SAP and Singapore have a long history of working together, first established by the operations and partnership that came about in the past years. This relationship continues to this day, with investments and participation in each other’s infrastructure. The two constantly collaborate to upskill Singapore’s many diverse talent bases, as well as engaging with government agencies and customers alike in order to ensure the best experience for all parties involved.

Furthermore, Singapore and SAP are at the forefront in terms of establishing standards for data privacy and sovereignty, which have been made all the more relevant in light of recent developments globally. They also work on shaping standards for cloud adoption and facilitate a more digitally inclusive and sustainable world. 

Last week, SAP’s office in the ASEAN country welcomed Sabine Bendiek, the Global Chief People & Operating Officer, Labor Relations Director & Member of the Executive Board at SAP. As part of her role, Bendiek is responsible for bringing together people agenda, systems, and processes in a way that supports SAP’s transformation to the cloud by accelerating innovation for both SAP itself and its customers. She works closely with the different teams across the company to achieve this goal.

Engaging with the SAP Chief People & Operating Officer

An engagement with Bendiek allowed SAP employees to observe her leadership style and how she fosters an inclusive environment that values diversity. In a LinkedIn post shared by Akshita Shetty, Vice President of Human Resources at SAP SEA, Bendiek shared her thoughts on a variety of topics including talent strategy, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and sustainability.

“Singapore is a melting pot of all cultures and along with Frances-Marie Botha, I had the privilege to host her for an intimate HR session. She got a glimpse of the diverse culture, cuisines in Singapore and also see the different teams that collectively work together to make magic happen for our employees,” Shetty added.

On the other hand, Bendiek mentioned that the technology behind SAP is amazing, and the company’s client feedback suggests that SAP will be the driving force behind the world’s most important enterprises in the future.

“In the end, it all comes back to people and our connections to each other as human beings. I was delightfully reminded of how true this is during my visit to Singapore this week,” she remarked.

Meeting with the Minister for Communications and Information

In a separate meeting, Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo SAP Executive Board Member Bendiek, and representatives from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) discussed topics and areas related to digital talent and skills, cloud computing, data privacy and cyber security. Thrilled to welcome Bendiek into Singapore office recently, Verena Siow, President and Managing Director of Southeast Asia at SAP, also said in a LinkedIn post:

“It was an honor to meet with Minister Josephine Teo and her colleagues at the Ministry of Communications and Information and Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) as well, where we had an invigorating discussion on talent development, cloud transformation and digital economy towards a more sustainable future together in ASEAN!”

It can be noted that in March of this year, the Singapore EDB made a commitment to ensuring the continued success of the newest SAP Labs Singapore, which is expected to elevate the digital capabilities of local IT professionals. In addition to accelerating digital supply chain transformation, it is also anticipated that SAP Labs Singapore will strengthen intelligent business networks, and develop sustainability solutions, drive innovation on intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

Together with other employees, SAP Singapore MD Eileen Chua expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to give Bendiek a peek into the various facets of the evolving city-state and the diverse communities that contribute to Singapore, SAP Asia, and SAP Labs Singapore being such “a great place to live and work.”

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The enterprise software giant is reinforcing its digital innovation investment in Asia with the launch of SAP Labs Singapore established to accelerate research and development for SAP key solutions in the region. The opening ceremony held on the 23rd of March was graced by esteemed SAP leaders: Thomas Saueressig, Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE for SAP Product Engineering, Eileen Chua, Managing Director, SAP Singapore, and Manik Saha, newly appointed Managing Director for SAP Labs Singapore; and Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) Managing Director Jacqueline Poh.

SAP Labs Singapore joins the global SAP Labs Network comprised of 20 labs in 17 countries including China, India, Japan, and South Korea. As the pioneer SAP Labs in Southeast Asia, the digital innovation facility is strategically located in the city-state, one of the world’s leading technology hubs and a country that has been significantly contributing to SAP’s regional achievements. SAP in Singapore currently employs over 1,100 professionals and caters to large and global enterprises such as Changi Airport Group, Hilleman Laboratories, JUMBO Group, Love Bonito, Singapore LNG Corporation, and Sunningdale Tech Ltd., among many.

“SAP Labs Singapore joins a network of strategic high-tech clusters, reinforcing SAP’s strong confidence in Singapore as an innovation and investment hub, its highly educated and skilled talent, and its position as a regional beacon of excellence in technology innovation and a digital future,” stated Saueressig.

Partnering with Singapore Economic Development Board

Aside from driving innovation on deep technologies such as AI and machine learning, SAP Labs Singapore is also anticipated to accelerate digital supply chain transformation, strengthen the intelligent business networks and develop sustainability solutions. In addition, the newest innovation hub in Asia fosters digital talent and bolsters the SAP ecosystem and community engagement in Singapore.

Furthermore, SAP has garnered the support of EDB, a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry responsible for enhancing the nation’s position as a global centre for innovation, business, and job opportunities for Singaporeans. Under the SAP Labs investment, tech multinational will be doubling its existing product engineering with the addition of over 500 highly skilled digital professionals locally by 2025. The massive team of SAP professionals will be located at the company’s regional headquarters in Pasir Panjang.

Commenting on the latest SAP venture in Singapore, Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director, EDB, said that having the SAP Labs in the country demonstrates SAP’s confidence in Singapore as a strategic centre for enterprise software product development and innovation. She added:

“SAP Labs Singapore will create exciting job opportunities here in areas such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning that will further deepen the skills of our workforce. We look forward to its continued growth as we work together to enrich our digital ecosystem.”

Deepening Innovation Alliances

SAP Singapore MD Chua stressed that gaining the support of EDB on top of the recently launched Centre for XM Innovation in Asia strengthens the position of the nation not only as a leader in innovation but also a collaborative partner helping customers, partners, and the community achieve success in the digital economy leveraging cloud technology.

“SAP has a deep history in Singapore, and we recognise its status as a regional economic, financial, technology and innovation powerhouse, and its embodiment of a skilled population and a leader in cutting-edge innovation, which has helped propel the nation to the global stage,” said Chua.

“As companies look towards a new era of growth, businesses need to be agile and continually re-invent themselves. In a digital-first future, organisations must rapidly develop an innate ability to innovate – not just to adapt to the changing customer landscape, but to also create new sources of value and competitiveness as they consider broader challenges like sustainability. We aim to empower all organisations to embrace an innovation mindset,” SAP Labs MD Saha stressed.

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