SAP and Microsoft work even more closely together

The portal ZDnet writes: SAP and Microsoft are expanding their long-standing partnership: The focus is currently on Microsoft Teams and SAP S/4HANA on Microsoft Azure. Ergo: SAP and Microsoft work even more closely together

“SAP and Microsoft have been cooperating for decades.

Collaboration is now being taken to a new level: the plan is to integrate Microsoft Teams with SAP’s intelligent suite of solutions. In addition, both companies are working on comprehensively expanding the existing strategic partnership to accelerate the introduction of SAP S/4HANA on Microsoft Azure,” the author writes on ZDNet.

One of the goals that many software providers are currently working on: the integration of Microsoft Teams into their solution. So does SAP.

This shows again the far-sightedness of the Microsoft team. Here it has beaten Salesforce a bargain. Buying Slack has probably been many times more expensive than developing teams. But years ago, Salesforce had also presented with the Chatter. At the time, everyone else was jealous of how easily programmed and yet so successful the chatter product was.

“In response to current business and societal changes, SAP and Microsoft are developing new integrations between Microsoft Teams and SAP solutions such as SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors, and SAP Customer Experience. These integrations should be available in mid-2021,” the author of ZDnet continues.

SAP and Microsoft are working even more closely together. What does Microsoft itself write about this?

“New forms of work, collaboration and exchange are fundamentally changing our operational processes,” says Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE. “By integrating Microsoft Teams into our entire portfolio of solutions, we’re taking collaboration to the next level. Together, we are shaping the working world of the future and paving the way for a smoothly functioning company. Successful customers are at the heart of our trusting partnership with Microsoft. That’s why we’re also expanding interoperability with Azure,” says the news on Microsoft.

“Today, digital transformation is more urgent than ever,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “By combining the power of Azure and Teams with SAP solutions, we’re helping more companies realize the power of the cloud. This will enable them to adapt more quickly in the future and drive innovation more strongly.”

“The agreement should run for at least three years.

SAP can thus use Microsoft’s sales channels for its own cloud solutions,” writes Handelsblatt.

“A new distribution agreement with Microsoft gives an additional boost to SAP’s fast-growing cloud business. The agreed partnership contributed 18 percentage points to the increase in new business in the third quarter from a total of 39 percent to 572 million euros, SAP announced on Monday.”

An interesting question about “SAP and Microsoft work even more closely together” is:

When SAP reports on the revenue they are doing in the cloud business, is that revenue that is handled by the Azure cloud? How are these market figures neatly distinguished?

I’m curious to see what else is reported.