Last updated: October 2026 Β· 3 min read
SAP is the world’s best-known ERP company, used by many of the largest businesses on Earth to run finance, supply chains and HR. Here are 10 incredible facts about it.
10 incredible facts about SAP
1. Five ex-IBM engineers founded it
SAP was founded on 1 April 1972 by Dietmar Hopp, Hans-Werner Hector, Hasso Plattner, Klaus Tschira and Claus Wellenreuther, all formerly of IBM.
2. Its first customer was a chemical company
SAP’s first customer was the German branch of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). The founders often worked at customers’ data centres at night.
3. Its name has changed meaning
SAP originally stood for “Systemanalyse Programmentwicklung” (system analysis and program development). Today it stands for “Systeme, Anwendungen und Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung” (systems, applications and products in data processing).
4. It is based in Walldorf
SAP’s headquarters are in Walldorf, a small town in southwest Germany.
5. R/3 changed enterprise software
SAP R/3, launched in 1992, brought client-server ERP to companies worldwide and made SAP a global leader.
6. HANA keeps data in memory
SAP HANA, introduced around 2010β2011, is an in-memory database that keeps data in RAM so businesses can analyse live transactions in real time.
7. S/4HANA arrived in 2015
SAP S/4HANA, launched in 2015, is SAP’s current-generation ERP suite and runs only on the HANA database.
8. Bengaluru is a major SAP hub
SAP Labs India, set up in Bengaluru in 1998, is one of SAP’s largest research and development centres outside Germany.
9. Its cloud business is booming
In Q2 2026, SAP reported a current cloud backlog of β¬22.9 billion, up 27%, with Cloud ERP Suite revenue up 25%.
10. ECC support has a deadline
Mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC 6.0 ends in 2027, which is driving one of the biggest IT migration waves in the world as companies move to S/4HANA.
Frequently asked questions
What does SAP software do?
It helps companies run core processes such as finance, sales, purchasing, manufacturing, warehousing, projects and HR in one integrated system.
Is SAP a good career in India?
SAP skills are in strong demand in India, especially for S/4HANA, finance, supply chain and integration roles.
What is SAP Joule?
SAP’s AI copilot, embedded across its applications.
Keep exploring
- SAP S/4HANA explained: top 10 modules
- Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP explained
- More ERP Software explainers on Tiwaripedia
- Browse all incredible facts
Facts are based on widely accepted scientific, historical and official sources at the time of writing. Spotted something that needs updating? Let us know.
