INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - AUGUST 2006
THE MONTH THAT WAS...

SAP TO INVEST $1B IN INDIA

THE $10-billion German software maker SAP will invest $1 billion over five years to expand operations in India . It also intends to double the headcount from the present 2,800 over the same period. Of the committed investment, the company will spend about $40 million in boosting R&D activities, which it does through SAP Labs India in Bangalore and Gurgaon. The company also opened a new office in Gurgaon where it will staff 250 people by the end of 2006. By the end of this year, SAP expects 20% of the global R&D, services and support to be done out of India .

Says Henning Kagermann, chairman & CEO, SAP, “ India is one of the fastest growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region. We are seeing a phenomenal growth in demand for our solutions from the Indian enterprises. We have invested $500 million so far and the additional investment testifies to the importance we attach to our Indian operations.”

Adds Alan Sedghi, president and CEO, SAP India , “Our 2010 goal is to bag 15,000 customers, add 100,000 SAP certified consultants and participate in about 100 e-governance and public sector projects.” The company at present has 1,050 customers and about 50% of its revenue comes from the small and medium enterprises.

In its $1 billion commitment to India , SAP follows other global IT majors, which have planned large investments to boost Indian operations. These include IBM, Microsoft, Dell, Oracle, Cisco, EMC and others.