ERP Visionary Officer

There is a time for everything, and now is the time for SAP managers and executives to focus on repairing ERP architecture, so that the the executive board, with the support of the supervisory board, can turn its attention toward the future. Of course, not all SAP customers have migrated to S/4 Hana yet, and for many R/3 and Business Suite 7 users, their digital transformation will continue into 2030. However, SAP board members should already be seriously considering the S/4 successor, T/5 Hana.

SAP’s customers have a sufficiently viable ERP solution in front of them. With S/4 Hana as a private (on-prem) and public cloud service, most of the challenges the upcoming digital transformation brings can be resolved. But the SAP community also needs to engage in a T/5 discourse, to form a vision of what could follow S/4. SAP need not provide answers just yet, as S/4 Hana will remain in maintenance until 2040, but SAP urgently needs to initiate a discussion on ERP architectures and IT infrastructure, so that development of T/5 Hana can begin in 2030.

There is little need for a marketing manager on the SAP Executive Board to oversee the company’s customer experience and relationship management because experienced SAP executives could easily assume that task. What SAP CEO Christian Klein needs is several people at his side with a knack for strategy and vision. SAP’s customers need insurance that in choosing SAP software, they have made the right decision for their future. It is essential that SAP continue to maintain the Abap programming language, (see Steampunk); however, no ERP company needs an executive board position to oversee this operational task. The same applies to topics such as BTP, ESG, and cloud. For 2025 and beyond, what Christian Klein needs is an SAP Chief Visionary Officer.

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