SAP invests €250m in UK economy

SAP has announced a €250m investment in the UK, over five years. It includes the launch of a cloud service, to be based in the UK, and two new offices in Manchester and London.

Scott Russell, executive board member, customer success at SAP, said: “The UK is a critically strategic market for SAP, and with its highly successful vaccine roll-out, it has an increasingly positive outlook for the years ahead. We are incredibly excited about this commitment, which will bring new services to market for our customers, greater support for social enterprises, as well as an even better working environment for our colleagues and new talent.”

The cloud service, SAP UK Data Cloud, will use datacentre infrastructure provided by AWS, Microsoft and Google, according to a blogpost by Satpal Biant, head of public sector, SAP UK&I.

It will include the supplier’s cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) system SAP S/4Hana, its HR system SAP SuccessFactors and its Business Technology Platform. It will be focused on public sector organisations and regulated industries, including utilities and financial services.

Biant wrote: “These new, in-country SAP cloud services will improve the lives of UK citizens by enabling all parts of the public sector with the ability to quickly roll out essential digital solutions to meet the needs of our fluctuating world. Last year, we worked with the German government and Deutsche Telekom to launch the Corona Warn App, which focused on decentralised and anonymous infection tracing – meaning that there wasn’t a trade-off for citizens to have to choose between their health and their data privacy.

“We also partnered with the Royal Volunteer Service to ease the burden on the National Health Service by providing vital non-medical care services to those self-isolating due to Covid-19 across the UK. Through using our technology, the 600,000 who offered their support were provided with automated expense claims, to ensure they were reimbursed quickly.”

The supplier is opening two new offices this year, said to be designed to accommodate new flexible working practices. A new customer experience centre in the City of London will, SAP said, provide facilities for customers and partners to identify and pursue co-innovation opportunities with it. And a new facility in Bruntwood, Alderley Park, near Manchester, is scheduled for completion later this year.

The company also said it aims to support 250 interns through its internship programmes by 2026. It also flagged work with Nottingham University to develop what it calls an “SAP Next-Gen Lab” to promote startup activity among students.

And it drew attention to its 5&5 by ’25 commitment, in which it aims to channel millions of pounds of procurement spend within its own supply chain to organisations with a certified social or environmental mission, such as Social Enterprise UK, The Prince’s Trust, Enactus, Apps For Good, Stemettes and Generation Success.

Digital infrastructure minister Matt Warman commented: “It's great to see SAP demonstrating its commitment to the UK and investing heavily to create new jobs and helping ensure that long-term digital prosperity is evenly spread across the entire country. Tech is at the heart of our plans to power Britain’s recovery full-speed out of the pandemic and we are backing the sector with world-class infrastructure and skills training to make sure the UK is the best place to start and grow a digital business.”

Michiel Verhoeven, managing director of SAP UK & Ireland, added: “We are working to be at the heart of change for our customers and partners across the UK and we believe today’s commitment will also drive hundreds of new jobs as our ecosystem grows with us and harnesses our technology to drive growth.”