By Kathy Gibson – Nazia Pillay has been confirmed as the MD of SAP Southern Africa, taking the reins at a particularly crucial time for the IT industry.
Technology has seen exponential leaps over the last couple of years, and Pillay points out that SAP customers have to negotiate not only the dynamic IT landscape but also the changing needs of their own customer bases. And this can be a challenging proposition.
“When you look at our customer base, we play across many industries,” she points out. “And this means they are facing a variety of challenges.”
With many SAP customers being the driving forces in government and industry, they are particularly affected by the economics of the region.
“There is a commonality in Africa, especially around the economics of the situation, with the region having seen lower GDP increases,” she points out. “So many of our conversations with customers are around the pressure that’s putting on their organisations.”
While not everyone is affected by these slowdowns, it is definitely a message that has become more common. And South African customers have their own set of challenges as well.
“What is important to note is how we support them in whatever circumstances they find themselves,” Pillay says.
“Under pressure, many customers are looking to be more prudent in their spending. They are looking to defensive spending, where they can address the cost optimisation they need to, while balancing the flexibility and agility that will keep them from becoming stagnant and irrelevant in the market.
“To help them address these challenges, SAP puts forward the case for value, where our solutions can support them in running efficiently, while unlocking ways to optimise their systems and address new revenue streams,” Pillay explains.
“We need to be in the level of discussion with customers that requires some kind of partnership. We don’t want to talk about a list of our products, but prioritise and address customer pain points and address them effectively.
“It needs to go beyond a technology discussion into a business enablement discussion.”
Indeed, Pillay explains that the real transformation at SAP has been in moving from being a technology provider to a trusted business adviser.
“We need to be entering the conversation much earlier, because technology cannot be an afterthought when you are talking about transformation.”
At the same time, it’s important to listen carefully to customer requirements to ensure any transformation is relevant and respectful, she adds.
Newer technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing are a key part of any IT conversation these days, and SAP has fully embraced these within its business applications.
A recent report found that AI could revolutionise Africa’s economy and contribute as much as $2,9-trillion to the continent’s economy by the end of this decade.
Research conducted by SAP found widespread challenges with access to AI and other tech skills throughout East, West and Southern Africa. According to SAP’s ‘Africa’s AI Skills Readiness Revealed’ report, six in ten African organisations view AI skills as ‘extremely important’ to their success.
However, all companies surveyed expected to experience some AI-related skills gap in 2025, with nine in ten saying a lack of AI skills is already hurting their organisations through failed innovation initiatives, delays in implementations, and an inability to take on new work.
“We are seeing a fundamentally new technology environment, with capabilities that businesses didn’t have even five years ago,” Pillay says. “I avoid buzzwords, but some of the things we see today would have been unfathomable even five or 10 years ago.
“I like to get into the detail of how these capabilities can help our customers.”
However, she cautions that the adoption of new technologies needs to be from a strong foundation.
“You cannot be grasping at aspirational technologies if the backbone isn’t strong. So platforming is a discussion we need to have, in order to create agility for today’s needs and also the needs of tomorrow.”
Pillay adds that many of SAP’s customers form the bedrock of South Africa’s economy. “SAP might not be the biggest company in South Africa, but we are the backbone of many of the country’s largest organisations.
“This is an extreme privilege, but also a huge responsibility.
“It’s why I think it is super important that we engage customers as strategic partners; so we are helping them to align their strategies so we can grow the South African economy, retain employment and support their success.”
Partnering is a key pillar of SAP’s strategy, Pillay adds, but the organisation is first and foremost customer-centric.
“We always keep the customer at the centre of what we do. We ensure that our executives are getting out there into the customer base, addressing their concerns and ensuring they have a voice.”
The SAP partner base continues to be a focus, and SAP continues to grow and mature the partnering ecosystem. “One of the pillars of SAP’s global strategy is to support the partner base. So we have global strategies to help and guide partners in implementing end-to-end offerings to customers.”
Internally at SAP, the new technology landscape has required some adjustments too.
“We have gone from on-premises to cloud, and now to business AI,” Pillay points out. “We have to be able to talk around this narrative. Bearing in mind we help to run all of these companies, and all of the granular business data, we need to be able to talk about the value of platforming correctly.
“We have to look at how we strategise, so we are able articulate our solutions and then message them into the business base.”
Partnering with some of the biggest organisations in the South African economy is a challenging – and humbling – position to be in, Pillay adds.
“Together we own the platforms that all the data runs on. And the next level of generative AI (GenAI) is based on that data.”
Skills development
Companies are increasingly investing in upskilling and reskilling their workforces to meet the demands of a rapidly changing business and technology landscape. “Our research found that nearly half (48%) of African organisations consider upskilling their employees a top skills-related challenge this year,” Pillay says.
“As the pressure to build greater skills depth mounts on companies, vendors such as SAP can be invaluable partners, providing insight, expertise and technical capabilities that help drive successful innovation and transformation.”
With challenges and opportunities abounding in the South African context, SAP is particularly invested in skills development and job creation.
SAP’s Educate to Employ programme, in partnership with Unicef, aims to educate youngsters between the ages of 16 and 24 on soft skills and SAP skills, to help kickstart their careers.
The Young Professional’s Programme helps candidates with a university degree to gain work-ready SAP skills and gain employment. They also assist them with placements within the partner ecosystem and SAP customers.
In addition, social sabbaticals is a programme where SAP employees can work with businesses to help and share their skills, helping them to build their own skills and develop business plans.
Basic education is the final pillar, with bursaries offered to deserving students. This includes a programme specifically focused on young women.
SAP also ensures that its own staff members are continually upskilled.
On a personal note
Having achieved the top position at SAP Southern Africa, Pillay reflects that it’s not something she thought would happen when she started her career.
“I have been very lucky to take over this role, and grateful for the support of both SAP leadership and the team on the ground.
“I am home-grown – SAP is the only company I have ever worked for – so I think many of my colleagues see themselves in my journey. I have been very lucky to have the support of company leaders and colleagues.
“At the same time, I feel the burden of responsibility to ensure we do the right things for customers and teams in the organisation.
“There are 280 people and their extended families in South Africa alone that we take care of. That is a good contribution to what is a very challenging employment market at the moment.”
She offers young women who may see themselves in her journey some advice: “The main thing is to be true to yourself. Take on as much information as possible and always look for both formal and informal mentors. They will help you to grow your perspective over time. Mentorship is key to your career growth, so look for the people who can help you grow and cherish what they teach you.”