How Accurate Was SAP on their Google Alliance?

ByShaun Snapp

Executive Summary

  • SAP made many statements regarding its collaboration with Google and its Google alliance. It proposed that Lumira can save files to Google Sheets, that SuccessFactors allows for hyperlinking and that SAP competitors have magically become more complicated.
  • In this article, we review SAP’s statements for accuracy.

Video Introduction: How Accurate Was SAP on their Google Alliance?

Text Introduction (Skip if You Watched the Video)

In the ComputerWorld article SAP CEO Touts Tighter Google Ties, SAP proposed a strong tie to Google. SAP made a series of bizarre statements in this announcement including integrations between SAP products and Google that did not make any sense. SAP then added in statements about competitors that are false and tried to promote the Run Simple marketing pitch. You will learn how SAP uses these types of faux partnerships as cynical marketing ploys.

Our References for This Article

If you want to see our references for this article and other related Brightwork articles, see this link.

Notice of Lack of Financial Bias: We have no financial ties to SAP or any other entity mentioned in this article.

  • This is published by a research entity, not some lowbrow entity that is part of the SAP ecosystem. 
  • Second, no one paid for this article to be written, and it is not pretending to inform you while being rigged to sell you software or consulting services. Unlike nearly every other article you will find from Google on this topic, it has had no input from any company's marketing or sales department. As you are reading this article, consider how rare this is. The vast majority of information on the Internet on SAP is provided by SAP, which is filled with false claims and sleazy consulting companies and SAP consultants who will tell any lie for personal benefit. Furthermore, SAP pays off all IT analysts -- who have the same concern for accuracy as SAP. Not one of these entities will disclose their pro-SAP financial bias to their readers. 

The Article Quotes

This article says it was written by Katherine Noyes. However, the material is less than 300 words long. ComputerWorld appears to be stretching the definition of an “article.”

Collaborating with Business Analytics and Enterprise Applications?

“SAP is deepening its partnership with Google and will collaborate with the search giant on new projects focused on business analytics and enterprise applications.

The new collaboration will result, for example, in tighter integration between Google Apps and SAP’s Lumira analytics platform, according to SAP CEO Bill McDermott.”

Okay, so what is the integration going to be? Let’s find out.

Lumira Saving to Google Sheets?

“Users can already combine Google Sheets with enterprise data through the SAP Lumira extensions framework for visualizations, dashboards and insights. Now, the two companies are working to have Lumira visualizations and infographics save in Google Drive, where Lumira files could be accessed and shared. Companies will also be able to store the files as native Google Docs.”

Ahh… okay. So Lumira will be able to save files like Google Docs and Google Sheets? This is a bit like saying that an application can save files to Excel. Ordinarily, this would not be something noteworthy. As of March 2021, Lumira is now no longer a developed product.

SuccessFactors to Allow for Hyperlinks?

“The collaboration on other enterprise applications, meanwhile, will focus initially on SAP’s SuccessFactors software for human capital management and its Fiori user interface. Among the goals will be to integrate the SuccessFactors suite with Google Drive and to let employees use Google Apps from within Fiori.”

SuccessFactors has some Fiori apps, but SuccessFactors has its UI that precedes its acquisition by SAP.

This paragraph makes no sense. Is there an advantage to accessing a Google Drive file from SuccessFactors? Is this something that needs to be programmed by SAP. This should be a hyperlink to a useful document. Watch, this is a link to a Google Document file.

Why is that noteworthy?

SAP appears to be saying that they will allow SuccessFactors to have hyperlinks added to various fields. Is this something to announce?

“If it makes it easier for people to use Google tools and SAP data together on their devices, that will make work life better,” McDermott said during a keynote speech Tuesday at the company’s annual Sapphire user conference in Orlando. He called the partnership a “prime example of SAP’s change agenda.”

Really?

Or is it an example of hyperlinks and the Internet which goes back to the 1990s?

SAP has already been working with Google to support Android for Work. It recently released SAP Mobile Secure 2.7 with Android for Work support.

All of SAP’s Competitors (Magically?) Becoming More Complex?

“Much of McDermott’s speech continued the “run simple” theme SAP has been articulating for some time already as part of its marketing for its Hana in-memory data platform.

“As SAP sees its competitors getting more complex, it’s clearly trying to establish its own turf at the other end of the spectrum,” said Robert Eastman, a research manager with IDC. “Whether customers also feel it’s simple remains to be seen.”

What evidence does SAP have that SAP is seeing competitors are getting more complicated? Is SAP going to bother to explain why it considers this?

SAP applications are well known as the more complicated applications that can be purchased. Should SAP be stating that other vendors are “getting more complex.”

This article is pointless. It receives a score of 1 out of 10 for accuracy.