Sap Se - SAP STOCK NEWS

SAP SE has announced significant leadership changes effective February 1, 2025. Sebastian Steinhaeuser (39) will join the SAP Executive Board leading a new Strategy & Operations board area, while Thomas Saueressig's contract as Executive Board Member has been extended until 2028.

The company is forming an Extended Board including senior leaders across the organization, featuring new appointments: Philipp Herzig as global CTO and Chief AI Officer, and Jan Gilg and Emmanuel Raptopoulos as Co-CROs. The Extended Board will serve as a strategic advisory body driving SAP's AI-first, Suite-first strategy.

The new Strategy & Operations board area, combined with Global Marketing under new CMO Ada Agrait, aims to enhance strategy execution, simplify operations, and improve customer and partner digital experience. These organizational changes are designed to strengthen SAP's leadership structure and accelerate its transformation journey.

SAP reported strong financial results for Q4 and FY 2024, with cloud revenue growing 25% to €17.14 billion and total revenue up 10% to €34.18 billion. The company's current cloud backlog reached €18.1 billion, up 32%, while total cloud backlog grew to €63.3 billion, up 43%.

Key highlights include Cloud ERP Suite revenue increasing 33% and the share of more predictable revenue rising to 83%. While IFRS operating profit declined 20% due to restructuring expenses of €3.1 billion, non-IFRS operating profit increased 25% to €8.15 billion.

For 2025, SAP expects cloud revenue of €21.6-21.9 billion (26-28% growth), cloud and software revenue of €33.1-33.6 billion (11-13% growth), and non-IFRS operating profit of €10.3-10.6 billion. The company announced a transformation program to conclude in early 2025, with total restructuring costs estimated at €3.2 billion.

SmartRent Inc. (NYSE: SMRT) has appointed Michael Shane Paladin as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 24. As a veteran in SaaS and enterprise software with over two decades of experience, Paladin will lead SmartRent's executive team in advancing its market share and strategic vision in smart home technology for the rental housing industry.

Paladin most recently served as CEO of Siteimprove, where he successfully led a turnaround driving profitable growth and expanding product offerings. Previously, at SAP SE, he served as President of Services, managing a 19,000-person team and driving digital transformation. The appointment comes as SmartRent announces a $10M innovation investment to maintain its position as a leader in property technology.

Qualtrics and SAP announced a new partnership through an SAP Endorsed Apps agreement, integrating SAP SuccessFactors with Qualtrics XM for Employee Experience. The collaboration aims to enhance employee experience management, reduce attrition, and boost productivity.

The partnership provides organizations access to key Qualtrics innovations including People Engage, People Lifecycle, and Employee Technology Experience. Notable AI capabilities include:

• Qualtrics Assist for Employee Experience - AI-powered analysis of employee feedback
• Qualtrics Comment Summaries - Automated aggregation of feedback themes
• Qualtrics Conversational Feedback - Real-time survey response analysis

The integration focuses on improving manager effectiveness, team engagement, and data-driven people decisions while maintaining employee anonymity.

IBM and SAP announced the upcoming release of RISE with SAP on IBM Power Virtual Server, aimed at accelerating ERP transformation. The offering is designed to help organizations migrate SAP S/4HANA workloads from IBM Power Systems on-premises to cloud within 90 days.

IBM recently completed one of the largest SAP S/4HANA Cloud modernization projects, affecting over 150,000 users across 175 countries. The project achieved a 30% reduction in infrastructure costs and related operations over 18 months by optimizing server footprint and increasing process automation.

The new solution, planned for launch in Q2 2025, leverages IBM Power servers, ranked #1 in availability among SAP-certified infrastructure. Customers will have access to the IBM Transformation Suite for SAP Applications, offering assessment tools, data migration capabilities, and automated testing services.

SAP discusses the outcomes of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, highlighting the private sector's role in implementing climate commitments. The article emphasizes three key areas: the energy transition as an economic growth driver, the rising importance of circular economy, and technology's role in sustainability.

The company outlines three technological approaches to address climate challenges: leveraging ERP systems for sustainability data automation, using generative AI for climate solutions and circular products, and focusing on product-specific carbon footprints. SAP emphasizes the need for collaboration between sustainability and financial officers, along with globally harmonized policies and carbon accounting frameworks.

SAP and UNICEF have expanded their partnership to address global youth unemployment and skills gaps. The collaboration focuses on creating learning-to-earning pathways in digital and green economies across Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Through UNICEF's Generation Unlimited program and the YOMA platform, they've reached over 600,000 youth in the first year.

The initiative includes SAP's Educate to Employ program, which has achieved significant milestones: over 1,000 learners completed foundational skills courses, 165 learners achieved SAP technology consultant certification, and 100 learners completed intermediate training. The partnership aims to tackle the global youth unemployment rate of 13% while addressing the fact that 44% of businesses struggle to find skilled talent.

SAP is advancing business transformation services by combining AI and human expertise through its RISE with SAP initiative. The program, already adopted by 7,000 companies representing 32% of the global economy, has demonstrated tangible benefits including 2% lower operating costs and 3% lower inventory.

At the core of this strategy are enterprise architects who guide businesses through digital transformation, utilizing an integrated toolchain across SAP Signavio, SAP LeanIX, SAP Cloud ALM, SAP Business Technology Platform, and WalkMe. The company is actively training hundreds of cohorts to meet the growing demand for these transformation experts.

SAP is addressing global youth unemployment and skills gaps through various educational and employment initiatives. The company highlights its commitment during COP29, where November 18 was designated as Human Capital Development for Climate Resilience day.

Key programs include the SAP-UNICEF partnership supporting Generation Unlimited, which has reached over 600,000 youth with digital skills training, and SAP Educate to Employ, which has helped over 1,000 learners complete foundational skills courses. The SAP University Alliances program spans over 2,700 members in 100+ countries, preparing graduates for the digital economy.

SAP also partners with youth organizations like We Are Family Foundation and World Scouting to advance environmental sustainability and youth empowerment initiatives.