SAP's reorganization and related cloud services revenue push includes some key executive departures.
Among the notable exits: CTO Bjoern Goerke, and SAP HANA experts Thomas Jung and Rich Heilman, Reuters notes.
SAP disclosed a restructuring plan in January 2019. The effort includes a $1 billion SAP charge related to 4,400 staff departures -- though overall headcount will actually grow this year, CEO Bill McDermott has pointed out.
SAP has also doubled down on partner-led and partner-influenced sales, naming Karl Fahrbach as the company's first chief partner officer in March 2019. A 13-year SAP veteran, he previously was COO for the company's global partner organization.
SAP Cloud Revenues: Reality Check
No doubt, SAP's cloud-oriented revenues are growing -- but perhaps not quickly enough. The evidence: The company's legacy software license and support business still generates three-quarters of SAP's revenue and the majority of profits, Reuters notes.
Overall, we believe SAP's transition toward cloud services is performing better than similar evolutions at IBM and Oracle. Still, each of those companies essentially is chasing cloud leaders like Salesforce.com, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, and respected SaaS upstarts like WorkDay.
It's safe to expect more details about the SAP partner and cloud strategy during SAP Sapphire Now 2019, a conference set for May in Orlando, Florida.
