Mumbai: SAP, Europe’s largest technology company, will on board 16 startups for its accelerator programme in India this year against seven last year, as it increasingly banks on artificial intelligence, machine learning and internet of things to push ahead with its global transformation in cloud and digital.
SAP Startup Studio, a one year mentorship programme in Bangalore, allows selected startups access to its technology and customer base apart from getting support and coaching from SAP to help their business model work.
“India is a growing market for startups. We are successful and start-ups are successful if we join forces,” Bernd Leukert, member of the Executive Board of SAP, told. “Once they have built software, then we have marketplace to place their products which makes our solutions better and richer. One plus one is more than two.”
One of the seven startups from the programme last year called Sellerworx, an ecommerce technology solutions and services firm, was acquired by Capillary Technologies in October while another selected startup named Ecolibrium Energy, a provider of energy management solutions, is joining SAP’s Co-Innovation Labs programme.
The Germany-based company, which is a market leader in enterprise application software, is transforming itself into a cloud-based service company from being a company dependent on costly upfront installations and licence fees.
SAP sees startups a key enabler in riding the next wave of technology disruption. According to Leukert, companies in future may not want to own or subscribe anymore but they are willing pay per use.
“As a leading company in the enterprise resources planning space, we can decompose dedicated services, offer these services on a digital platform in the cloud and enable startups to develop new solutions faster… and when they become successful we are part of their journey,” he said.
SAP sees India as a technology and innovation exporter to the world, and the only emerging country among BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations doing extremely well.
“India plays an extremely important role in the transformation,” said Leukert. “The growth is not only in the market but also in innovation built in India for India and potential to export this innovation globally.”
After completing the acceleration programme in India, the startups can opt to go ahead to scale up their venture independently or partner with SAP for business expansion. They may also get acquired by SAP or any other company interested in them.
SAP had earlier said that it is eyeing small acquisitions and partnerships with big industrial companies to prepare the business software maker for new trends such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and machine learning.
SAP also sees accelerator programmes along with its other funding and startup engagement programmes a way to tap into technology talent.
“As the size of the company is bigger and we have to go alternate ways to go after young talent who have engaged with us over time. These days it is a fight for talent. If you have engagement early, you know them better than the normal recruitment process. I would say this is the best hiring strategy,” said Leukert.
Apart from the accelerator programme, SAP engages with over 400 startups across India through other programmes and is adding roughly 100 new startup engagements every year.
Source: The Economic Times
