Solution
Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation
In efforts to turn around the face of the company and to remain the largest player in the provision of enterprise applications, ASAP AG must drive the process of corporate transformation through developing the new technology product. This must be fused in parallel with the company’s core application business in order to achieve a highly competitive force with continuous profitable market growth.
This is because the market of this industry is characterized by high-tech competition posed by established companies. In the application of the five forces analysis to understand ASAP AG’s case, the development of this new innovative technology must seek to understand the roles of the existing companies, potential new companies, substitute for the products offered, the suppliers, and more importantly, the customers.
Catch-up requires gaining access to and mastering the technologies and forms of economic and social organization used by the leading firms. While ASAP AG has made advanced strides to take advantage of better management of technology and innovation such as the introduction of SAP NetWeaver and the new innovative 7 xApps, actual mechanisms of adopting advanced technology must be explored. The solution should involve taking a broader view of what technology stands for in adopting a strategy that surpasses or matches the leading multinationals. Furthermore, ASAP should adopt the process of catching up in the development of these new technologies. This aims at acquiring different kinds of capabilities that take a different but adjoining path in the whole technological process.
In this view, ASAP stand in a better position in maintaining the lead in the provision of enterprise applications. While all these are geared towards staying competitive, a “symbiotic” arrangement in the introduction of new technology should not be waived aside. This involves technological advances in conjunction with competitors and taking advantage of the gaps competitors have failed to fulfill in the development of their application software. “Once again, managing innovation with a strategy matching the leading multinationals is absolutely crucial for any growing firm currently catching up” (Nelson & Winter, 48).
Execution
To effectively execute the solution strategy that aims at turning around ASAP AG, increase its market share, stay competitive and achieve its targets, the management must underline important parameters. These include the costly nature of the research and its development while balancing the leadership culture and company values. An analysis of the strength of the competitors in developing new technologies that would serve similar purposes to the BPP and 7 xApps would assist in understanding the dynamics of the market.
Furthermore, critical data in the research and development of this technology such as time, its effectiveness, and speed must be taken into account for efficient execution. Kagermann asserts that “time market remains fundamentally important and as such we actually need to be the first in the market to deliver on the promises of the Enterprise Services Architecture, we do not have room to make many mistakes and we must break down the barriers imposed by the old power structure” (Stanford Graduate School of Business, 4).
In the execution of this strategy, Kagermann must take into consideration research into the loopholes available in the provision of enterprise applications to make a timely entry. This is due to the fact that making a very swift move would scare employees and not take care of customers who fail to appreciate the urgency in adopting ASAP’s new technology. Furthermore, coming into the market too slowly would provide the time for the competitors to make headways in the market opportunities. An analysis of the gaps available in this market would then be the perfect tool in determining the exact point of entry and executing the solution to ASAP’s challenges.
Work cited
Stanford Graduate School of Business, SAP AG IN 2006: Driving Corporate Transformation. Leland Stanford Junior University, CA. CASE: SM-153. (2006).3-4.
Nelson, R. and Winter, S. An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, Harvard University Press, 1982. 45-50.