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Forbes
6 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
The role of field CTO is now more common in enterprise software.
Software is now much friendlier. Back in the pre-millennial and perhaps pre-nineties day, enterprises got their suite of applications and data services and had to graft them onto their operational structures as best they could. A degree of customization was always possible, but not in the same way that we can now build 'composable' componetized apps - and not in the way that solidified open source offerings also offer companies a route to building freeform, sometimes-experimental or even esoteric use case software services. The ability to work with software vendors more directly on their platform roadmaps and toolset extensions is now far more prevalent. Big technology vendors host special interest group bodies who examine potential service enhancements, customers are able to provide feedback on use case successes (and failures, or shortfalls) through formalized 'voice of customer' initiatives… and software vendors are just that bit more approachable overall. Because vendors now have to be more engaged, they have to be out in the field more. This has led to the evolution and rise of the field chief technology officer, an individual who works somewhere in between pre-sales (where customers are laying out the scope of their requirements), sales itself and after-sales (somewhat like a luxury car maintenance service, but without the complimentary vacuum cleaning service). But what's really behind the rise of the field CTO, how embedded and formalized is this role, what key functions do they perform and what should they be doing next? Martin Tombs is VP for global go-to-market for analytics and field CTO for EMEA region at Qlik. He explains that the role itself is very much about thought leadership (he's a trained software engineer) and the ability to look for revenue generation opportunities while still working very closely with customers on the implementation of software toolsets to assess what works well, what could work better and what's not working now but could be made to work tomorrow. 'It's not just about trying to encourage customers to stay on platform and avoid customizations, it's more often about understanding the business requirements and technical scope (including incumbent skillsets) that a customer has when they are implementing software,' explained Tombs, who also gets heavily involved with the activities associated in his firm's customer advisory group. Commentators and practitioners in this space talk of significant strategic shifts. These are shifts towards data-centric planning, shifts towards developer-driven decision making and (of course, no surprise) shifts towards deeper penetration of AI. 'The enterprise software market has moved beyond the days when you'd simply buy Oracle or SAP (or other) and run your entire business through it. Today we see that software-as-a-service vendors, especially in the realm of data management, now fiercely compete for specific use cases. Just look at Databricks versus Snowflake with their similar offerings but distinct strengths in ML/AI and reporting analytics, respectively. This shift requires product teams to implement an additional strategic layer connecting existing offerings with customer goals and new capabilities. Field CTOs now operate on two fronts: helping customers navigate externally while reducing internal friction between initial concept and delivered value,' said Viraj Parekh, VP of sales engineering, co-founder and former field CTO at orchestration-centric DataOps platform Astronomer. The field CTO appears to be especially prevalent in platform-type software companies i.e. those selling software services designed to get deeply woven into a customer's digital ecosystem. In this regard, perhaps think about Databricks rather than Zoom. These aren't plug-and-play tools; they're significant commitments that transform how businesses operate. 'As these platforms have become more sophisticated, turning business goals into technical reality has become increasingly complex. That's where I come in,' enthused an upbeat Kenneth Stott, field CTO at Hasura, creators of the PromptQL data agent that enables reliable AI systems to work on data. 'Software vendors need someone in a role who can talk tech strategy without sounding like they're just trying to close a deal. The best field CTOs aren't primarily sales-driven - they're relationship builders. Customers need to see them as trusted peers who can think through all the mess i.e. technical requirements, organizational impact, policy implications, change management challenges - all of it. They're typically partnering with the customer's CTO or their direct reports to make things happen.' So then, is the role becoming more widespread? It appears to be more common in companies selling complex technical platforms, although there aren't many formal studies of this yet (** technology analyst house suddenly thinks about commissioning report**) and many customers aren't always that familiar with the job title. 'Looking at where we are now in field sales (and questioning how formalized and standardized this position is), it has to be said that some field CTOs are somewhere close to being glorified pre-sales engineers, while others are pure strategic consultants. You'll find different reporting structures, influence levels and responsibilities across companies, but they're all operating in that sweet spot between technical expertise and strategic advisory,' details Stott, before listing this role's key function as follows: As this role starts to further cement itself in management structures, the Hasura tech leader thinks there's no urgent need to reinvent it. He suggests that field CTOs are 'naturally positioned to become ecosystem orchestrators' now. Which means that they will help coordinate multiple vendors around customer objectives. As technology ecosystems get more complex, having someone who can see the big picture while understanding the technical details becomes even more important. 'Today we can say that field CTOs have a special opportunity because we aren't trapped in the lab or behind a desk. Since we're at technology industry shows and in the room interacting with customers and prospects, so we get to see what's really happening across the new, unexpected use cases, the rising pressures and needs and so much more. You only learn about those by being out in the world. The value of listening to leaders about how, where, and why they want to use our software services is immense, because it changes the equation. It's not us telling them about how they need to use our software or our latest engineering marvels. Instead, we get to focus on business problems, which is where the real value really comes from,' said Michael Donahue, Pentaho global field CTO. 'The job is a really mix of cheerleading, problem solving and applying front-line feedback directly into how we build and deliver for customers.' Manesh Tailor agrees. He is field CTO for EMEA region at New Relic. Tailor began his career as a developer and has spent close to 20 years immersed in the observability and monitoring space, giving him deep industry expertise and a strong technical foundation. Tailor assumed the field CTO role at New Relic in January of 2025 following a 10-year tenure at the company where he rose through the ranks as a technical account manager, software analytics architect and most recently as the director of field engineering, EMEA. He leads a team of solution architects, who are themselves industry thought leaders. 'The field CTO role at New Relic comprises a deep expertise level across three key areas: our business and technology; our customers' business and technology; and technical thought leadership,' said Tailor. 'But it's not just about technical knowledge and complex problem solving. For me, the role is about leveraging my industry experience to encourage other software engineers to not only succeed, but to be able to differentiate themselves in their markets.' Nick Jablonski, field CTO at Domino Data Lab says that the role gravitates around the need to very responsibly 'bridge and forge the gap' between how customers want to use the company's platform, in relation to what it actually takes to make that process work in complex, real-world environments. 'It's all about crafting an amalgam and mix of technical fluency and domain expertize and being able to translate that into how a platform can help deliver on business impact. That dual (or perhaps even three-level) perspective i.e. guiding customers and influencing our own roadmap, has become more strategic in recent years. I'm now in deeper conversations about how our platform serves specific industries such as life sciences, financial services and the public sector… and how we evolve it to meet their emerging needs.' There's a realization at this point that a Field CTO isn't there to repeat what's in a vendor's technical product spec whitepaper, they have to provide validated evidence of how a product will behave in the real world, under real pressure, in a customer's exact setup. Andy Pernsteiner, field CTO lead at Vast Data says his company's field CTOs (plural, there are more than one) routinely build 'tailored walkthroughs' with exact commands, outputs, and rationale for a client's use case. 'These field professionals run tests on behalf of customers, flag bugs based not on the spec but on how users actually expect things to work and drive feature requests back into engineering based on real operational needs - not imagined ones,' said Pernsteiner. 'We've built a team of field CTOs with deep domain expertize in performance, networking, protocols and AI, not just generalists, but people who've lived the same challenges our customers face. Many of them came from the very organizations that we now support. That context matters. It means they know what's at stake and they know what good (and not just good enough) looks like. The field CTO is there to help us cut through abstraction to deliver software services that hold up under scrutiny.' Hopefully, the need to surface an analysis of this comparatively modern role is clear here. Professional software engineers who work in this position are becoming more prevalent and prominent as they now also start to receive enough media training to talk to the technology press. While the role itself may still be subject to a fair degree of flux, there appears to be a solid understanding of how and why this role is now needed among the software engineering community. The only apparent challenge now is that the software engineering community here is almost exclusively the software engineering fraternity; when we get more women in field CTO roles, things will be solidified.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Basware: CFOs and CIOs clash as SAP migration deadline looms
ERP migrations exposing companies to compliance breaches amid $100bn transformation wave CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CFOs and CIOs are fighting over finances and key resource allocation amid tariffs and the looming SAP S/4HANA migration deadline fast-approaching in 2027, analysis reveals from Basware. With over 22,000 companies worldwide impacted by the upcoming migration, the urgency to act before the deadline grows each day. Tighter budgets causing migration uncertainty According to data, approximately 61% of SAP customers using older Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have not yet licensed S/4HANA. As the latest version of SAP's business management software, S/4HANA represents a significant transformation – one that many enterprises still need to undertake as the 2027 migration deadline approaches. Failure to migrate by the cut off will result in the loss of official SAP support, and reduced access to future product innovations – both of which can lead to increased operational costs and technical risk for businesses. The SAP S/4HANA migration market represents a $100bn opportunity, as enterprises look to modernize their systems, streamline operations and enhance compliance. Amid ongoing global economic uncertainty, enterprises are under pressure to scrutinize every dollar of spend, from finance operations to new AI investments, causing a rift between CFOs and CIOs who are battling to align on spending priorities. "For some, SAP S/4HANA is just a technology migration. But forward-thinking enterprises are taking the opportunity to drive real, wide-scale transformation, focusing on ROI, simplifying their ERP landscape and establishing a clean digital core" said Mark McCarthy, CRO of Basware. "As the great SAP migration continues, the real opportunity is making the investment count – and that means aligning finance and IT around outcomes that matter." ERP migrations costing hundreds of millions over several years ERP systems such as Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and SAP S/4HANA Cloud are used to manage the entire IT process of businesses by tracking all aspects of production, distribution, financials, HR and back office. ERP upgrades can cost large enterprises upwards of $100 million, rising to $500 million depending on the complexity and size of the organization. These projects typically span multiple years, involving significant resources for software, implementation, training and ongoing support. For CFOs, this creates financial holes due to uncertain ROI, business disruption risks from potential downtime, and hefty implementation fees for the technology. Add to that skills gaps for SAP talent, the cost of training, and the lack of financial transparency during migration, it's more important than ever for CFOs to gain complete control over functions such as invoicing, especially when integrating platforms into ERP environments. Meanwhile, CIOs are battling with opposing challenges including outdated systems, poor data quality, which can lead to errors and inefficiencies. Where boardroom alignment can be found is in artificial intelligence, with 75% of CFOs advocating for greater investment in AI to automate critical financial processes such as e-invoicing compliance and regulation – which play a pivotal role in the broader SAP S/4HANA migration strategy. McCarthy added: "Every month of delay brings greater compliance risk, uncertainty and escalating costs. Forward-thinking enterprises are acting now – extending their ERP strategy with specialist solutions that align to SAP's clean core principles. Basware is already supporting over 600 enterprises running SAP ERP systems, including over 100 large organizations using Basware alongside SAP S/4HANA. By managing this complexity with Invoice Lifecycle Management platforms, they're able to achieve full automation, compliance, and visibility in accounts payable." How companies are navigating ERP migrations The 2027 migration deadline is a top priority for companies, including healthcare wellness company Empire Portfolio Group, materials manufacturer KION and industrial minerals producer Imerys. "We needed a state-of-the-art process to complement our Shared Services Centres rollout and prepare the implementation of SAP S/4HANA," said Christophe Boden, VP of Shared Services and Continuous Improvement at Imerys. "Basware emerged as the ideal solution provider to digitize our AP (accounts payable) operations and drive process efficiencies." North American manufacturing giant Mauser has also overhauled its accounts payable operations in light of the upcoming deadline, integrating Basware with its existing SAP ERP system. The 'plug and play' approach allowed Mauser to streamline invoice processing without adding complexity – keeping its ERP setup simple while gaining greater automation, visibility and faster approvals. As a result, approval time for non-PO invoices from 3.6 days to 1.6 days. By integrating Invoice Lifecycle Management solutions into its ERP system, Mauser has significantly reduced manual touchpoints, cutting the time spent on matching purchase orders and invoices by 90% and reducing overall manual matching by 71%. To help enterprises navigate ERP migrations, Deloitte and Basware recently expanded their partnership with a new, practice-based Center of Excellence, in response to increasing demand driven by SAP S/4HANA migrations. Combining Deloitte's deep finance and compliance expertise with Basware's platform, the collaboration is designed to accelerate digital finance transformation and ensure ERP migration projects are complete before the 2027 deadline hits. About Basware Basware is how the world's best finance teams gain complete control of every invoice, every time. Our Intelligent Invoice Lifecycle Management platform ensures end-to-end efficiency, compliance and control for all invoice transactions. Powered by the world's most sophisticated invoice-centric AI – trained on over 2 billion invoices – Basware's Intelligent Automation drives real ROI by transforming finance operations. We serve 6,500+ customers globally and are trusted by industry leaders including DHL, Heineken and Sony. Fueled by 40 years of specialized expertise with $10 trillion in total spend handled, we are pioneering the next era of finance. With Basware, Now it all just happens.™ Glossary of Terms SAP S/4HANA - an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from SAP unifying business operations in real-time using AI and machine learning. It acts as a single business suite bringing together core functions including finance, sales, procurement, marketing, HR and more. ERP – business management software that integrates and automates core business processes in a single system. ERP Migrations – the process of moving to a new ERP system, transferring data, business processes, configurations and integrations. Manual Touchpoints (in the release context) - managing invoice processing on the edge with Basware, rather than customizing the SAP core. SAP 'Clean Core' - an approach that encourages enterprises to avoid over-customization of the ERP system, keeping the core standardized for easier upgrades, stability and innovation adoption. 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Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SAP Executives to Participate in Upcoming Investor Events
WALLDORF, Germany, May 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the participation of its executives at the following event. This event will be webcast, and a replay will be made available shortly after the event on the SAP Investor Relations website: BNP Paribas Exane CEO Conference, Paris Christian Klein, CEO and member of the SAP Executive Board will hold a Fireside Chat at the event. Tuesday, June 3, 2025 11:45 am – 12:25 am CEST 10:45 am – 12:25 pm BST 5:45 am – 6:25 am EDT If you have any questions regarding this event, please reach out via email to our SAP Investor Relations hotline at investor@ or via phone at +49 6227 767336 during office hours CET. About SAPAs a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, SAP (NYSE:SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP's 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F. © 2025 SAP SE. All rights reserved. SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices. Note to editors:To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit On this platform, you can find high resolution material for your media channels. For customers interested in learning more about SAP products: Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727) For more information, financial community only: Alexandra Steiger +49 (6227) 7-767336 investor@ CET Follow SAP Investor Relations on LinkedIn at SAP Investor Relations. Please consider our privacy policy. If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list please contact press@ and write Unsubscribe in the subject line. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE SAP SE
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BMO Capital Raises SAP SE (SAP) PT to $330
On May 23, BMO Capital Markets upped the price objective on SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)'s stock to $330 from $320 and kept an 'Outperform' rating. The firm has expressed optimism about the customer and partner interest in BDC (Business Data Cloud). Furthermore, the management has reiterated views on longer-term revenue growth potential, which can reach mid-teens. A data centre room with cloud technology, illustrating the enterprise application software services. On February 13, SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) announced SAP Business Data Cloud, a solution unifying SAP and third-party data throughout an organization. It offers a trusted data foundation that organizations require to make more impactful decisions and foster reliable AI. For FY 2025, SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) currently expects €21.6 billion – €21.9 billion of cloud revenue at constant currencies, reflecting a rise of 26% - 28%. It expects €33.1 – €33.6 billion of cloud and software revenue at constant currencies, implying 11% - 13% growth. SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)'s Q1 2025 demonstrates a strong start to the year amidst a highly volatile environment, with healthy total revenue growth and operating profit expansion. The company's total revenue (IFRS) rose 12% to €9,013 million. These results exhibit its cost discipline and focused execution. While we acknowledge the potential of SAP to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SAP and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now Disclosure: None. Sign in to access your portfolio
Channel Post MEA
16 hours ago
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Alibaba Group To Leverage SAP Cloud ERP Private For Its Enterprise Infrastructure
SAP has entered into a strategic partnership with Alibaba Group to accelerate cloud transformation. As part of the collaboration, Alibaba Group will leverage SAP Cloud ERP Private for its enterprise infrastructure, as well as a joint go-to-market strategy aimed at delivering accelerated value for customers worldwide. Alibaba, the Chinese multinational technology company focused on e-commerce and cloud computing, will leverage SAP Business Suite for faster maintenance, smooth upgrades and easier integration of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into core business processes. Alibaba Group also plans to deploy SAP Business AI, SAP Business Technology Platform, and SAP Ariba, SAP Integrated Business Planning, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Concur, and SAP Emarsys solutions to further optimize its technological backbone, enabling greater agility and resilience in serving its vast ecosystem of businesses and consumers. 'Our collaboration with SAP reinforces our commitment to empowering global businesses with world-class technologies,' Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai said. 'By combining SAP's enterprise software with Alibaba Cloud's robust infrastructure and AI capabilities, we can help customers build smarter, more agile operations.' The collaboration marks the next chapter in Alibaba's and SAP's longstanding partnership focused on enhancing operational efficiency and accelerating innovation for joint customers. A core component of this strategic alliance is a joint go-to-market initiative. Under the collaboration initially focused on the China market, enterprises will be able to implement SAP Integrated Business Planning and embark on the RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP journeys. It is also planned to be rolled out in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With Alibaba Group as a certified hyperscaler for SAP software workloads, Chinese enterprises will also be able to deploy SAP Cloud ERP and SAP Cloud ERP Private solutions, empowering them with scalable, more secure and intelligent solutions tailored to local business needs. Marking a significant step in enterprise AI integration, SAP is also exploring the integration of Alibaba's large language model, Qwen, to the generative AI hub in SAP AI Core in China to enable enterprise users to access localized generative AI capabilities within SAP software applications and Custom AI applications. In parallel, SAP is exploring the deployment of its AI Foundation on Alibaba Cloud to bring powerful, scalable AI tools to customers operating in China. Alibaba also will be part of the latest infrastructure-as-a-service certification program to support customers running SAP's enterprise solutions. 'Our collaboration with Alibaba Group is a testament to the power and flexibility of SAP's cloud solutions,' SAP CEO Christian Klein said. 'Our joint go-to-market strategy can unlock new opportunities for enterprises by providing them with access to a comprehensive suite of tools and services. Together, we can help our joint customers drive innovation, improve operational performance and create new competitive advantages. We look forward to working with Alibaba to shape the future of cloud-powered digital transformation.' 0 0
