Innovation

To continue to win in the extremely competitive software industry, in 2008, SAP invested more than €1.6 billion in the development of the tools and technologies of tomorrow. Research and development projects are distributed globally across SAP's infrastructure.

SAP Research is our worldwide research organization that is dedicated to capitalizing on pioneering trends and technologies in IT that we can incorporate into the development of our products. The group consists of 11 interconnected research centers on five continents. Each research center is located in close proximity to an SAP development center or a university campus. SAP Research operates a model of co-innovation: Hand-in-hand with prestigious universities, partners, customers, and product development groups at SAP, SAP Research employees pursue groundbreaking ideas and create prototypes – always striving to generate the greatest possible customer value for future markets. To this end, single customers get involved early on in our research undertakings with special "lighthouse projects", and dedicated "living labs" demonstrate technological research in real world settings, thus making prospective SAP solutions a tangible experience.

In addition to the global research and development network, SAP Ventures invests in companies that develop promising technologies and applications. Independent from SAP's overall strategy, SAP Ventures has the freedom to pursue a portfolio of different opportunities and is therefore able to invest in entirely new fields that offer the promise of very high profitability. At the same time, it carries the benefit of SAP's knowledge and market experience, which it can pass on to its portfolio companies. Examples of investments from 2008 include aspiring enterprises such as Connectiva, Imprivata, Iovation, iYogi, LinkedIn, Loglogic, Newgen, and Qumu.

SAP product development units are responsible for the entire SAP product and solution portfolio. With operations in Bulgaria, Germany, France, India, Israel, China, Japan, and North America, SAP development units integrate ideas and leading-edge technologies that address the needs of specific industries and geographic regions, and keep SAP and its customers at the forefront of business success.

By creating knowledge, encouraging innovation, and investing in people and technology, SAP Labs in Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, and the U.S. focus on R & D and solutions development.

SAP's strategy for organic growth is built based on the individual strengths of various locations and workforce. By applying SAP standards and guidelines for development to ensure consistent quality, each lab location is run autonomously and is responsible for its own organizational growth. As a result, SAP benefits from higher flexibility and stronger innovation.

The main purpose of SAP Labs is to discover and understand new technology trends around the world. The focus is on short-term innovation projects that are closely aligned with current SAP solutions and customer requirements. SAP Labs have taken a trend-setting role in areas such as voice-recognition technology, double-byte language, mobile business, collaborative customer relationship management, and SAP Business ByDesign.