Chancellor Schulz describes SAP as “a pioneer in the German digital economy”

Chancellor Olaf Schultz (SPD) described software group SAP as the most successful German software company and “the symbol of the German digital economy” at a 50-year celebration in Mannheim. The German economy is currently undergoing its largest restructuring since the start of industrialization. “The ecological and digital dual transformation,” Schultz said. According to Schulz, the shift towards a digital and climate-neutral economy is both a challenge and a solution to current problems.

No one-sided dependencies – not even with technology

Regarding energy dependence on Russia, Schultz said it is important for companies and countries to always remember in the future that there will be no unilateral dependencies. This also applies to customers, supply chains, and technology efficiencies.

The reason for the visit is the celebrations around the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the DAX Group. In 1972, five former IBM employees laid the foundation for the current global company, including former SAP CEOs Dietmar Hopp and Hasso Plattner. In 2021, SAP generated sales of approximately €28 billion and profit after tax of approximately €5.4 billion.

At the end of last year, SAP employed more than 107,000 people worldwide. The company recently reported a decline in profits despite sales growth in the second quarter: the shift from software licenses to the cloud business area and the withdrawal from Ukraine and Russia have affected the group recently.

(i)