As the final day of this year’s SAP Sapphire 2016 event came to a close, the discussions and presentations were already being dissected for the tell-tale indicators of what lies in wait on the tech world’s horizon.

Bronwyn (“Bron”) Hastings, SVP of Ecosystems & Channel APJ at SAP Asia Pte. Ltd., sat down with John Furrier (@furrier) and Peter Burris (@plburris), cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during the event to piece through the developments for both customers and other companies as SAP moves forward with its HANA platform and related utilities.

Drawing together

Customers were the first group considered, as Hastings observed their general impetus behind current development strategies. “I think there are two things happening: One is that the customer is asking for the innovation, and [also] asking … ‘what’s the way forward?’”

For other companies, particularly those that have formed partnerships with SAP, the question is one of how to retain a relevant edge in the changing market. “These partners right now are looking at where is their place in this and how do they transform themselves to actually bring value to the customers,” Hastings noted.

Striking new veins

Innovation and its effects were a major focus of the discussion, with Hastings highlighting a magnifying effect for SAP gained through the partnerships, co-development and co-innovation that it was enabling. As she put it: “It strengthens the capability to use the innovation and make it even more. … People really now see ways of innovating even further, and customers [get more out of it].”

Considering how SAP had been able to effect such broad impact on the market, Hastings attributed it to a number of factors, but narrowed those down to a few main elements. “We’ve got a large install base, and all of the move that we’ve got to the newer generations … these partners actually have strength of their own. … What these things are allowing them to do is to take some of our strength into these technologies and build extensible environments.”

Must stand out

Differentiation was another key part of the equation. “People are also choosing the type of work they want to do and then leveraging the ecosystem for the other types of work they want to do,” she said. “The customers are saying, ‘We want skin in the game from SAP too.’”

From her perspective, customers are setting their goals while looking for companies and partners that can get them to that goal, and balancing those aims with the available enablers, so having some way to set themselves apart is a major point in a competitive company’s favor. “If you just replicate what was there before, you’re not getting any game,” Hastings acknowledged.

Wrapping things up, Hastings identified three points of focus for SAP, both currently and in moving forward: “Focus on the customers, bring value and innovate together.”

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of SAP Sapphire 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE