IDES was initially modeled on an international company with multiple subsidiaries. Complete with a demo guide, it helped users familiarize themselves with 麻豆原创 R/3 functions and with the organizational and integrated process structures that the 麻豆原创 R/3 system covered. With data being added all the time, the IDES model companies felt very lifelike, and users had plenty of scope to test the various application areas.

鈥淚DES wasn鈥檛 just a system, it was a new philosophy 鈥� a revolution in demo and training,鈥� says Marcelo Cura Daball, who joined the team in late 1995 and played a key role in shaping the development of IDES. 鈥淭he system behaved like a real customer system. It looked like a real customer system. That was new, and the customers loved it,鈥� he recalls.

麻豆原创 built IDES to provide its developers with a test environment that would double as a basis for international training systems, customer workshops, and prototyping. 鈥淭he basic idea,鈥� Cura Daball explains, 鈥渨as that our salespeople, in presales for example, would give a demo in the same system 麻豆原创 used for customer training. And that, after a training course, customers could go home and repeat the training exercises with the same data they had used in their course.鈥�

Customers Provide Real-Life Data

Pfaehler was the mastermind behind IDES and is credited with developing the business concept for the new system. A seasoned sales professional, he was an institution at 麻豆原创, says Cura Daball, and had connections across the globe. While the content for IDES was developed at company headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, Pfaehler also received support from colleagues all over the world; the system was then translated and made available to the local subsidiaries. Many customers provided real business data 鈥� such as BOMs 鈥� for the system, and the team worked with genuine, albeit anonymized, addresses.

But getting the system up and running was by no means a walk in the park. Time and again, Pfaehler had to ask for more specialists and more support from 厂础笔鈥檚 subsidiaries. He argued that 鈥渁t the very least鈥� he needed a team of 12 developers, plus another two employees to continuously add and manage data and to update the IDES system. He also needed access to additional employees from 麻豆原创 subsidiaries on a project basis, as he explained in a September 1995 letter to the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE, in which he put forth the case for getting the staffing he required: 鈥淭he IDES team could potentially become a training ground for the next generation at 麻豆原创, a place for our people to gain specialist business expertise and learn how to model customer scenarios and implement 麻豆原创 systems as part of our project business. Employees of this kind are few and far between at 麻豆原创, but demand for them will grow in the future.鈥�

IDES was shipped to the first customers in the spring of 1996 and was soon able to simulate the more than 1,000 business processes that could be mapped in 麻豆原创 R/3. Initially, the focus was on finance, materials management, and sales. IDES allowed users to learn about the system in their own familiar working environment, using examples that were specific to their company. The IDES team grew, and it was not long before they were building around 800 customer-specific demos 鈥� per week 鈥� as Gerhard van der Beck says. During this period, Training, Demo, Consulting (TDC), a dedicated IT team responsible for making system copies and handling the technical maintenance of the IDES systems, was also set up. Having established IDES and seen it through to its initial milestones, Pfaehler left 麻豆原创 (although he rejoined the company at a later date) and van der Beck, ably supported by Cura Daball, took over as head of the IDES team.

The Internet: A New Opportunity

麻豆原创 co-founder Hasso Plattner liked the IDES idea 鈥� even more so when Cura Daball and van der Beck suggested putting the system outside the firewall and using it to demonstrate that 麻豆原创 software could run on the Internet. 鈥淭o do this, we had to reduce the complexity and radically streamline the system,鈥� van der Beck says. 鈥淗asso was thrilled when we managed to reduce highly complex transactions involving multiple screens and subscreens down to the bare minimum. Now, for the first time, 麻豆原创 users could create an order by navigating two screens and making just a few clicks,鈥� Cura Daball adds.

鈥淐ustomers who purchased an 麻豆原创 license could install an IDES system free of charge,鈥� says Jan Krell, who, with Thomas Habersack, was responsible for delivering the system. However, the team鈥檚 main clients remained Sales and Presales, who used IDES to show customers what 麻豆原创 could do.

IDES continued to evolve over the years. As the Internet鈥檚 popularity increased, the system鈥檚 name changed slightly 鈥� from 鈥淚nternational Demonstration and Evaluation System鈥� to 鈥淚nternet Demonstration and Evaluation System鈥� and, starting in 1999, it gave customers, partners, and prospects a way of trying out my麻豆原创.com online. According to 厂础笔鈥檚 1999 Annual Report, IDES was also expected to 鈥渞educe sales and marketing costs in the medium term.鈥�

Because the IDES team relied on specialists from other departments and on instructors and students to enter, manage, and update the IDES data and to test the system after each update, it remained relatively small, never numbering more than 30-35 members. 鈥淎t times, our colleagues were amazed at what we managed to do with so few people,鈥� says Thomas Schulze, who was responsible for IDES documentation. 鈥淏eing able to say you鈥檇 spent six months on the IDES team testing and learning the applications was a real door-opener. You learned so much on that team, and it was a real advantage when applying for positions within 麻豆原创. Many of those who worked on IDES in the early days stayed at 麻豆原创 and built a career here,鈥� he adds. Proof enough that Pfaehler鈥檚 wish for IDES to become a 鈥渢raining ground for the next 麻豆原创 generation鈥� came true.

Growing Complexity

As the 1990s drew to an end, a new level of complexity was emerging, driven largely by the arrival of 厂础笔鈥檚 New Dimension products 鈥� CRM, SCM, business intelligence, and others. With 麻豆原创 transforming into a multi-product company, even the IDES team was stretched to its limits. 鈥淎s a demo team, we had to cover the entire product portfolio, which meant dividing topics between us and specializing,鈥� Krell says. But, as Schulze adds, 鈥淭here was simply no way that we could maintain that level of complexity in the long term,鈥� .

At the same time, 厂础笔鈥檚 new head of marketing Marty Homlish, who joined the company in 2000, was pushing 鈥� with Plattner鈥檚 backing 鈥� for 鈥渙ur demo system to be better and more appealing,鈥� van der Beck says.

And despite efforts to meet customer expectations for a simple and fast way of testing 麻豆原创 software over the Internet by inviting them to 鈥淭est-Drive Your Solution Online,鈥� it became clear that IDES had had its day. 鈥淭he performance wasn鈥檛 good enough; the technology 鈥� the Internet Transaction Server 鈥� was not as stable as we had hoped,鈥� van der Beck says.

IDES gradually became less and less relevant. Yet the team, now called Solution & Innovation Experience (SIX) DID (Demo Infrastructure Delivery), still exists today 鈥� and operates the 麻豆原创 Demo and Education Cloud environment, which contains systems used by 厂础笔鈥檚 presales and sales personnel to demo software for customers. Nowadays, Krell and his colleagues refer customers who want to download a test package to the .

While Pfaehler has long since retired, and recently ended an eight-year stint managing Dietmar Hopp鈥檚 non-profit organization, Cura Daball and van der Beck are still at 麻豆原创 鈥� having served for 36 and 30 years respectively. They and their colleagues built IDES as an innovative demo system that still has its supporters today, such as 麻豆原创 University Alliances. van der Beck now contributes his expertise to the Customer Adoption team, and Cura Daball works in the Customer Services & Delivery Board area, where he develops automation tools for demo and training system landscapes. Both still have a great deal to give to the company that means so much to them.

鈥淎n incredible global success story made in Germany.鈥� This is how Scholz opened his speech at the farewell event in honor of 厂础笔鈥檚 last serving co-founder, Hasso Plattner. After more than 20 years as its chairman, Plattner had stepped down from the 麻豆原创 Supervisory Board at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on May 15 and handed the reins to his successor, Finnish-born Pekka Ala-Pietil盲.

Plattner, Scholz said, has been a key architect of as one of its co-founders, a boundless source of ideas and energy, its CTO, CEO, and then, for more than 20 years, chairman of the 麻豆原创 Supervisory Board. He has written history in terms of economic development and globalization. 鈥淎nd, today, the entire global economy runs on 麻豆原创 software,鈥� he said.

But he did not do it alone, Scholz continued. Rather, as was characteristic of Plattner, his every move was made in a spirit of productive competition with others. When Plattner founded 麻豆原创 with four former IBM colleagues in 1972, he dreamed of one day employing 100 people. Now, 麻豆原创 has 110,000 employees across the world, all inspired and motivated by Plattner鈥檚 鈥渃onstant and unstoppable drive and energy.”

Scholz also quoted a wise observation of Plattner鈥檚 that served as a timely reminder for him: 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 put off making changes that need to happen for too long. If you do, this will eventually take its toll and then you鈥檒l have less energy to get the job done.鈥� Innovation was an opportunity, not a threat, said Scholz, adding that, today, artificial intelligence has the potential to inject brand-new momentum into 麻豆原创.

Some 4,000 guests 鈥� including 3,500 麻豆原创 employees 鈥� gathered at the 麻豆原创 Arena in Mannheim, Germany, on May 16 to say goodbye to Plattner. German TV presenter G眉nther Jauch hosted the event and, in honor of avid rock fan Plattner, musical entertainment was provided by American singer-songwriter Anastacia, who was accompanied by the 麻豆原创 Symphony Orchestra.

鈥淶igzag Like a Rabbit鈥�

鈥淲e managed to keep up with most trends,鈥� said Plattner, explaining what had made 麻豆原创 so successful. And although things did not always go to plan, he recalled, 鈥渨hen we did set off on the wrong track, we realized in time and corrected our course.鈥�

The most important thing, he said, was to avoid being too impatient or single-minded about pursuing a new strategy. 鈥淵ou need to be able to zigzag like a rabbit.鈥�

鈥淗e Rocked It!鈥�

How, asked 麻豆原创 CEO Christian Klein in his farewell speech, could he possibly do justice to all of Plattner鈥檚 achievements in just 10 minutes? 鈥淢y kids would say, 鈥楬e rocked it!鈥欌�� All five of 厂础笔鈥檚 co-founders, driven by the desire to create something entirely new, had shown boundless courage in striking out on their own more than half a century ago.

Plattner was the epitome of what 麻豆原创 must never be allowed to lose, said Klein, namely 鈥渁 steadfast focus on customers and the ability to listen to and co-innovate with them.鈥�

Klein spoke about the lasting impact Plattner鈥檚 global mindset had on 麻豆原创. 鈥淗e drove 厂础笔鈥檚 expansion across the world; today, we do business in more than 130 countries, and that is down to our founders and to Hasso.鈥�

The success Plattner orchestrated for 麻豆原创 in the United States is particularly symbolic of his tireless efforts to push the boundaries, said 麻豆原创 Supervisory Board member Aicha Evans. He also stood for a future, she said, in which technology and humanity went hand in hand.

Dietmar Hopp: Long-Time Friend and Colleague

Among the audience members was Dietmar Hopp, one of 厂础笔鈥檚 co-founders and a long-time friend and colleague of Plattner. 鈥淒ietmar was a huge influence on me,鈥� said Plattner. 鈥淢ost importantly of all, he taught me to work with customers. That changed the way I thought. I made it my mission to look in all areas of my life for ways to use software to improve people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

Ambition and rivalry are part of the founders鈥� legacy, too. Many a racket was thrown in frustration when Hopp and Plattner faced off on the tennis court, recalled Klein. But Plattner had also given him this advice: 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to win, but 麻豆原创 is about more than winning; it鈥檚 also about helping others.鈥�

Philanthropist and Patron of Science

The Prime Minister of the State of Baden-W眉rttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, addressed the audience in a video message. As well as praising Plattner鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit and creativity, Kretschmann paid tribute to his 鈥渋mmense sense of responsibility beyond the realms of business 鈥� particularly in education, art, and sport.鈥�

Alongside his business career, Plattner always had a close affinity with research and development, said Kretschmann. In 1998, he founded the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) at the University of Potsdam, near Berlin.

As well as generously supporting educational and cultural causes, Plattner developed a particular love of art. One of the projects he funded was the reconstruction of a palace in the historic center of Potsdam that is now the Museum Barberini and home to an impressive collection of Impressionist works.

鈥淵our hometown of Potsdam means the world to you,鈥� said Scholz, describing Plattner鈥檚 work as a patron and philanthropist as 鈥渋nstrumental in helping Potsdam blossom and flourish over recent decades.鈥�

Scholz added that he had no doubt whatsoever that Plattner would continue to hatch new ideas, make bold plans, and drive ambitious projects. 鈥淚 believe that is simply the person you are. With or without an official role, it鈥檚 what you do.鈥�

Photography courtesy Ingo Cordes.

One need only look at the key milestones in Plattner鈥檚 52-year career at 麻豆原创 to gain a vivid picture of his legacy. Together with Dietmar Hopp and his fellow co-founders, Plattner created the market for real-time business software, helped steer 麻豆原创 through more than five decades of fast-moving IT history, and drove 厂础笔鈥檚 global expansion 鈥� transforming it from a single-product company to the world鈥檚 No. 1 provider of enterprise applications.

Over the years, he worked tirelessly to open new horizons for the company and its employees, identifying technological trends and channeling his pioneering spirit into revolutionizing far more than just data management.

1972-1973: The Early Days

Having created Germany鈥檚 first real-time software application with a user interface, Hasso Plattner and Dietmar Hopp founded a company they named Systemanalyse Programmentwicklung (鈥淪ystem Analysis Program Development鈥�) on April 1, 1972, together with their IBM colleagues Claus Wellenreuther, Klaus Tschira, and Hans-Werner Hector.

In 1973, the entrepreneurs launched RF, their first financial accounting system. The 鈥淩鈥� in the name stood for 鈥渞eal time.鈥� Developed under Plattner鈥檚 leadership, RF laid the foundation for a series of software modules in a system that would later be known as 麻豆原创 R/1.

鈥淏efore I worked on RF,鈥� Plattner once said, 鈥淚 knew nothing about financial accounting; afterwards, I could hold seminars about it for CFOs. And not because I鈥檇 read stacks of books or was very smart, but because I鈥檇 learned from customers how to build this kind of system. I worked side by side with our customers at their offices every day.鈥�

1976: The Formative Years

Systemanalyse Programmentwicklung was renamed 鈥溌槎乖�.鈥� Each of the founders and their employees 鈥� numbering about 30 at this point 鈥� was a developer, salesperson, and consultant all rolled into one.

Hasso Plattner and Dietmar Hopp were constantly competing to be the best at programming and selling their products. Plattner recalls that it made him really mad once when Hopp sold more than he did. Wherever their tasks and skills converged, they would engage in a private, 鈥渢ake-no-prisoners鈥� contest to outdo each other.

Nevertheless, both men also knew how to harness their ambition and fondness for friendly competition to the benefit of their fledgling business.

1988: Conversion and IPO

麻豆原创 GmbH was converted to a stock corporation, 麻豆原创 AG, and in October 1988 it listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Stuttgart, providing the company with the funding it needed to expand into even more markets.

1991: 麻豆原创 R/3

At 厂础笔鈥檚 25th anniversary celebrations in 1997, Plattner recounted an incident in late January 1991, which he described as 鈥減robably the most dramatic situation鈥� in the company鈥檚 history: 鈥淎 year before the final delivery date for R/3, we realized during testing that its performance on our mainframe was completely unsatisfactory and that the test conditions were unacceptable. Six weeks before we had planned to present R/3 at the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover, we had all but given up on the project.

We called an emergency meeting at which everyone remained standing, such was the urgency of the matter at hand. We decided to halt work on the mainframe systems and, in a last-ditch attempt, to switch to the new, more powerful Unix workstations, which we鈥檇 previously only used in development.

The presentation of R/3 on Unix was a huge hit. A year and a half later, we began shipping our new client-server software to customers. That was the start of R/3, a business application for network-based computers.鈥�

1992: Heading Stateside

In the early 1990s, when everyone else鈥檚 attention was focused on getting 麻豆原创 R/3 to market quickly, sales of 麻豆原创 R/2 in Germany were a cause of concern for Dietmar Hopp. As Plattner recalls: 鈥淒ietmar and I were standing in his office, and he said to me, 鈥業t鈥檚 not looking good. The only option I can see is for you to pack the system up and take it to America.鈥欌�� They agreed to continue promoting the 麻豆原创 R/2 mainframe software in Germany while going all-in on 麻豆原创 R/3 in the U.S.

At the Sapphire customer conference held in Orlando in September 1992, Plattner announced that 麻豆原创 would deliver the 麻豆原创 R/3 system within six weeks to anyone who ordered it there and then. By October, computer manufacturer Convex had signed a contract for the new product, giving 麻豆原创 its first 麻豆原创 R/3 customer in the United States. And when, not long after that, oil giant Chevron 鈥� one of the country鈥檚 largest companies 鈥� also opted for R/3, 厂础笔鈥檚 new software, originally built with the midmarket in mind, was well on track to becoming a global success story.

1993: A Very Special Partnership

麻豆原创 entered into an alliance with the world鈥檚 largest software company: Microsoft. Bill Gates, who had flown into Munich to sign the contract in person, told the audience at the press conference announcing the partnership: 鈥淲e are delighted that 麻豆原创, one of the leading providers of standard software, supports Microsoft鈥檚 client-server operating system. We believe that many businesses will see this move by 麻豆原创 as a compelling reason to opt for Windows NT.鈥�

And when, in 2010, Plattner received the Transatlantic Partnership Award, Gates had this to say about his friend and colleague: 鈥淚鈥檝e known Hasso for more than three decades. His knowledge, energy, and vision never cease to impress me.鈥�

1997: 麻豆原创 Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

Plattner was appointed co-CEO, alongside Dietmar Hopp. In his speech at 厂础笔鈥檚 25th anniversary celebrations, he spoke about what had helped the company prosper: 鈥淧roduct focus is one pillar of 厂础笔鈥檚 success. When a product sells well, the employees share in that sense of achievement. That feeling is just as important to them as the pay they take home each month. Our employees identify with the product 鈥� that鈥檚 why they have always gone the extra mile. No matter how different our views at times were, we always managed to regroup and we never lost sight of the product. For the past 25 years, the founders and employees of 麻豆原创 remained true to the original product vision and never veered off course.鈥�

1998: 麻豆原创 Conquers New York

On August 3, 1998, the company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the world鈥檚 largest exchange. CEO Hasso Plattner described 厂础笔鈥檚 Wall Street listing as 鈥渁 strategic necessity and logical milestone in the history of 麻豆原创.鈥�

That same year, Plattner founded the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) for Software System Engineering in Potsdam, near Berlin. 鈥淭he institute here in Potsdam is my contribution to training internationally competitive junior managers who help shape and advance the digital world,鈥� he said.

Dietmar Hopp and Klaus Tschira transitioned from the Executive Board to the Supervisory Board, and Plattner became co-CEO alongside Henning Kagermann.

1999: The my麻豆原创.com Revolution

In May, Plattner announced the my麻豆原创.com strategy, which set the company and its product portfolio on an entirely new path. Using the latest Web technology, my麻豆原创.com connected e-commerce solutions with the company鈥檚 existing ERP applications.

According to Plattner, success on the Internet was key to the company鈥檚 survival. At the Sapphire conference in Philadelphia in September 1999, a live demo of my麻豆原创.com — with a prelude by Plattner playing Queen鈥檚 鈥淚 Want to Break Free鈥� live on electric guitar — was enough to convince customers to adopt 厂础笔鈥檚 Web strategy.

And, true to form, Plattner was already thinking about where the technology would go next, predicting that e-commerce and the hosting of applications on 麻豆原创 servers would be 鈥渢he future of software sales.鈥�

2003: From Executive Board to Supervisory Board

Plattner stepped down from the Executive Board and was elected chairman of the Supervisory Board.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in May, he said: 鈥淭his rising star of the 90s is now playing in the same league as IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle.鈥�

Though no longer its CEO, Plattner continued to channel his passion and his eye for technological trends into driving 麻豆原创 forward, but now in his new role as chief software advisor on the Supervisory Board. That same year, he helped found the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (鈥渄.school鈥�) at Stanford University, providing funds to support its work on design thinking, a new approach to finding creative solutions to complex problems.

2006: The In-Memory Database

It was in 2006 that Plattner and students at HPI began work on a revolutionary technology. The result was 麻豆原创 HANA (High-Performance ANalytic Appliance), an entirely new, column-oriented, in-memory database management system.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not so easy for a big company to break out and do something radically different,鈥� said Plattner. 鈥淭he university context gives you the freedom to do it.鈥�

2011-2013: 麻豆原创 HANA Drives Growth

Five years later, the first 麻豆原创 HANA customers began implementing the new database, which generated the kind of demand not seen since the market launch of 麻豆原创 R/3.

By the end of 2013, the entire 麻豆原创 Business Suite had moved to 麻豆原创 HANA. In the three years since its launch, 麻豆原创 HANA had garnered nearly 鈧�1.2 billion in revenues, making it one of the fastest-growing products in the history of enterprise software.

In an interview with German daily Handelsblatt in 2020, Plattner said: 鈥溌槎乖� HANA is so superior in practice that there is no alternative. And quite honestly, it saved 厂础笔鈥檚 life, because it let us massively accelerate our ERP system without a lot of changes, while physically downsizing it at the same time. That meant a huge cost saving for our customers.鈥�

2015: The Foundation

Plattner reinforced his commitment to promoting education and culture by setting up the Hasso Plattner Foundation.

Among the many causes the foundation has supported over the years are programs to promote healthcare and health education in South Africa. The German city of Potsdam also has much to thank Plattner for: The Hasso Plattner Institute is the largest investment in Potsdam and the one that bears his signature most strongly. The Barberini Museum that he rebuilt completes the inner cityscape of Potsdam and provides a home for his impressive Impressionist collection 鈥� the largest outside of France. With the Kunsthaus MINSK, he saved one of the few architectural icons of the GDR era and created a home for his GDR art collection.

On being asked why he chooses to get involved with causes and projects of this kind, Plattner explained: 鈥淚 owe the resources and skills for life to my parents and, above all, to my studies at the public technical university in Karlsruhe. That鈥檚 why I want to give something back in the area of education, so that others can also benefit from it.鈥�

2022: Learn from Our Customers

In an interview to mark 厂础笔鈥檚 50th anniversary, Plattner shared some advice: 鈥淚 recommend a return to the approach we used in the early days of 麻豆原创 鈥� of sending 麻豆原创 teams out to the customer. Instead of implementing our standard systems, they should find out how people actually use the tools they get from 麻豆原创 and other vendors. That will give us our starting point. There are so many interesting companies out there. We can learn from them and with them. We have to step outside 麻豆原创 and do something with the customers.鈥�

And in a comment directed to 麻豆原创 employees, he said: 鈥淭reat the customers well 鈥� once we have them, we have to keep them. That鈥檚 one of 厂础笔鈥檚 strengths. And never think it鈥檚 done. You have to carry on. The job is never done!鈥�

2024

Plattner will step down from the Supervisory Board on May 15, the last of the 麻豆原创 co-founders to leave the company.

Helle Dochedahl and Jim Hagemann Snabe met in the mid-1980s while they were both studying in Aarhus, Denmark. They didn鈥檛 know it back then, but that wouldn鈥檛 be the last time that their paths crossed. In 1993, they met again.

At the time, Snabe was consulting manager at 麻豆原创 in Denmark, having joined the company three years before as a trainee straight out of university. 鈥淏ack then, 麻豆原创 was on a big push to expand its business internationally and was hiring young people from around the world. It spent a year training them in Walldorf and then sent them back to their home countries,鈥� says Snabe.

With a year in Walldorf under his belt, he returned to 麻豆原创 Denmark in April 1991, joining its 25 other employees, half of whom were consultants. A few months later, he was asked if he wanted to take over as consulting manager. 鈥淚 was 24, and the youngest guy there, but after my year in Germany, I had a strong and solid understanding of the systems. Being entrusted so soon with responsibilities like this helped employees grow and was characteristic of 厂础笔鈥檚 culture.鈥�

In 1993, Snabe was looking to expand his team of consultants. Dochedahl, meanwhile, was working at a small Danish ERP company. She recalls: 鈥淚 had just had my first son and was on parental leave when I saw the job posting in the newspaper. I had already heard quite a lot about 麻豆原创 from Snabe and some other friends from university, so it got me thinking.鈥�

At the time, Dochedahl was living in Aarhus with her husband, who also works in the IT industry. But in 1988, 麻豆原创 had chosen Denmark鈥檚 capital city as the base for its Danish business.

鈥淚f you wanted to make it in IT, you had to go to Copenhagen,鈥� says Dochedahl. She first called her mother, who agreed to help out with childcare. Then she called Snabe, who hired her on the spot. But there was one condition that he had to agree to: 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 and wouldn鈥檛 leave my son to spend several months training in Walldorf. So I taught myself most of the things that I needed to know, and every so often, I would head to Walldorf for a week.鈥�

When she joined the company in 1993, Dochedahl did not have much to do with the 麻豆原创 R/2 mainframe program. 麻豆原创 R/3, the company鈥檚 new client-server software, had launched the year before. And it was with 麻豆原创 R/3 that the small Danish subsidiary would make history.

Early Days in the Nordics

Let鈥檚 rewind for a moment. From 1987 onwards, 麻豆原创 was making a name for itself in the Nordics through its marketing and sales initiatives and customer workshops. Joergen Oestergaard, who was managing director of 厂础笔鈥檚 Nordic business from its very beginnings in early 1987, created the first business plan for the markets there.

Since the first 麻豆原创 R/2 systems were quick to sell and implement, and interest among other companies was growing steadily, 麻豆原创 management and 麻豆原创 International decided to set up the first subsidiaries in Nordic countries.

In Sweden, 麻豆原创 Svenska AB opened its doors in February 1988. The Danish office, 麻豆原创 Danmark A/S, followed a month later. Into the 1990s, it also served customers in Norway, with the Swedish office supporting those in Finland until the end of that decade. From 1984, 麻豆原创 International, located in Biel, Switzerland, ran 厂础笔鈥檚 international business and spearheaded the company鈥檚 global expansion.

The person in charge was managing director Hans Schlegel. Schlegel was there when, in April 1988, everyone from 麻豆原创 Denmark and 麻豆原创 Sweden met at a hotel in a ski resort north of Oslo for a five-day Nordic kickoff meeting. They were joined by employees of A/S EDB (Electronic Data Processing), a Norwegian IT company that had by then been operating in the market for 25 years and would partner 麻豆原创 to help sell the 麻豆原创 R/2 system and translate it into Norwegian. At the Hotel Storefjell meeting, they worked out how best to coordinate activities, shared their experiences, and learned from each other.

Following that meeting, both subsidiaries went on to flourish. In 1992, for example, 麻豆原创 Sweden was already generating around $3.6 million (around 30 million Swedish krona) in revenue. And its list of customers included the Swedish national rail operator SJ (Statens J盲rnv盲gar), Ericsson Business Communications, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) as well as some subsidiaries of German companies.

Reinvention at the Right Time

Jim Hagemann Snabe first encountered 麻豆原创 R/3 in 1991, and he and the team at 麻豆原创 Denmark then 鈥渂egan to sell the vision of 麻豆原创 R/3 to Nordic customers鈥� — even though the product wouldn鈥檛 officially launch until July 1992.

One of the customers that had already implemented 麻豆原创 R/2 was Finnish chemical company Kemira, which was headquartered in Copenhagen at that time.

As 麻豆原创 Co-Founder Hasso Plattner recalls in his book Anticipating Change, implementing 麻豆原创 R/2 at Kemira, a 鈥淯NIX company,鈥� had been 鈥減ainful.鈥� So, he promised them that, 鈥渁s soon as we have a UNIX system, we鈥檒l replace your system.鈥�

In the summer of 1992, that day arrived: Snabe and his team won a new 麻豆原创 R/3 customer for 麻豆原创, and, according to Helle Dochedahl, Kemira became 鈥渢he first customer outside Austria, Germany, and Switzerland to go live with 麻豆原创 R/3.鈥� Though Dochedahl wasn鈥檛 working for 麻豆原创 at that time, she recalls that, when she later visited Kemira: 鈥淭hey told me the story themselves and how proud they were of being first movers and daring to go for it.鈥�

While visiting Kemira, Dochedahl made a discovery of her own: 鈥淚 spotted some land for sale opposite the Kemira office. We bought a plot and built a house on it, and I鈥檝e lived there ever since. That was 28 years ago now.鈥�

Jim Hagemann Snabe sees the successful implementation of 麻豆原创 R/3 at Kemira and at other customers in the Nordic countries and around the world from a different angle. 鈥淎t that time, 麻豆原创 was doing very well with 麻豆原创 R/2. But rather than simply reap the rewards, it decided to invest heavily in the next generation of solutions. I believe that is partly why 麻豆原创 is still one of only a small number of European IT companies that are successful. 麻豆原创 has always been able to reinvent itself from a position of strength, instead of waiting 鈥� like many of its competitors 鈥� until it鈥檚 almost too late.鈥�

An NFT (non-fungible token) drop offering 15 pieces of digital art designed specifically for the event and the anniversary will be made available via digital codes during the sessions.

鈥淭hose registered for 麻豆原创 TechEd may participate in the NFT drop during the live event and collect 15 NFTs,鈥� , head of 麻豆原创 Innovation Center Potsdam, explains. His team developed and implemented the NFT drop.

Registered 麻豆原创 TechEd participants will receive access to a Web app, including a collector鈥檚 album for NFTs. 鈥淭he album appears as a timeline of 厂础笔鈥檚 history,鈥� Krug says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of fascinating stuff to learn about our company while being introduced to NFT technologies in a gamified way.鈥�

In live keynotes, online or onsite workshops, virtual lectures, and breakout sessions, attentive participants will spot QR codes and short links in announcement windows that can be used to claim NFTs. After the event, participants can transfer the NFTs to their private digital wallets.

鈥淎nd for those who discovered and collected all 15 NFTs, an additional surprise is waiting,鈥� Krug says.

But what will participants actually be collecting?

What Are NFTs?

NFTs 鈥� non-fungible tokens 鈥� are digital assets managed by a blockchain network. Usually, they are representations of a digital or physical asset, very often artwork.

鈥淣on-fungible鈥� means the asset is unmistakable and cannot be reproduced. This process of creating the asset on the blockchain is called minting. A smart contract on a public blockchain ensures the unique value of a digital piece of art.

NFTs can be bought and sold online, often with cryptocurrencies. For this purpose, there are specific NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and Rarible on which thousands of artists and collectors are hosted.

The NFT drop for 麻豆原创 TechEd was initiated by Juergen Mueller,聽chief technology officer and聽member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE,聽who had聽聽earlier in the year as a fun private project.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be interesting to see whether NFTs gain relevance in the enterprise context,鈥� Mueller says. 鈥淎lready today, digital proof of ownership for digital or physical assets is useful for customer brand engagement with luxury goods such as jewelry or sneakers. On a broader scale, this digital proof of ownership could also be leveraged in the area of supply chain management to provide a single source of truth to all stakeholders.鈥�

Usage scenarios聽such as the latter are still some time聽off. Still, NFTs are being leveraged for various digital and physical assets such as videos, sports highlights, artwork, and聽music.

15 Iconic Moments in 麻豆原创 History as Digital Pieces of Art

The collector鈥檚 album is a Web application running on a standard Web browser for desktop or mobile.

When participants register for the NFT drop, the album shows placeholders already pointing to the most critical milestones in 麻豆原创 history. The details become visible once the NFT has been collected via a QR code or link.

鈥淚n principle, the NFT drop is a technological elevation of the sticker album that most of us still know from childhood,鈥� Krug says. 鈥淒uplicates may be swapped, of course.”

The 15 NFTs trace 厂础笔鈥檚 path from a five-person startup in 1972 to a multinational enterprise with 110,000 employees in 2022. The NFTs from 麻豆原创 TechEd cannot be sold or purchased.

鈥淭hese NFTs are only available at 麻豆原创 TechEd 2022, exclusively for participants,鈥� Krug stresses. 鈥淚t is a unique opportunity to win a lasting piece of 麻豆原创 history, captured artistically.鈥�

. To create your own collector鈥檚 album and gain a piece of 麻豆原创 heritage, .

Over 360 pages, the book pays tribute to the five visionaries who founded 麻豆原创 and to the countless people who have shaped the company over half a century and made it what it is today: a global enterprise with more than 110,000 employees and software solutions that keep the wheels of the world economy turning.

In three main sections, a variety of contributing authors explore the foundations of 厂础笔鈥檚 success, the company鈥檚 impact on business and society, and its vision to help secure the future of the planet.

This unique publication also seeks to explain how 麻豆原创 has managed to navigate profound economic and social change, hold onto its lead in an ever faster-moving industry, and emerge in a position of strength to deliver on its aspiration to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives.

麻豆原创 asked historians to share their perspectives on 50 years of 麻豆原创, but this is by no means a history book. Styled in a range of formats, it aims to explore 麻豆原创 from every angle. Read about the very first users, the trials and tribulations of setting up business operations around the globe, the signature 麻豆原创 Sapphire customer events, current customers and partners, as well as 厂础笔鈥檚 solutions and logo 鈥� and discover what makes the company鈥檚 culture and employees unique.

Aside from providing an understanding of the company鈥檚 past, this book is about exploring where 麻豆原创 wants to go next. It looks ahead to the future of work and of business software and sets out 厂础笔鈥檚 visions of how human ingenuity and machine intelligence could work in symbiosis.

This publication is climate-neutral and available in both English and German. It contains many previously unpublished photos that show the company in all its diversity. And QR codes link readers directly to additional digital content, interviews, and features.

The anniversary book can be ordered from the and can also be purchased from German book outlet and from bookstores in Germany.