What Does SAP Stand For?

After 14 years, the one recurring question that I get from customers, partners and employees alike is: what does the acronym SAP stand for?

I always reply with “Software and People”. Bill McDermott and I toyed around with this definition as a branding idea many years ago, as it sums up so well what digital and business is all about these days.

Now, as I reflect on my time with SAP, the answer to what SAP stands for is quite different. In fact, there is no simple answer. As with many things in life, it is what you make out of it. So for me, SAP stands for:

• A place to find opportunities and missions. My missions took me to China, to make procurement awesome, and to Be Bold again in Customer Experience.
• A belief that the best days are still ahead and that software has the power to make a difference in people’s lives (way before “software is eating the world” became a tagline).
• A culture filled with incredible people who believe in an inclusive and global economy where opportunity comes to those who earn it.
• An important bastion of European entrepreneurship that embraces technical advances while also respecting the needs of the individual and humanity.
• People that treat each other with respect and inspire each other to do their best work.
• Teams that you will always cherish and wish to work with again!

So, the next time you ask yourself what SAP stands for, think about making it stand for what you believe in. This is SAP’s greatest power – it’s people, customers and partners that define it every day.

THANK YOU, SAP!