Jim Hagemann Snabe. Image by Gregor Wolf via Flickr
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FORTUNE -- SAP may be the world's largest enterprise software maker, but it suffers from a reputation of being slow and bureaucratic. That's why last year new management was brought in to help simplify the business and spur a culture of innovation. Co-chief executive officers Jim Hagemann Snabe and Bill McDermott have pledged to accelerate product releases and cut internal red tape. But their efforts haven't paid off for investors quite yet. Last Thursday the German company announced its operating profit rose 26% in the first quarter, failing to meet analysts' estimates and sending SAP's (SAP) stock down. At the same time, the company reiterated its forecast for full-year revenue to rise by 10% to 14%. I caught up with co-CEO Snabe at SAP's Palo Alto offices to find out how a focus on new technologies could help the company grow.
Fortune: You talk about three categories of innovation at SAP. What are they? More
CIOs are under pressure to allow personal devices into their enterprise IT departments. Companies that treat this change as an opportunity rather than a threat are more likely to win.
By Gary Kovacs, senior vice president at Sybase
When Henry Ford introduced the Model T in 1908, the speed limit in most places -- provided you were outside city limits -- was just 20 miles per hour (in town, it was usually MORE
Sep 1, 2010 7:00 AM ET
How enterprise software giants separate you from more of your company's money
By Roger Burkhardt, CEO, Ingres
Burkhardt reveals Big Software's secrets. Photo: Ingres
Here's how the software business really works: A software company charges your firm an enormous upfront licensing fee and locks you into escalating costs for decades to come, often using a set of hardball tactics.
But with the growing popularity of pay-as-you-go and subscription-based software and services, the MORE
Oct 23, 2009 11:00 AM ET
Ellison asks if Microsoft matters. Photo: Oracle
Oracle's Ellison gives the tech world a topic. Discuss among yourselves.
Does Microsoft matter? That's the question the noted Microsoft (MSFT) hater and Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison found himself answering at a Silicon Valley event Monday night. The short answer, as Jon Fortt reported here, was yes.
The longer version of his answer on the one hand shows Ellison as the old zen MORE
Adam Lashinsky, Sr. Editor at Large - Sep 23, 2009 6:50 AM ET
Verizon, Sybase and Quickcomm team up to manage corporations' mobility needs. Their service just scratches the surface
Chen wants to help your company go mobile. Photo: Sybase
Telecom giant Verizon (VZ) says it is launching a suite of services to help corporate IT departments manage their fleets of mobile devices. Corporate clients can hire Verizon to track their inventories of phones and monitor billings, add and drop devices as employees come MORE
Stephanie N. Mehta, Executive Editor - Sep 9, 2009 3:00 AM ET
Proposed tax hike on international operations could delay economic rebound
By John Chen, chairman and CEO, Sybase
President Barack Obama has proposed to raise taxes on the international operations of U.S. businesses. There is one thing the proposal can effectively achieve: make the United States an even less friendly place to do business, and thus delay the economic recovery.
Chen worries higher corporate taxes will delay recovery of the U.S. economy
The current MORE
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.95 | -0.16 | -1.97% |
| Microsoft Corp | 31.27 | -0.17 | -0.54% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.28 | -0.25 | -2.00% |
| General Electric Co | 19.39 | 0.17 | 0.88% |
| Citigroup Inc | 32.36 | -1.00 | -3.00% |
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,938.67 | -27.02 | -0.21% |
| Nasdaq | 2,933.17 | -15.40 | -0.52% |
| S&P 500 | 1,357.66 | -4.55 | -0.33% |
| Treasuries | 2.00 | -0.04 | -1.96% |
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