swag sanjay

Software AG on the growth path

Software AG’s International Press Day kicked off at their Darmstadt, Germany headquarters, with CEO Sanjay Brahmawar talking about their strategy refresh that is spearheaded by Helix.

2019 is the year that Software AG celebrates their 50th anniversary and Sanjay described Helix as part of their strategy to listen carefully to their people, customers and partners, as the company planned their moves to forge ahead.

“We see ourselves as a company that has been bold since 1969. We have been bold reinventing the company, we have been bold looking at opportunities and looking at transformation of our customers and bringing in the right capabilities to support them, irrespective of technology trends.

“Our ability to change and adapt; that sets us apart.”

 Realisation

The 50-year old organisation also boasts strength in the areas of product, financial strength and talent. The CEO observed, “Coming from the software industry, (we see) many companies go after growth but they cannot properly commercialise on that. We (however), have consistently delivered on our profit.

“This trend allows us to be able to invest to acquire (companies) where we need to, to gain complete advantage.”

Of note also is Sanjay’s claim that Software AG’s Internet of Thing (IoT) platform is ranked number one, ahead of hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure that offer ‘general’ IoT platforms. But more about that later.

Areas to improve

According to Sanjay, Helix is also about addressing issues that are holding the Software AG back.

After 7 months of talking to his people, customers and partners, 47 employees were selected from different departments across the organisation, to distill all their findings into 3 areas they are going to focus upon – their product set, geographies and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

“We are in the market of digital transformation which has a healthy CAGR, but we ourselves have been not able to grow,” he said.

This is imperative to address, not just because it will keep attracting the right talent, but also because customers want to see this. “In all areas it is important for us to get our fair share. We have to get on the growth path.”

Extreme focus

Acknowledging that Software AG has tried to be all things to all people, Sanjay revealed the organisation’s plan to get more focused and specific about the markets they are going for, “…not just to be a participating player, but to be a key player.”

For example, Software AG already has presence in 71 countries across the globe, but they want to give extra attention to North America, Germany, UK, France, China and Japan.

This multi-year transformation is backed by a 50 million euros in investment, and reallocation of 20 million euros from non-core buckets to areas that Software AG wants to accelerate, like more people in sales and channels.

This journalist is a guest of Software AG to their International Press Day in Darmstadt, Germany.