Want to be market leader in Business AI by 2025: SAP's Manish Prasad

For the global software giant SAP, India remains a fast-growing market. According to the firm’s senior management, India is the fastest-growing country in the Asia-Pacific region. MANISH PRASAD, who recently assumed the role of president and managing director of SAP Indian Subcontinent, says that maintaining and accelerating the pace of growth in the Indian market is a key priority. In his first interview since his appointment, he tells Shivani Shinde on the sidelines of SAP Now, its flagship customer event in Mumbai, his focus for India. Edited excerpts:

What will be your focus for SAP in India under your leadership?

We have been operating in India for close to 26 years. About 60 per cent of India’s gross domestic product touches the SAP system in some capacity, indicating that about 95 per cent of enterprise customers in India are using SAP. We currently serve 13,500 customers in India.

I believe the next step is to align ourselves with India’s growth strategy. We have identified some focus areas.

Firstly, Business AI (artificial intelligence) is a tangible reality for us. There’s no hype; we aim to become the market leader in Business AI by 2025, with a strong emphasis on adoption.

Secondly, we are prioritising the supply chain. Given the trajectory of the Indian economy, I foresee that we will continue to face supply constraints, making digital supply chain management a big focus area.

The third priority is addressing the needs of the 75 million micro, small, and medium-sized businesses that aspire to grow alongside the economy.

Lastly, talent remains a critical aspect. India will remain a huge exporter of talent. The question that arises is whether there exists a gap between employment and employability, and how we can contribute to bridging this gap.

What is the road map for SAP to become a leader in Business AI?

Business AI has three flavours: it has to be relevant, contextual, and responsible. At the core of this lies GenAI (generative AI).

GenAI, to me, brings in the non-linearity of the cost-to-revenue-to-productivity model. I think that’s where you will probably see more and more of GenAI coming in.

GenAI is a boardroom topic, and it is real-time. In many of the conversations, I have seen that the mandate that has been given is to look at processes and see where this can be infused.

I think the impact of GenAI, either from a medical science or sustainability standpoint, is going to be big in terms of being able to see what the carbon footprint is. There are so many instances where you can probably use GenAI.

Do you foresee the execution of these plans happening in India this year?

Absolutely. Different organisations are at varying levels of maturity. While some are deliberating on 100 to 200 use cases, others have just started.

India has been a growth market for SAP globally. Do you see that story continuing?

Certainly. With 75 million micro, small, and medium-sized businesses evolving within their value chains, there’s immense growth potential.

Rise with SAP will likely witness traction, as customers seek to unlock the value within their operations. This trend is evident both among large enterprises and within the mid-market segment.

SAP on Tuesday announced Grow with SAP for Scaleups, targeting the startup ecosystem. What prompted the introduction of this new offering alongside the existing SME offering?

We have been actively engaged with numerous startups; in fact, 55 of the unicorns collaborate with SAP, and one in every three electric vehicles manufactured leverages SAP systems in some capacity.

India marks the third country where this initiative has been launched. With this offering, we aim to address various concerns of startups.

From a fiscal prudence point of view, the transparency provided by SAP systems enhances investor confidence and subsequently, market valuation.

Also, as startups scale and navigate complex supply chains, our systems are equipped to support them.

The idea behind this initiative was to amalgamate the agility of startups with SAP’s core competencies to create tailored solutions for them.