Why is it so important to experiment with SAP blokcheyn

Bitcoin's success has prompted technology companies around the world to find new ways of commercial use of its code base.

Was no exception and the German SAP - one of the largest manufacturers in the software market, IBM's development group based in the 70-ies of the last century in Weinheim. And today, the company's programmers began to develop on the basis of blokcheyna applications. These products are already nearly a year and their scope is different: finance, payments, supply chain ...

Like many other developers, the SAP engaged them not because future applications based on blokcheyna seems bright. After meeting with representatives of the company, we could probably assume that they only respond to the growing demand from customers and the enthusiasm of funds wishing to invest in start-ups.

Thus, an analyst at Raymond Gross did not conceal from us their optimism, explaining how the early stages of testing helps customers get the highest code quality standard. At the same time, the company conducts its own policy, and, as we are assured Gross, many things make themselves.

"There are application designed which did not really understand until you start doing them", - Gross explained.
And this constant experiment, which holds the company has already begun to bear fruit.

Many have heard about the partnership kriptovalyutnoy company Ripple and ATB Bank of the US state of Alberta, who managed to make cross-border payments on a new protocol. But not everyone knows that the program part for Ripple wrote it, SAP.
It is with the help of this application C $ 1,000 could be transferred from the US to ATB ReiseBank, whose head office is located in Frankfurt.

Applications for finance and not only

The main priority of SAP has been and remains the supply chain. Research published last year by Gartner shows that SAP accounts for about a quarter of the world market of software for automation of the supply chain.

Raimund Gross, working in SAP from the beginning of zero, named among the other major interests of SAP software in the field of finance and payments. However, he noted that SAP is looking for its software applications and outside the world of finance. In particular, in the field of view of developers includes such areas as applications for energy networks and the entertainment market.

"I see a very good basis for cooperation with physicians, representatives of other human sciences - continued Gross. - In the market there is a shortage of such software. I think that other developers in the future will come to use blokcheyn to need. "

he called self-training machines and artificial intelligence among the most unusual projects of his company, adding that blokcheyn in comparison with these directions is studied "relatively recently".

"We think we need to pay attention to all the promising areas, - he explained. - Therefore, we regularly look out for something interesting outside of financial services, and then study it for a better understanding. "
What's next?
Gross - not the only person in SAP, confident in the prospects of the software on the basis of blokcheyna.

According to John Bertrand, one of the leading banking application developers joined the SAP in 2014, he now sees a revival among developers, and among bankers, ordering their program.

At the same time Bertrand noted that SAP work in this direction has started about fifteen years ago, when the development of the prototype, they had to deal, besides Ripple, from startups such as MarkIt. However, despite significant investments in research blokcheyna, Bertrand stressed that SAP has not yet decided on the destination, which could be a major.

"Now there is a big change, and at such a time is always nice to have something that could give the market with the words:" Hey, look, what a wonderful toy "- so he described the situation, adding: - We are always ready to respond the market demands, but the market should first tell us, here's what the people want. "
However, Bertrand confident that we can already identify areas in which blokcheyn definitely makes sense - for example, cross-border payments (he wrote about it in a post on Finextra). While proponents of the new technology to see the meaning of its effectiveness, the banks, according to Bertrand, make money just on the opposite:

"Banks are really far from effective. They attract the money that you place on their account, and the bank uses your money freely. He can get money for their tasks at 2, 12, 20 or 30 days without having to pay you almost nothing. The main objective of the bank to keep interest rates low, because thanks to this they have a steady stream of cash. But the economy is bad, as all operations are slow. And blokcheyn may help in this case. "
And Bertrand, and Gross believe that ultimately it is important to do for SAP applications people need. "It should be appreciated that applications are still at an early stage of development and testing, - Gross said. - And this is not a marketing ploy, it is - a reality. "

And now, the SAP, according to both experts, goes to self-suggestion of those products and services that customers want to buy.
"If our customers say what they want, we'll do it" - summed up by Bertrand.