The SAP Business as Unusual book by Thomas Saueressig and Peter Maier is being released this week. (click on badge on left to link to the Amazon page).
The book relies heavily on conversations with SAP, customer, partner, research firm and SAP.iO Foundries startup executives and on visits to Industry 4.0 and Customer Experience Centers at key SAP global locations.
We ended up with hundreds of hours of videos and 2,500 pages in transcripts, slides and research papers. We plan to showcase a selection of video excerpts for each chapter so readers can get to know the contributors a bit better and get a glimpse at some of the SAP assets described in the book.
Leading off this chapter is Tilman Goettke, who was the lead SAP executive coordinating the BAU project. He discusses how the book came about, why Thomas and Peter chose the unusual title (pun intended), how they settled on the 8 megatrends which make up the bulk of the book, why sustainability gets play in several of the megatrends and the “thought experiments” which forced “zero base” and “blank page” thinking around each of the trends.
Next, we introduce you to the two authors and provide a glimpse into few of the many conversations we had with each and presentations we saw them make. Thomas’s encyclopedic knowledge of SAP product portfolio and Peter’s vast knowledge of industry trends is mind-blowing. Like kids, Tilman and I could listen to them for hours.
Here is an excerpt from a presentation Thomas made to analysts. In just a few minutes, he previews how we are moving from enterprise level computing to network models. He touches on the Catena-X auto industry network that the book covers in detail in the Integrated Mobility chapter. He talks about digital twins that the book covers in Everything as a Service megatrend. He previews the vast global coverage SAP provides. The book presents interviews from executives in over 25 countries.
Peter adds to Thomas’ points in the excerpt below. He talks about how large companies keep expanding into multiple industries, and why traditional industry definitions are increasingly dated. As we move to a networked economy, we increasingly see how networks span multiple sectors – the impact of chips and sensors on the auto sector was brought out very clearly in the last two years.
Similarly, their drill down by sector is impressive
Here is Thomas talking about the Industry 4.0 showcases SAP has set up around the world. We describe them in the Resilient Supply Networks megatrend and profile executives from SAP’s robotics partner, Beckhoff whose xPlanar tiles are part of the mix of solutions at the centers.
Here is Peter talking about the changing energy sector especially after the shock of the Ukraine crisis. He talks about how Shell is segmenting its customer base and in the Sustainable Energy megatrend we discuss Shell’s emerging portfolio of solutions - biofuels for aviation, hydrogen for heavy industry, carbon capture for others.
One of the other impressive contributions Thomas and Peter have made to SAP is build an Industry Business Unit (IBU) structure. Over the next few weeks we will profile IBU executives talking about the 8 megatrends which make up the bulk of the book. Trust me, they are an absolute joy to spend time with – they are sharp in their industry focus and know their customers and industry specific partners cold. In some ways, they are the best vertical industry analysts - who just happen to work for SAP.
