SAP did not do enough to build relationships with its customers in the past, according to its recently appointed UK&I managing director.
Speaking at a user group conference in Birmingham a month after his appointment, Cormac Watters outlined his plans for the company "in a nutshell", drawing on his experience as a former customer of the software vendor.
"We’ve got to get closer to the customers and we’ve got to get closer to the partners," Watters said.
"I’ve been a customer, and you’d usually see the account executive at this time of the year, and if we didn’t have anything to talk about we’d usually see him this time of the year next year. So we’ve got to find a way to change that."
SAP will introduce a "customer success office" in order to address that problem, part of which will involve communicating the offers, policies and support that the company has already made available.
The company is also in the midst of a major push towards simplicity, usability and integration, a strategy that its rivals in the enterprise software industry are also pursuing.
Guy Armstrong, chief operating office for SAP UK&I, said: "We believe that your vision is only achievable if you actually ‘run simple’. Businesses that actually make that transformation will serve the market model of the future."
"Only the greatest companies will be the companies that run simple, and not all companies will make it. [But] the run simple race has not been won yet: everyone is still racing towards that goal."
