BackSAP India says customer base more than doubled last year
SAP India says customer base more than doubled last year
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Bangalore: The world’s largest business software company, SAP AG, said it added six new customers on each working day of 2007 in India, the fastest growing market for the German firm, as more companies automate operations to cut costs and fight rising competition.
SAP India Pvt. Ltd said it more than doubled its customer base to more than 3,000 in 2007 from 1,350 in the previous year. Ranjan Das, president and CEO, SAP Indian subcontinent, said the company’s total revenues grew 68% year-on-year, driven by 230% rise in sales of its software to small and medium businesses.
“We had two consecutive quarters of triple-digit growth," Das said, without disclosing actual revenues, citing company policy.
According to Frost and Sullivan, SAP India has a 42% market share in the enterprise application segment that includes enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management and supply chain management software that firms use to manage operations, customers, and vendors, respectively.
According to Dataquest magazine, which ranks companies operating in India by local revenues, SAP India ended fiscal 2007 with revenues of Rs1,260 crore.
Frost and Sullivan analyst Saurabh Kaushal said strong referrals by customers and an expanded product portfolio helped SAP restain its leadership. Frost and Sullivan estimates the enterprise application market in India will grow to $290 million (Rs1,148.4 crore) in 2013 from $110 million in 2007, a compounded annual growth rate of 17.5%
In the current year, SAP expects to focus on firms in the public sector, retail, engineering and construction industry and the banking, financial services and insurance segment, where it sees major potential, Das said. The recessionary trends in the US were unlikely to have any impact on the Indian market, he added.
SAP plans to roll out its mid-market ERP services Business ByDesign in April, said Das. Business ByDesign is a subscription-based ERP aimed at companies with 100-700 employees.
SAP India is the third largest subsidiary for the German firm and in revenue terms ranks among the top 10, Das said. The company expects to increase its sales and consulting team by inducting about 100 professionals this year.
SAP, which started its operations in India a little over a decade ago, has about 5,000 employees, including some 4,000 engineers at SAP Labs, its software development centre in Bangalore.
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