAP even had "iPhone amnesia" after announcing it last year.
Later in a social setting, in a discussion about his hometown, Paris, Leo described a growing set of its citizens who commute on a weekly basis to New York and other global cities - the ultimate trend setters. Here's hoping he brings that imprint to his products. He did say he wants his engineering group to build products that "delight".
Update: Susan Scrupski on SAP's investments in Web 2.0
