Trusted partner for China’s digital transformation

As a multinational software and cloud giant, SAP has witnessed the growth of many innovation-driven Chinese enterprises. Chenhong Huang, president of SAP Greater China, talked about the global expansion of Chinese enterprises, the latest developments in artificial intelligence and other key topics in an interview with China Daily.

SAP has been championing the concept of “In China, For China, Enabling Intelligent and Sustainable Chinese Enterprises in the Cloud Era”. What’s the significance of that?

“In China, For China” means that as a multinational company, we should also contribute to China’s economic and social development while supporting our customers to grow and transform.

During our 32-year journey in China, SAP has constantly evolved its businesses and its position in the country, going through different stages. Now we are committed to helping Chinese companies to become intelligent, connected and sustainable enterprises.

We aim to be a “trusted partner” for our customers’ business transformation, a “golden key” to unlock dual circulation and a “great companion” for sustainability.

Nowadays, globalization faces new challenges and opportunities. What’s your take on this?

Throughout human history, globalization has been like a pendulum, swinging from one extreme to another. I think globalization is now entering a new stage of uncertainty, but the mutual dependency among nations is increasingly evident.

Empowered by technological innovation, more and more Chinese companies, regardless of their size or which industry they are in, are actively expanding their global operations and becoming leading multinational companies. Over the years, we have partnered with many Chinese companies on their globalization journey, including Lenovo, Mindray, BYD, CTG, and many more.

Having witnessed the transformation of Chinese companies in their globalization journeys over the past three decades. What changes and trends has SAP noticed?

First, Chinese outward direct investment grew by 5.7 percent yearon-year in 2023, demonstrating steadfast momentum in the globalization of Chinese companies despite the challenges.

At the same time, their global expansion is now more innovationdriven. There’s increasing diversification in the sectors of Chinese businesses going global, with new energy vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaics now becoming the main active sectors.

You have extensive experience in multinational corporations. What advice do you have for Chinese companies as they go global?

I think the most important thing in global operations is compliance. Enterprises must meet various local requirements and comply with various regulations, including data, ESG (environmental, social and governance), taxation and human resources.

To navigate the wave of globalization smoothly and steadily, Chinese enterprises should implement digitalization to enhance their capability in global management, covering talent and localized operations, and integrate into the global supply chains.

SAP has a natural advantage in helping Chinese companies’ globalization, because our services cover 190 markets globally, encompassing all legal regulations and data compliance, and is available in 45 languages. About 94 percent of the Fortune 500 companies are SAP’s customers, and our solutions touch 87 percent of global commerce. For Chinese enterprises’ globalization, SAP is a good choice.

SAP Labs China has many “innovate in China, for China and the world” cases. Could you share some with us?

SAP Labs China, with more than 4,300 research and development engineers, contributes to more than 80 percent of SAP’s R&D efforts globally.

Our lab in Shanghai has made significant achievements. For instance, in 2022, at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, SAP’s sustainable development solutions were selected as one of the best cases among more than 200 submissions globally.

SAP announced a new three-year Digital Talent Program in 2023. Can you provide us with some details?

Last year, SAP announced its partnership with 100 Chinese academic institutions, including top universities and vocational colleges, aiming to empower 100,000 students and enhance their digital skills within three years. We also published a textbook titled ERP Public Cloud, which is a great learning asset for China’s digital talents. Over the past 30 years, SAP has collaborated with 300 universities nationwide, nurturing more than 1 million teachers and students, and providing strong talent support for China’s digital transformation.

Generative AI is a topic of global interest. SAP has unveiled its generative AI assistant Joule. Could you reveal SAP’s latest developments In that aspect?

Recently, our CEO Christian Klein has outlined that SAP is determined to become a leading enterprise application and Business AI company. We believe that AI will indeed bring revolutionary changes.

SAP’s idea is to fully unleash the potential of AI to empower customers and bring meaningful business value. SAP systems integrate the most authentic, precise, and real-time business data from customers, combined with industry data, and, embedded with AI functionalities. They maximize the potential of data to empower customers. SAP Business AI is Relevant, Reliable and Responsible to deliver real business results.

As of today, we have 27,000 customers that have adopted SAP Business AI, and there are already hundreds of AI use cases in areas such as HR, supply chain management, finance, and more, underway. This is just the beginning, and in the future, we will see many AI applications in actual enterprise operations, improving competitiveness and efficiency, and enabling employees to do more important tasks.