10 years ago! expanding support options to SAP customers

Ten years ago, specifically May 15, 2007, SUSE and SAP announced expanded Linux support options for customers (Press Release). Mike Schmidt-Holzmann, my alliance counterpart at SAP, and I started the discussion of joint customer support options early 2006 until we captured management attention. Back then and for several months the SUSE team led by me and the SAP team led by Steve Kohn worked intensively to design the best support options for our joint customers.

This week, 10 years later, I attended SAPPHIRE NOW and SAP Partner Summit in Orlando and was pleased to see Steve Kohn, SAP Global Vice President, Business Development facilitating a session around disruption and innovation with SAP Cloud Platform.

While both Steve and I are loyal to our companies, SAP and SUSE, and our roles in business development, the world around us completely changed and for the good. SAPPHIRE NOW became huge and vibrant conference, IT speed and agility driven by cloud, real time business insights well served by in-memory technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning is the new disruption and much more.

I do feel 10 years older as well as 10 fold wiser 🙂 and regardless of my own development, SAP customers continue to benefit from great support options announced back in 2007. The new technology disruption in town maintains the importance of Linux support because it is the standard platform on which innovation are deployed.

My learning experience is confirmation of the importance of customers’ needs. SAP and SUSE offering since 2007 is increasingly leveraged by joint customers today. Serving customers’ needs is the best experience someone could have in business. I am thankful to every team member from both companies who brought to market successful Linux support options that satisfy our joint customers’ needs.

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