Culture Club
SAP touts 150 new Delco jobs, but also what it adds to community
NEWTOWN » Gov. Tom Wolf was billed as a surprise guest for the “All Hands” staff meeting at SAP America Inc.’s Newtown Square North American headquarters Thursday.
But it was clear the giant global software developer did not come as a surprise to Wolf as he joined SAP executive board member Jennifer Morgan on stage in the company’s auditorium.
Wolf used SAP software in the private sector as a business owner in York. As chief executive for the commonwealth – also an SAP client – Wolf said, “Democracy runs on SAP.”
Along with SAP executives and staff, Wolf focused on the tandem issues of how technology creates efficiencies and innovation, but also how a company can benefit its location and citizenry.
The impetus for Wolf’s visit was the announcement SAP has committed to creating 392 new, full-time jobs statewide over the next three years – 242 at the company’s Pittsburgh location and 150 jobs in Newtown Square. The expansion was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team.
According to SAP communications director Atle Erlingsson, those jobs are in a variety of roles. They may offer opportunities in areas as diverse as sales and human relations, in addition to those thought of as strictly “technical.”
The importance of SAP to Delaware County cannot be overstated. On hand for the Wolf visit were Sen. Tom McGarrigle, R-26 of Springfield, Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168 of Middletown, and Delaware County Councilman Dave White. McGarrigle said the company is one of the county’s largest employers, and the county itself is a software user. Moreover, McGarrigle said, SAP’s presence has a positive impact on other companies that want to locate in proximity.
SAP arrived in Delaware County some two decades ago, having been offered some incentives. According to McGarrigle’s office, the company received a $600,000 Pennsylvania First Program grant and $1.176 million in Job Creation Tax Credits. But as McGarrigle said yesterday, those one-time investments by the state have paid off with jobs, growth, property taxes and a number of community support efforts by SAP.
Morgan and Wolf took the stage for a short discussion wrapped into the staff session. Morgan asked Wolf about the focus on culture in addition to hard core business.
“We don’t think enough about quality of life,” said Wolf. “I talk to students around York County and ask how many will stay after they finish school. Almost none say they will. We have to create public policy to make the state more attractive.”
Regina Kunkle is head of the SAP team responsible for software that serves Pennsylvania. She said SAP had the dual motto of “making business run better and improve people’s lives.” Wolf was entirely in agreement, saying the thousands of state employees are encouraged to take ownership of data and technology, and use it as an opportunity for citizen engagement.
A short demonstration of the “digital cabinet room” by solutions engineer Chelsea Crawford included a quartet of large screen monitors showing uses of data collection and means of using that information to “drive public policy.”
Wolf said the commonwealth is already involved in that citizen engagement, and cited what might seem the simplest illustration of the concept. Real time information can be gathered and disseminated through software and technology to warn of road closures due to weather events or construction.
While SAP is good for the Delaware Valley, the region is also good for the company.
“Pennsylvania’s nearly 300 colleges and universities each year add highly skilled graduates to our labor force of more than 6.5 million, which is great benefit to the commonwealth’s growing register of technology companies,” Wolf said. “I’m pleased that SAP has decided to make the most of this invaluable resource. I look forward to the company’s continued growth and success in the years to come.”
Should anyone wonder what SAP has done for its immediate neighborhood, look no further than a mile or less both east and west of the sprawling Silicon Valley-style headquarters in the Ellis Preserve. Newtown Square is seeing robust development with lifestyle retailers; Newtown and nearby Edgmont is poised to approve a 167 home community on the former Edgmont Country Club. The approximate 2,000 SAP employees will find that quality of life very convenient.