SAP launches a small business division for customers with fewer than 500 employees

sincity · July 17, 2014

SAP has created a division focused on developing and selling technology designed for businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

SAP’s SMB Solutions Group will create cloud-based business solutions and applications powered by SAP HANA. The SMB Solutions Group will be lead by Dean Mansfield.

Mansfield has been in the software industry for more than 20 years, including six years at NetSuite, where he managed global sales and operations, and most recently at SmartFocus, where he served as President.

The important of IT for SMBs

Information technology is crucial to the success of small and mid-size businesses.

Research commissioned by Symantec found that SMBs that are confident in their use of IT stand are more likely to use it to drive business strategy and outcomes.

The time saved by small businesses that use mobile devices in their day-to-day activities is equivalent to $67.5 billion (about £40.2bn or au$71.8bn) a year, according to a study conducted by AT&T and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

Mansfield's mission

On SAP’s company blog, Mansfield said the goal of the SMB Solutions Group is “to enable smaller businesses to operate locally and globally by providing them with latest technology resources.”

He also said cloud and mobile will play a significant role in consolidating business operating systems. The SMB Solutions Group will attempt to help SMBs run “a simpler, more efficient company” by providing “one business system” that can be accessed from any device.

Over the next six months SAP is finalizing its SMB Solutions Group roadmap while “actively hiring to fill out the global team,” Mansfield said. “We plan to be in high execution mode by the end of this year. Our goal in 2015 is to redefine the SMB market from a technology perspective.”

SAP has more than 210,000 small-to-mid-size enterprise customers. More than half of these customers have fewer than 500 employees.