SAP sees surge of SME manufacturers taking new systems
1 min read
Manufacturing business software giant SAP says that adoption of its systems is growing among SMEs (small to mid-size businesses and midsize companies), especially in rising economies, such as Brazil, China, India and Russia.
At its Orlando, Florida Sapphire user event, Hans-Peter Klaey, president, SME, SAP, said that SMEs now account for about 75% of the company’s customer base – with year-on-year growth at a staggering 28% in the first quarter of 2008 alone.
In fact, in that period, Klaey claims that SAP gained more than 1,570 new SME customers worldwide – the equivalent of 26 new customers per working day. He cites SAP Business One, Business ByDesign and Business All-in-One as the portfolio now making the difference, stating that 11,700 SME customers are now using SAP Business All-in-One and 18,690 SAP Business One – and that there are currently 150 customer engagements on SAP Business ByDesign.
Why the apparent gains? Klaey says it’s all about SMEs in growing economies wanting to globalise their operations, drive competitiveness and boost growth – and hence the SAP solutions.
SAP’s experience with Chinese SMEs, for example, is, he says, that they’re primarily turning to SAP for solutions that enable them to run and manage businesses, and flexibly adapt complete value chains to match fast-changing business models.
On the other hand, he says that Russian SMEs cite fast time-to-value and the benefits of creating end-to-end processes when internationalising their businesses.
Meanwhile, mid size enterprises in India are experiencing dramatic growth, so need to manage and transform themselves to the next level – meaning they look to SAP for scaleable and flexible IT platforms. As for small Indian companies, the issue is automating business processes and enhancing effectiveness.
Klaey also specifically cites SAP’s partner network, making the point that 85% of manufacturing SMEs go for SAP systems through partners, harnessing their value-added services and vertical industry expertise.
“Our growing customer and partner numbers clearly show that we have the right strategy of supporting small businesses and midsize companies around the world, regardless of their business models or industry, in their quest for success and growth,” says Klaey.
“We will continue to foster our ecosystem to the benefit of our growing customer base. Together with our partners, we offer not only a broad but a deep portfolio of solutions and services that truly makes a difference in our customers’ everyday business actions.”
