What makes SAP a trend setter

MUMBAI, INDIA: SAP has demonstrated the ability to be the frontrunner in mobile solutions and services for the enterprise by being the No.2 in iPad deployment globally.

In this conversation, Oliver Bussmann, Chief Information Officer of SAP, talks to Pankaj Maru of CyberMedia News, about internal IT environment of SAP as an organization as well as a giant enterprise software company, shares his views on adoption of BYOD, challenges of a CIO and important tips for the IT managers and CIO community.

CIOL: SAP being an enterprise software company, can you brief on company's internal IT infrastructure, systems, networks and landscape so readers can get a sense of what goes behind the scenes of a software company?

Oliver: We manage over 75,000 laptops, over 32,500 smartphones and over 16,000 tablets. We have 6 main data centers around the globe. 46,000 servers (physical and virtual) and 18,000 TB storage. At the same time we have a daily volume of approximately 260,000 MB for e-mail alone.

CIOL: Given the trend of BYOD and enterprise mobility across industries, how has SAP adopted this trend internally? Also, SAP has been one of the biggest organizations that use Apple devices, so what’s the rationale behind it?

Oliver: SAP is a hi-tech company, we have to be a trend setter and think ahead. No doubt consumerization of IT shows that lifestyle becomes work style. Our employees do not want to have separate devices for work and play so we started a very successful pilot for BYOD last year.

In the US and in Asia Pacific Japan, we have BYOD implemented already. Europe will follow soon. SAP´s overall strategy has been motivated by the desire to entrench and expand to the No.1 position in enterprise mobility.

Given SAP’s mission, SAP Global IT needed to serve as SAP´s first and best customer reference. By embracing SAP mobile technology internally, SAP demonstrated the ability to be the frontrunner in mobile solutions and services for the enterprise. Today, SAP is No.2 in iPad deployment globally but we are actually device agnostic. We deploy RIM, and Android (Samsung) devices too.

CIOL: How different or challenging it is to be a CIO of an enterprise software vendor like SAP compared to a CIO of non-IT enterprise or organization? How do you define your role as a CIO of SAP?

Oliver: I am very excited to be the CIO of SAP. We are one of the largest software companies in the world. I get to see the breakthrough innovations as they happen. SAP is its own best customer. SAP runs SAP is a fact not just a statement. We can share our feedback with our developers, who get feedback to the product lifecycle to ensure an excellent user experience for the end product.

CIOL: What advice or guidance you would like to give young IT managers as well as CIOs?

Oliver: Being open and honest, and helping colleagues understand the business objectives and benefits to any change is the key. Your employees must trust you and it is important to interact with them on a professional level. As an executive, leader, and manager, balancing all demands, whether they are business requirements, budget constraints, employee needs, limited manpower, etc, is difficult, yet necessary.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. If you see an opportunity, take it. Try out new ideas, test them and see if they work. You may be surprised at the results.