# SAP

> The German company whose software runs the back office of many large businesses.

- Level: Basic
- Topics: Tech companies, Data
- URL: https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/sap/
- In Spanish: [SAP](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/es/sap/)

**SAP** is a German software company founded in 1972 by five former IBM engineers and based in Walldorf. It is best known for **ERP** (enterprise resource planning) software: one system where a company records its accounting, purchases, inventory, sales, production and payroll. When a factory sells a truckload of goods, the same record updates the stock, the invoice and the books, instead of each department keeping its own spreadsheet.

Its flagship product today is **S/4HANA**, which runs on **HANA**, SAP's own database that keeps data in memory so reports can be computed on the fly. Around it, SAP sells software for specific jobs: SuccessFactors for human resources, Ariba for purchasing, Concur for travel expenses, plus tools to analyze the data that all these systems collect.

SAP makes money from software licenses, yearly maintenance fees and, more and more, cloud subscriptions where SAP runs the system for the customer. Installing SAP is rarely quick: big companies spend months or years adapting it to their processes, usually with consulting firms that specialize in it. Once a company runs on SAP, its whole operation depends on it, which is why changing systems is a big decision.

## An analogy

The nervous system of a company. Every department is an organ doing its own job, but they all report to the same spine, so a sale in one place is instantly felt in the warehouse and in the accounts.

## Keep in mind

- Founded in 1972 by five former IBM engineers; based in Walldorf, Germany.
- Best known for ERP software that ties finance, stock, sales and payroll together.
- S/4HANA is its main ERP; HANA is its in-memory database.
- Earns money from licenses, maintenance and cloud subscriptions.

## Go deeper

- [SAP on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAP)
- [Enterprise resource planning on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_resource_planning)
- [SAP HANA on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAP_HANA)

## Related terms

- [IBM](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/ibm/): A century-old computer company that sells software, consulting and mainframes.
- [Spreadsheet vs database](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/spreadsheet-vs-database/): Why a company that runs on Excel eventually needs a real database.
- [Database](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/database/): An organized store of data that programs can search and update safely.
- [Cloud computing](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/cloud-computing/): Renting computers over the internet instead of buying your own.