Imagine being in the online queue for a concert you’ve been anxious to get a ticket for. As the countdown progresses, it’s finally your turn. Just when the purchase is about to be completed, the page refreshes endlessly, goes blank, and displays a message that an error has occurred, forcing you to start over. This seems like a minor issue, but when the realization of going back to the end of the queue hits, frustration can quickly overshadow the initial excitement.

From the customer’s side, this experience could affect the reliability of future purchases. It could make them think twice before shopping there again, especially if they already had concerns about the difficulties in completing transactions. From the company’s perspective, a website outage implies significant losses, such as direct revenue loss due to a main sales channel being shut down, and a loss of organizational trust, potentially driving customers to competitors.

In retail and e-commerce business, customer experience is paramount. A company whose e-commerce frequently experiences downtime could receive a negative market reaction from investors.

These experiences highlight the importance of robust support readiness programs, especially during holiday seasons when businesses strive for more sales and revenue through their digital platforms. With customer expectations at an all-time high, businesses need reliable, scalable, and innovative solutions to deliver exceptional shopping experiences. Proactive support measures can considerably reduce system failures during peak times, which not only reinforces customer satisfaction but also protects organizational trust and revenue. SAP’s holiday support readiness program is designed to address these needs. It offers a strategic, data-driven approach to help businesses thrive during peak periods.

The holiday support readiness program is a customer experience program by SAP to help safeguard and establish strong support for digital commerce and retail customers during high shopping times. Key features of the program include:

• ​Comprehensive coverage: It can cover events ranging from Singles Day in China and El Buen Fin in Mexico to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year’s.​
• Extensive participation: Last year, 143 customers with 200 tenants used SAP’s holiday support readiness program to navigate the holiday rush successfully.​
• Early preparation: Preparation begins 4–6 months in advance, involving collaboration among customer support, cloud operations, and product engineering teams.​

The focus on customer experience has increased due to the expansion of interfaces through which customers interact with companies. In a survey conducted in the European Union in 2023, 70% of respondents bought products or ordered services electronically in the preceding 12 months. For corporations, this online influx depicts a figure of more than US$300 billion in the last quarter of 2024 alone for U.S. retail e-commerce sales. To approach these complexities, companies have steadily turned to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen their support systems.

In 2024, SAP introduced a preventative care model under the transformation blueprint, aimed at delivering predictive, proactive, bi-directional support integrated with AI-driven insights and automation, allowing teams to predict potential problems and address them before they impact customers—and potentially millions of users. SAP’s proprietary AI tools are deployed to help streamline support processes, enhance operational insights, and enable predictive and proactive engagement.

This represents a pioneering shift in the industry, positioning SAP as a front-runner in AI-driven, predictive, and proactive support solutions. The model provides a comprehensive, 360-degree customer support profile, helping to accelerate issue detection and anticipate potential problems, with AI-integrated features like a virtual support assistant, resource and web traffic predictions, a recommendation engine, case history analysis, issue correlation, and pattern recognition.

To operationalize this model, SAP leverages collaboration approaches among product engineering teams, cloud operations—database administrators and technical operations managers—technical support, and mission-critical teams to convey comprehensive case analysis reports and detailed recommendations and action plans for each customer. This can allow SAP to identify and resolve future issues before customers are affected, helping to reinforce system stability during peak sales periods. For example, the proactive support process for the 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events involved holistic health checks for over 143 customers and 200 production environments, setting a new standard in holiday readiness.

When aligned with the organizational strategy, a support program can foster a more positive customer journey, resulting in improved customer loyalty. “The holiday support readiness program isn’t just about managing the current peak; it’s about preparing for the next one. Our focus on preventative, AI-driven support means that our customers can focus on their business, not on system stability,” says Stefan Steinle, executive vice president and head of Customer Support & CLM at SAP.

For enterprises, joining the holiday support readiness program can also offer the following advantages:

• Minimize downtime: It helps ensure e-commerce platforms are ready when it matters most.​
• Optimize performance: It uses AI and automation to help maintain peak system health and customer satisfaction.​
• Stay ahead: Proactive monitoring and predictive support help keep organizations one step ahead of potential outcomes.​

Looking forward, preparing for upcoming retail peak seasons cannot be overstated. SAP Sapphire in 2025 will hold dedicated sessions to help ensure customers are well-equipped for these challenging periods. From live demos to expert interactions, attendees will be able to witness firsthand how SAP’s tools help keep businesses running smoothly and engage directly with solution experts.

Our commitment at SAP Sapphire in 2025 is to equip customers with the knowledge and tools needed for uninterrupted success during every peak period. The holiday support readiness program is about turning challenges into opportunities for growth. With these resources, businesses will be better prepared to face uncertainties and use favorable circumstances in demanding times, ensuring sustained development and customer satisfaction.

Don’t wait until the next holiday season to find last-minute solutions. Be a part of the holiday support readiness program now and secure your business’s performance for future peak sales periods.

New Extended Board, including Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Revenue Officers (CROs), will further enhance efficiency and accelerate transformation.

WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that Sebastian Steinhaeuser (39) has been appointed to join the SAP Executive Board. He will lead a newly formed board area called Strategy & Operations, continuing to support the execution of SAP’s strategy and driving simplification in operations. The SAP Supervisory Board also extended the contract of Executive Board Member Thomas Saueressig, head of Customer Services & Delivery, for another three years until 2028.

SAP also announced that it is forming an Extended Board* comprising senior leaders from across the company, including the newly appointed CTO, Co-CROs and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The new SAP Extended Board will act as a strategic advisory body, driving execution of the company’s AI-first, Suite-first strategy. It will leverage global leadership to align with key initiatives and ensure smooth execution across the organization, while the SAP Executive Board remains the ultimate managing body of SAP SE.

New Board Area to Drive Strategy Execution and Simplification

The new Strategy & Operations board area will ensure that SAP continues successfully executing on its transformation journey by driving the company’s strategy internally and externally, as well as by simplifying internal operations. Bringing Strategy & Operations together with Global Marketing – led by newly-appointed CMO Ada Agrait – will also promote closer collaboration to deliver customers and partners an enhanced digital experience.

“Since joining in 2020, Sebastian Steinhaeuser has been crucial in shaping and implementing SAP’s corporate strategy. We believe that Sebastian is not just a leader, but the architect of a future where innovation meets impact. On behalf of the SAP Supervisory Board, I wish Sebastian a very successful start in his new role,” said Pekka Ala-Pietilä, chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE. “Moreover, we are excited to extend our best wishes to Thomas Saueressig for his forthcoming term on the SAP Executive Board. His contributions have been instrumental in accelerating our customers’ journey to the cloud, and we look forward to his continued success.”

After joining SAP in 2020, Steinhaeuser held various positions, including the role of Chief Strategy Officer, where he also ran the growth areas Business Transformation Management, Business Network and Sustainability. In 2024, Steinhaeuser’s role expanded to Chief Strategy & Operating Officer, including oversight of business operations, processes and IT, as well as ecosystem and commercial functions. Prior to joining SAP, Steinhaeuser worked with the Boston Consulting Group, where he supported companies in their corporate and digital transformation journeys.

Further Organizational Updates to Build on SAP’s Successful Foundation

SAP is also announcing a new CTO and new CROs. Philipp Herzig will take on the role of SAP’s global CTO, in addition to his current position as Chief AI Officer. In this role, he will oversee SAP’s technology strategy, innovation, research and corporate development, driving the ongoing success of SAP’s Business AI and Sustainability units while continuing to advance innovation for SAP customers and partners.

Jan Gilg and Emmanuel (Manos) Raptopoulos will co-lead SAP’s Customer Success organization as SAP’s new CROs. Gilg, currently president and chief product officer for Cloud ERP, will oversee SAP Americas and the Global SAP Business Suite. Raptopoulos, the current regional president of SAP EMEA, will manage the SAP EMEA, MEE and APAC regions. Elevating leadership that combines a strong product background with great sales experience will help SAP engage more deeply with customers to translate their challenges into solutions that ensure sustained success. Herzig, Gilg and Raptopoulos will report into SAP CEO Christian Klein and serve on SAP’s Extended Board.

All changes are effective February 1, 2025.

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP at @SAPNews.

*Members of the Extended Board: Ada Agrait (Chief Marketing Officer), Michael Ameling (General Manager, Business Technology Platform), Sebastian Behrendt (Head of Global Finance), Jan Gilg (Chief Revenue Officer, Americas & Global Business Suite), Philipp Herzig (Chief Technology Officer), Thomas Pfiester (Head of Global Customer Engagement), Emmanuel Raptopoulos (Chief Revenue Officer, APAC/EMEA/MEE), TBA (General Manager, Business Suite), Monika Schaller (Chief Communications Officer)

About SAP

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The 2025 World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, held under the theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,” brought together approximately 3,000 attendees from over 130 countries. Among the participants were more than 50 heads of state and government, alongside hundreds of top governmental leaders, private sector voices, and civil society experts. 

As the world faces pressing challenges — ranging from geopolitical tensions and climate change to a global skilling crisis –the meeting in Davos provided a vital platform to foster dialogue and catalyze lasting solutions to shared problems. It also highlighted the importance of corporate responsibility, with social innovation taking center stage as an essential driver of progress. 

Social Innovation Takes Center Stage 

Social innovation is emerging as a foundation for addressing global inequalities and driving systemic change. This year, discussions around social innovation took on greater prominence, with Catalyst Now hosting the first-ever dedicated house for the topic. This space became a hub for thought leaders, practitioners, and policymakers to exchange ideas and spark action.

Social innovation and collaboration go hand in hand, and the synergy between global initiatives and localized action is pivotal in creating meaningful impact. As a key partner, SAP supports Catalyst Now and its Africa Forward initiative, which empowers social enterprises through digital skills training, pro-bono consulting, and policy advocacy. With more than 1,000 members across 28 African countries, Africa Forward continues to foster job creation, sustainable funding, and advocacy efforts. 

The Annual Meeting also served as a bridge between African social entrepreneurs and decision-makers, including South Africa’s Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Professor Blade Nzimande, opening pathways for new partnerships and support.

The panel featured two 2025 Schwab Foundation Awardees: Christina Mawuse Gyisun, co-founder of Sommalife, who shared her work empowering women shea nut farmers in West Africa, and Muzalema Mwanza, founder of Safe Motherhood Alliance, who highlighted her mission to ensure safe childbirth for millions of women in sub-Saharan Africa. This dialogue underscored the critical role of social entrepreneurship and what role Africa Froward can play in driving sustainable development across the continent. This is essential, as over 60 percent of Africa’s population is under 25 years old and projected to account for 42 percent of the global youth demographic by 2030.

While tech investment remains concentrated in Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa, the continent’s potential in emerging green and digital economies is immense.   

Global Partnerships to Scale Innovation 

Addressing challenges at scale requires collaboration across sectors and geographies. The Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship, the largest coalition of its kind, exemplifies this collective effort. Hosted by the Schwab Foundation in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, the alliance brings together more than 110 organizations, including corporations, investors, philanthropists, and governments, to amplify the impact of social innovation. 

During the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, the Global Alliance launched the Rise Ahead Pledge. Twenty-five companies have signed the pledge since and committed themselves to increasing investments in social innovation. In 2025, they are reporting on their spending for the first time mobilized $277 million to drive meaningful change. These resources were channeled into key areas: 

• $95 million to support social enterprises through social procurement
• $86 million in non-financial resources like pro-bono services and technology access
• $47 million to provide direct financial support to social innovators
• $29 million for internal innovation, focusing on developing impact-driven products
• $21 million to strengthen the social innovation ecosystem

We are an active partner in these efforts, demonstrating a commitment to creating sustainable pathways for social enterprises to thrive. 

Supporting Research to Shape the Future 

Research and data are critical to driving informed decisions and shaping the social innovation agenda. Several pivotal publications were launched during the meeting to provide actionable insights: 

• Unlocking the Social Economy: Towards Equity in the Green and Digital Transitions: This report highlights the pivotal role of the social economy, including social enterprises and cooperatives, in advancing equity during transitions. Supporting 200 million jobs and generating over $2 trillion in global turnover, the social economy drives inclusive innovation by enhancing affordability, accessibility, job creation, and empowerment for marginalized communities. 
• State of Social Procurement 2025: This report leverages the expertise of numerous organizations to uncover new insights, present fresh data, and highlight diverse country profiles on social procurement.
• Beyond Compliance: Embedding Impact through Innovative Finance: The report reveals how this emerging practice is already driving $185 billion by tying financial incentives to measurable social outcomes. It provides businesses with a powerful avenue to tackle societal challenges while staying competitive. 

A New Model for Procurement 

Procurement is increasingly recognized as a lever for social equity and sustainability. To accelerate this shift, SAP Executive Board Member Thomas Saueressig and Deloitte Global Chair Anna Marks announced the launch of the Social Procurement Innovation Accelerator, a joint initiative designed to reshape procurement practices and amplify social impact. 

This program combines cutting-edge supply chain technology with deep expertise in sustainability and transformation to provide organizations with a practical road map for impactful procurement strategies. It focuses on inclusive sourcing, ethical labor practices, and robust social impact measurement, enabling businesses to align procurement with broader equity and sustainability goals. 

By transforming procurement into a driver of systemic change, organizations can deliver lasting value for people, communities, and the planet. 

Empowering Tomorrow’s Changemakers  

It is essential to maintain this momentum now and into the future by empowering young social innovators, fostering connections, and encouraging intergenerational understanding. This is particularly important because major decisions made at conferences often concern youth, yet they rarely have a seat at the decision-making table.  

To address this, we supported the youth delegations of We Are Family Foundation, ChangemakerXchange, and the WEF Global Shapers, supporting them to participate in hundreds of meaningful interactions such as panel discussions, 1:1 meetings or roundtables.

Gina Vargiu-Breuer, chief people officer, labor director, and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, hosted a roundtable on empowering young changemakers. The session brought together corporate leaders, young social entrepreneurs, and partners like UNICEF Generation Unlimited and Junior Achievement to engage directly with youth. It focused on the unique needs of the next generation, identifying key areas for collaboration and showcasing the transformative power of youth-led solutions to tackle global challenges. 

Looking Ahead 

The 2025 World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting demonstrated the transformative potential of collaboration in accelerating social innovation. By bringing together diverse voices and perspectives, it reinforced the importance of partnerships in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. 

For the SAP Corporate Social Responsibility team, it also served as a valuable opportunity to strengthen relationships within its ecosystem, fostering new collaborations that will help drive long-term impact. As global challenges persist, platforms like Davos provide the momentum needed to create a more equitable, sustainable future for all.

Alexandra van der Ploeg is head of Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP.