A competing sales executive recently paid the SAP CEO the ultimate compliment: “I pray he is too busy to get personally involved in deals I am chasing. We seem to lose those often”
Bill is one smooth salesperson, but he will face a massive challenge trying to convince incumbent and new customers to adopt SAP’s next-gen S4 HANA.
In a survey just released by Rimini Street (register here for copy) less than 15% of customers are convinced they will adopt S4 for uncertain payback, product immaturity and other reasons. An earlier survey by the UK and Ireland User Group showed similar tepid interest in those markets.
Starting tomorrow morning with a keynote at SapphireNow, Bill (and Hasso Plattner later in the week) will try to change perceptions of S4. I look forward to customer reaction over the next few weeks as I work on a S4 supplement to SAP Nation.
BTW, stop by a Rimini reception on Tuesday at Icebar, the coolest (and coldest bar) in Orlando and pick up a complimentary copy of SAP Nation and give me your feedback on Bill’s keynote, or to just enjoy a Cinco de Mayo drink .
