SAP History: From Start-Up Software Vendor to Global Market Leader
Over the course of three
decades, SAP has evolved from a small, regional enterprise into a world-class international company. Today, SAP is the global
market leader in collaborative, inter-enterprise business solutions. The company now employs nearly 30,000 people -- whose
commitment and innovative spirit pace our future success.
The 1970s: A Real-Time Vision
In 1972, five former IBM
employees -- Dietmar Hopp, Hans-Werner Hector, Hasso Plattner, Klaus Tschira, and Claus Wellenreuther -- launch a company
called SAP Systems Analysis and Program Development in Mannheim, Germany. Their vision: to develop standard application
software for real-time business processing.
One year later, the first financial accounting software is complete,
forming the basis for the continuous development of other software components in what later came to be known as the "R/1
system." "R" stands for real-time data processing.
By the end of the decade, intensive examination of SAP's IBM
database and dialog control system leads to the birth of SAP R/2.
The 1980s: Rapid Growth
SAP moves into the
company's first building on Max-Planck-Strasse in an industrial park in Walldorf, near Heidelberg. Our software development
area and its 50 terminals are all now under one roof. Fifty of the 100 largest German industrial firms are already SAP
customers.
The SAP R/2 system attains the high level of stability of the previous generation of programs. Keeping in
mind its multinational customers, SAP designs SAP R/2 to handle different languages and currencies. With this and other
innovations in SAP R/2, SAP sees rapid growth.
By the middle of the decade, SAP founds its first sales organization
outside Germany, in Austria. The company makes its first appearance at the CeBIT computer fair in Hanover, Germany. Revenues
reach DM 100 million (around $52 million), earlier than expected.
In August 1988, SAP GmbH becomes SAP AG. Starting on
November 4, 1.2 million shares are listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges.
Germany's renowned
business journal, manager magazine, names SAP its Company of the Year -- a distinction we would receive twice more in the
next few years.
With the founding of subsidiaries in Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and the United States, SAP's
international expansion takes a leap forward.
The 1990s: A New Approach to Software and Solutions
SAP R/3 is
unleashed on the market. The client-server concept, uniform appearance of graphical interfaces, consistent use of relational
databases, and the ability to run on computers from different vendors meets with overwhelming approval. With SAP R/3, SAP
ushers in a new generation of enterprise software -- from mainframe computing to the three-tier architecture of database,
application, and user interface. To this day, the client-server architecture is the standard in business software.
A
growing number of subsidiaries are managed out of Walldorf. The new Sales and Development Center in Walldorf officially opens
it doors. It symbolizes the global success of the company. In our twentieth year, our business outside Germany exceeds 50
percent of total sales for the first time.
By 1996, the company has earned 1,089 new SAP R/3 customers. At the end of
the year, SAP R/3 has been installed in more than 9,000 systems worldwide.
SAP celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary
in 1997 and now employs approximately 12,900 people. We continue to strengthen our industry focus and build more and more
industry-specific solutions. Henning Kagermann becomes Co-Chairman and CEO of SAP AG with Hasso Plattner. On August 3, 1998,
the letters S-A-P appear for the first time on the Big Board at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the largest stock
exchange in the world.
As the decade draws to a close, Hasso Plattner, Co-Founder, Co-Chairman, and CEO announces the
mySAP.com strategy, heralding the beginning of a new direction for the company and our product portfolio. mySAP.com links e-
commerce solutions to existing ERP applications, using state-of-the-art Web technology.
The 2000s: Innovation for the
New Millennium
With the Internet, the user becomes the focus of software applications. SAP develops mySAP Workplace and
paves the way for the idea of an enterprise portal and role-specific access to information.
By 2005, 12 million users
work each day with SAP solutions. There are now 91,500 installations worldwide, more than 1,500 partners, over 25 industry-
specific business solutions, and more than 26,150 customers in 120 countries. SAP is the world's third-largest independent
software vendor.
Today, based on Enterprise Services Architecture and the underlying integration and application
platform, SAP NetWeaver, SAP is providing its customers with solutions for end-to-end business processes. With SAP NetWeaver,
companies can integrate people, information, and processes within the company and beyond.
Cheers
SDAJAY