SAP’s purpose: Make the world better
Published May 22, 2018 00:00 am
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Updated May 22, 2018 00:00 am
By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Edler Panlilio
Managing Director
SAP PHILIPPINES Edler Panlilio is an IT industry stalwart all these years moving from one company to another as his skills and capabilities grow over the years. Edler, who hails from Pampanga, knew what he was up to in this industry. All those years, he had set eyes to become the top boss at SAP, the world’s leading IT company. And he did. As managing director of SAP Philippines, Edler has spearheaded in further cementing the leadership and reach of SAP, engraining it and endearing it to the youth. While SAP enjoys good business in the country, he insists that SAP is not just selling IT products and systems, but it has a purpose beyond business: To make the world run better. Stalwart Aside from being an MD for SAP Philippines, Edler is also a member of the senior executive team for SAP Southeast Asia (SEA). He is responsible for leading and driving business growth and operations in the Philippines, building on the 22-year establishment of SAP in the country. A 20-year veteran of the IT industry, having assumed positions in almost every part of the Information Technology spectrum. Edler creates values for customers by maintaining a consultative mind when helping customers transform digitally. Edler joined SAP in 2013 and handled previous positions such as Senior Director of Key Accounts managing a combined sales force of Key Account Managers, Cloud Specialists, Platform and CRM Specialists focused on the top customers of SAP in the Philippines. “I’ve been around this industry for 20 years already,” says Edler, who started his career in IT with Advance Online Systems before joining Hewlett Packard in 1998 and on to become a telco business unit chief at a young age of 27. He was pirated by Logica, a British systems integrator, in 2000. He joined Sun Microsystems until 2004 and then on to Veritas software which became Symantec. He moved up further to become the Oracle country manager before joining SAP. On the average, Edler must have spent 4-5 years in each of these IT enterprises. That “5-year itch” might just end now that he has finally achieved his goal. “If I break that 5-year itch, then SAP would be my longest and I intend it to be my longest. If I have my way, this is where I will retire,” says Edler. This is largely because he believes in SAP in all his heart even before he joined the company. “Only a few organizations put value on purpose which is bigger than life which is really something beyond yourself,” says Edler. Edler cited of SAP’s vision of a “Better World” as a very powerful purpose. “It is not all about selling, but how we impact on different businesses. We are engaging and we are the only company with that kind of fulfillment where selling something does not end there, but growing and making the change, driving people and change the society. That is very fulfilling.” Investing in people SAP has been an industry leader, not just globally, but also in this country. This German company started operations in the country 22 years ago, growing the domestic organization to a total of 1,800 direct employees, almost equal to its Singapore office. The Germany-listed public company has been investing in the Philippines especially in its people. “We invested in the Philippines in people and the fact that we’ve been in the market for the last 22 years that already gives you an idea of how we sustain the business,” says Edler noting that SAP globally invested in 25 industries, most of which are relevant to the Philippines. The company, however, has focused its business locally on retail, telco, utilities, and public sector. As in any industries, SAP’s growth is also dependent on the country’s economy. The Philippine economy though is on a growth trajectory. He expressed hope that the domestic economy’s growth, which is the second fastest in Asia, will be sustained. “That gives us a big motivation to invest in the future,” he adds. So far, as much as 90 percent of top ten companies or 9 out of 10 in the country are using SAP. But Edler said there are also niche players in an open economy so everybody can participate. “The prospects are good as good as the prospects of the domestic economy and if we are growing steadily with GDP of 6-7 percent that will translate to revenue growth also,” he adds. University alliances In the midst of this growth is a digital transformation that is now disrupting businesses. This must be supported by qualified people. “When we go into the digital transformation and there are no people to support the technologies, there is the likelihood of stagnation,” Edler says. This is the reason that SAP Philippines is investing and expanding as an organization, preparing themselves to create the workforce of the future. SAP University Alliances seeks to build talent for the digital future. It is a global program enabling more than 3,500 educational institutions in over 113 countries to integrate the latest SAP technologies into teaching. Learning resources on SAP Leonardo and other SAP solutions enhance how faculty prepare the next generation with knowledge and skills for the digital future. SAP is unique in its approach in the Philippines as it continues to cultivate the youth of the land through its University Alliance program, which now encompasses 15 different universities in the country, providing training for students. Part of the program is also making sure that they introduce relevant IT subjects of the school’s curriculum. Schools have to subscribe to it, but for a very minimal fee. This is to make younger students aware of technology and proper use of it. With the K to 12 educational system, it is now incumbent upon organizations to prepare for their respective tracks. “So, we thought that by helping immerse these young students, we might influence them to get that track in IT once they proceed to the university,” he adds. In fact, SAP has another program called Young Professional Program where they invest in training and certification for like data analytics, program development to prepare young Filipinos for respective IT work. SAP is most aggressive in pushing themselves into the academe and into the lives of students with their push for IT inclusion in the school’s curriculum “because we are investing in sustainability.” Edler noted that the Philippines is in the digital transformation curb and there is a mismatch with the skills of the young workforce and the needs of industries. There used to be a big gap, but that mismatch or the lack of IT professionals in the country has been addressed or being addressed still. Edler cited the need to constantly update the workforce of the new technologies so they will stay relevant and SAP is responding by bridging the gap for emerging technologies. “If we do not start cultivating interest in IT, then chances are these resources will just go to other countries because you have to have people who understand data analytics to help address business issues. With data analysis, businesses become more efficient and profitable.” The program runs for 3 months and students are given certification. On graduation day, SAP invites their partner firms. At one point, 70 percent of the graduates were given job offers. Data scientists are the most in demand resource in the future, making data scientists to comprise majority of the workforce in the future. “Data is the new currency,” he stresses. So, in the future companies must have their data and extract information from these data. But, to do that you need data scientists, making this profession the most in demand IT profession in the future. “That is already happening now,” says Edler noting that in the past people who graduated from liberal arts think that their career path was to become lawyers or historians, but today these graduates of liberal arts are people who will become data scientists if they start incorporating technologies. SAP has experienced substantial inflows of applicants in their IT program. Some of them have found their way into prestigious IT companies. Already, schools and companies are now reaching out to SAP for partnership because companies need this kind of skills. Aside from the certification, SAP students are also taught soft skills as added value to better prepare them to face audience and conquer their fears. Edler said that SAP’s next focus is to go outside of Metro Manila because there are excellent schools in Visayas and Mindanao. In 2017, SAP launched its Young Professional Program (YPP), its flagship program for young students in Southeast Asia. Developed by the SAP Training and Development Institute, the program is designed to expose selected candidates to SAP technologies. In line with broadening the digital skill of the candidates, the program also aims to provide support for sustainable employment opportunities upon graduation. YPP was piloted in Indonesia and the Philippines. After the program, students will receive certification on a set of SAP’s solutions that focus primarily on the company’s latest innovations. There is only one thing that Edler would like to stress is how SAP Philippines has become very obvious as the only subsidiary in southeast Asia that is focusing on the market and people. That could be an indication of how good they are as a subsidiary. Purpose SAP has big ambitions, transcending its own business. Its vision and mission is to help the world run better. When organizations and industries become stronger, Edler said, this will impact on people’s lives because of increased productivity and more employment as people become technology savvy. “See the purpose is very strong that is why I talked to an audience in the Philippines, I always say that I have a specific challenge ‘help me make every Filipino company run better so it can help every Filipino’,” he adds. This makes SAP Philippines the only SAP subsidiary in southeast Asia that is really investing in people aside from the market. “In the Philippines, we are not only selling and promoting products but also investing in people,” he reiterates. According to Edler, there is no stopping the growth trend but if companies do not adopt then they risk becoming irrelevant. The main challenge of the industry though is still the perceived lack of data analysts or scientists. “We have technologies to mine information whether manufacturing, retail, automotive but then again while we mine data but if it does not provide any insightful information to management for them to address competition then that data is just sitting there because no one is analyzing,” he adds. Edler has always aspire for further expansion of the local unit. “For me, probably our ultimate goal is to make the subsidiary one of the laboratories of SAP in the world where you harness different technologies of SAP,” he says noting how the Philippines has become a combination of a lot of different services such as sales, services and shared services. He sees the potential of the Philippines given the many Filipino developers abroad in Silicon Valley and probably in Germany, too. SAP’s software development centers are in Germany, China, India and Brazil. According to Edler, the Philippines has the same profile as Brazil before Brazil becomes what it is today in the SAP world. “Am going to work on that as long as I stay in SAP,” adds Edler, who as a young IT professional always looked up to SAP as his dream job. He was so enamored and challenged by SAP that he did not doubt to someday become the top leader in the Philippine organization. “I think the perceived leadership enticed me to work with this company and number two it was more of my own personal aspiration because I always wanted to become managing director of SAP,” he adds. “That is the power of visualization,” says Edler, who believes he has a calling in the IT industry. His first love was computer science, but he also finished Bachelor of Science in Economics so he first worked with banks before he became part of sales force of a telco company that paved the way for his reintroduction into the IT industry. “From that day, I never left IT because I’ve always wanted to be relevant,” he adds noting he could have ended being irrelevant had he stayed with the banking industry. Edler did not only witness the digital evolution of the Philippines, but an active participant of it. He also finds the IT industry more fulfilling as his company helps organizations and companies make their systems run better and see changes happening as companies automate. For instance, a school that automates their enrollment processes has made life of a student simpler with registration being done in minutes than what used to be two to three days. He cited the productivity and savings which in turn are being invested to improve other facilities and quality of teachers. The same scenario is applicable in retail, manufacturing and telcos. When companies become more productive they can sustain business, become more profitable, create more employment opportunities and Filipinos become more competitive in the global market. “Companies don’t just compete domestically, but compete with everyone so it is imperative upon us industry players to become at par with the best of the world,” says Edler as he cited several Filipino firms, which have gone abroad to invest. “I think this will not stop because as companies become bigger and more relevant in their respective industries globally, their clients become global and clients are the core of the organization,” adds Edler. In the Philippines, it is always that bandwagon effect so it pays to be invested clearly ahead. In its case, SAP is a pioneer in the country. SAP is number one in the country in ERP solutions. Openness As a manager, Edler’s management style is characterized by openness and being motivational. “Whatever my people went through, the routes, the pains, are challenges, I’ve had that over the last 20 years. So, I tell them don’t be discouraged these are growth pains and everyone who has managed to go up there has always been somewhere down there once upon a time,” says Edler, who loves to play golf occasionally since time is now a luxury at SAP. The father of three kids – 8, 14 and two-year olds – prefers to spend more time with family. He spends more time with his 14-year-old daughter who is the country’s bet for 2020 Winter Olympics for figure skating competition. So, if he is not in the skating rink watching his daughter, he is just with family reading books or traveling. The most important lesson he learned in the past 20 years in business is about being patient. When he was younger, he had a hard time controlling his temper because he was always in a hurry to get there. “But challenges taught me to put on the brakes and reassess things and that’s when I told myself I will get there am just 28. I see managers close to that age and told them to learn everything they can so they can be prepared to face challenges and not succumb to giving up after investing so much,” he adds. His advice to early talents with no experience yet to go for mentorship as he himself was a product of effective mentorship. “I mentored a lot because that is ingrained in SAP. When you are a leader, they look up to you as their mentor. It is part of the process of how to develop,” he adds. Edler himself has gained enough confidence that he aspires for higher positions at SAP regionally, perhaps. Part of SAP’s mission is to be able to give back to society. SAP has this so-called Social Sabbatical Program where they immerse employees to certain social enterprises in a particular country and help these organizations with regards to their objectives and missions. In the Philippines, SAP helps social enterprise Messy Bessy, a non-profit non-governmental organization whose employees are marginalized members of the society. These people at SAP help the systems of the enterprise automate their processes in their payroll and inventory thereby improving efficiency so they can be productive, profitable and sustainable. Now, Messy Bessy has become mainstream from the bazaars to the shelves in major supermarkets. SAP is also proud of its 1 million lives program. The Philippines has always been selected around the world of SAP and granted a certain funding to work on a particular project that impact the lives within a society where the organization is operating. The Philippines has always been part of this program, which seeks to impact a million lives by 2020. “This is other side of SAP, the heart of SAP,” says Edler.
Edler PanlilioManaging Director
SAP PHILIPPINES Edler Panlilio is an IT industry stalwart all these years moving from one company to another as his skills and capabilities grow over the years. Edler, who hails from Pampanga, knew what he was up to in this industry. All those years, he had set eyes to become the top boss at SAP, the world’s leading IT company. And he did. As managing director of SAP Philippines, Edler has spearheaded in further cementing the leadership and reach of SAP, engraining it and endearing it to the youth. While SAP enjoys good business in the country, he insists that SAP is not just selling IT products and systems, but it has a purpose beyond business: To make the world run better. Stalwart Aside from being an MD for SAP Philippines, Edler is also a member of the senior executive team for SAP Southeast Asia (SEA). He is responsible for leading and driving business growth and operations in the Philippines, building on the 22-year establishment of SAP in the country. A 20-year veteran of the IT industry, having assumed positions in almost every part of the Information Technology spectrum. Edler creates values for customers by maintaining a consultative mind when helping customers transform digitally. Edler joined SAP in 2013 and handled previous positions such as Senior Director of Key Accounts managing a combined sales force of Key Account Managers, Cloud Specialists, Platform and CRM Specialists focused on the top customers of SAP in the Philippines. “I’ve been around this industry for 20 years already,” says Edler, who started his career in IT with Advance Online Systems before joining Hewlett Packard in 1998 and on to become a telco business unit chief at a young age of 27. He was pirated by Logica, a British systems integrator, in 2000. He joined Sun Microsystems until 2004 and then on to Veritas software which became Symantec. He moved up further to become the Oracle country manager before joining SAP. On the average, Edler must have spent 4-5 years in each of these IT enterprises. That “5-year itch” might just end now that he has finally achieved his goal. “If I break that 5-year itch, then SAP would be my longest and I intend it to be my longest. If I have my way, this is where I will retire,” says Edler. This is largely because he believes in SAP in all his heart even before he joined the company. “Only a few organizations put value on purpose which is bigger than life which is really something beyond yourself,” says Edler. Edler cited of SAP’s vision of a “Better World” as a very powerful purpose. “It is not all about selling, but how we impact on different businesses. We are engaging and we are the only company with that kind of fulfillment where selling something does not end there, but growing and making the change, driving people and change the society. That is very fulfilling.” Investing in people SAP has been an industry leader, not just globally, but also in this country. This German company started operations in the country 22 years ago, growing the domestic organization to a total of 1,800 direct employees, almost equal to its Singapore office. The Germany-listed public company has been investing in the Philippines especially in its people. “We invested in the Philippines in people and the fact that we’ve been in the market for the last 22 years that already gives you an idea of how we sustain the business,” says Edler noting that SAP globally invested in 25 industries, most of which are relevant to the Philippines. The company, however, has focused its business locally on retail, telco, utilities, and public sector. As in any industries, SAP’s growth is also dependent on the country’s economy. The Philippine economy though is on a growth trajectory. He expressed hope that the domestic economy’s growth, which is the second fastest in Asia, will be sustained. “That gives us a big motivation to invest in the future,” he adds. So far, as much as 90 percent of top ten companies or 9 out of 10 in the country are using SAP. But Edler said there are also niche players in an open economy so everybody can participate. “The prospects are good as good as the prospects of the domestic economy and if we are growing steadily with GDP of 6-7 percent that will translate to revenue growth also,” he adds. University alliances In the midst of this growth is a digital transformation that is now disrupting businesses. This must be supported by qualified people. “When we go into the digital transformation and there are no people to support the technologies, there is the likelihood of stagnation,” Edler says. This is the reason that SAP Philippines is investing and expanding as an organization, preparing themselves to create the workforce of the future. SAP University Alliances seeks to build talent for the digital future. It is a global program enabling more than 3,500 educational institutions in over 113 countries to integrate the latest SAP technologies into teaching. Learning resources on SAP Leonardo and other SAP solutions enhance how faculty prepare the next generation with knowledge and skills for the digital future. SAP is unique in its approach in the Philippines as it continues to cultivate the youth of the land through its University Alliance program, which now encompasses 15 different universities in the country, providing training for students. Part of the program is also making sure that they introduce relevant IT subjects of the school’s curriculum. Schools have to subscribe to it, but for a very minimal fee. This is to make younger students aware of technology and proper use of it. With the K to 12 educational system, it is now incumbent upon organizations to prepare for their respective tracks. “So, we thought that by helping immerse these young students, we might influence them to get that track in IT once they proceed to the university,” he adds. In fact, SAP has another program called Young Professional Program where they invest in training and certification for like data analytics, program development to prepare young Filipinos for respective IT work. SAP is most aggressive in pushing themselves into the academe and into the lives of students with their push for IT inclusion in the school’s curriculum “because we are investing in sustainability.” Edler noted that the Philippines is in the digital transformation curb and there is a mismatch with the skills of the young workforce and the needs of industries. There used to be a big gap, but that mismatch or the lack of IT professionals in the country has been addressed or being addressed still. Edler cited the need to constantly update the workforce of the new technologies so they will stay relevant and SAP is responding by bridging the gap for emerging technologies. “If we do not start cultivating interest in IT, then chances are these resources will just go to other countries because you have to have people who understand data analytics to help address business issues. With data analysis, businesses become more efficient and profitable.” The program runs for 3 months and students are given certification. On graduation day, SAP invites their partner firms. At one point, 70 percent of the graduates were given job offers. Data scientists are the most in demand resource in the future, making data scientists to comprise majority of the workforce in the future. “Data is the new currency,” he stresses. So, in the future companies must have their data and extract information from these data. But, to do that you need data scientists, making this profession the most in demand IT profession in the future. “That is already happening now,” says Edler noting that in the past people who graduated from liberal arts think that their career path was to become lawyers or historians, but today these graduates of liberal arts are people who will become data scientists if they start incorporating technologies. SAP has experienced substantial inflows of applicants in their IT program. Some of them have found their way into prestigious IT companies. Already, schools and companies are now reaching out to SAP for partnership because companies need this kind of skills. Aside from the certification, SAP students are also taught soft skills as added value to better prepare them to face audience and conquer their fears. Edler said that SAP’s next focus is to go outside of Metro Manila because there are excellent schools in Visayas and Mindanao. In 2017, SAP launched its Young Professional Program (YPP), its flagship program for young students in Southeast Asia. Developed by the SAP Training and Development Institute, the program is designed to expose selected candidates to SAP technologies. In line with broadening the digital skill of the candidates, the program also aims to provide support for sustainable employment opportunities upon graduation. YPP was piloted in Indonesia and the Philippines. After the program, students will receive certification on a set of SAP’s solutions that focus primarily on the company’s latest innovations. There is only one thing that Edler would like to stress is how SAP Philippines has become very obvious as the only subsidiary in southeast Asia that is focusing on the market and people. That could be an indication of how good they are as a subsidiary. Purpose SAP has big ambitions, transcending its own business. Its vision and mission is to help the world run better. When organizations and industries become stronger, Edler said, this will impact on people’s lives because of increased productivity and more employment as people become technology savvy. “See the purpose is very strong that is why I talked to an audience in the Philippines, I always say that I have a specific challenge ‘help me make every Filipino company run better so it can help every Filipino’,” he adds. This makes SAP Philippines the only SAP subsidiary in southeast Asia that is really investing in people aside from the market. “In the Philippines, we are not only selling and promoting products but also investing in people,” he reiterates. According to Edler, there is no stopping the growth trend but if companies do not adopt then they risk becoming irrelevant. The main challenge of the industry though is still the perceived lack of data analysts or scientists. “We have technologies to mine information whether manufacturing, retail, automotive but then again while we mine data but if it does not provide any insightful information to management for them to address competition then that data is just sitting there because no one is analyzing,” he adds. Edler has always aspire for further expansion of the local unit. “For me, probably our ultimate goal is to make the subsidiary one of the laboratories of SAP in the world where you harness different technologies of SAP,” he says noting how the Philippines has become a combination of a lot of different services such as sales, services and shared services. He sees the potential of the Philippines given the many Filipino developers abroad in Silicon Valley and probably in Germany, too. SAP’s software development centers are in Germany, China, India and Brazil. According to Edler, the Philippines has the same profile as Brazil before Brazil becomes what it is today in the SAP world. “Am going to work on that as long as I stay in SAP,” adds Edler, who as a young IT professional always looked up to SAP as his dream job. He was so enamored and challenged by SAP that he did not doubt to someday become the top leader in the Philippine organization. “I think the perceived leadership enticed me to work with this company and number two it was more of my own personal aspiration because I always wanted to become managing director of SAP,” he adds. “That is the power of visualization,” says Edler, who believes he has a calling in the IT industry. His first love was computer science, but he also finished Bachelor of Science in Economics so he first worked with banks before he became part of sales force of a telco company that paved the way for his reintroduction into the IT industry. “From that day, I never left IT because I’ve always wanted to be relevant,” he adds noting he could have ended being irrelevant had he stayed with the banking industry. Edler did not only witness the digital evolution of the Philippines, but an active participant of it. He also finds the IT industry more fulfilling as his company helps organizations and companies make their systems run better and see changes happening as companies automate. For instance, a school that automates their enrollment processes has made life of a student simpler with registration being done in minutes than what used to be two to three days. He cited the productivity and savings which in turn are being invested to improve other facilities and quality of teachers. The same scenario is applicable in retail, manufacturing and telcos. When companies become more productive they can sustain business, become more profitable, create more employment opportunities and Filipinos become more competitive in the global market. “Companies don’t just compete domestically, but compete with everyone so it is imperative upon us industry players to become at par with the best of the world,” says Edler as he cited several Filipino firms, which have gone abroad to invest. “I think this will not stop because as companies become bigger and more relevant in their respective industries globally, their clients become global and clients are the core of the organization,” adds Edler. In the Philippines, it is always that bandwagon effect so it pays to be invested clearly ahead. In its case, SAP is a pioneer in the country. SAP is number one in the country in ERP solutions. Openness As a manager, Edler’s management style is characterized by openness and being motivational. “Whatever my people went through, the routes, the pains, are challenges, I’ve had that over the last 20 years. So, I tell them don’t be discouraged these are growth pains and everyone who has managed to go up there has always been somewhere down there once upon a time,” says Edler, who loves to play golf occasionally since time is now a luxury at SAP. The father of three kids – 8, 14 and two-year olds – prefers to spend more time with family. He spends more time with his 14-year-old daughter who is the country’s bet for 2020 Winter Olympics for figure skating competition. So, if he is not in the skating rink watching his daughter, he is just with family reading books or traveling. The most important lesson he learned in the past 20 years in business is about being patient. When he was younger, he had a hard time controlling his temper because he was always in a hurry to get there. “But challenges taught me to put on the brakes and reassess things and that’s when I told myself I will get there am just 28. I see managers close to that age and told them to learn everything they can so they can be prepared to face challenges and not succumb to giving up after investing so much,” he adds. His advice to early talents with no experience yet to go for mentorship as he himself was a product of effective mentorship. “I mentored a lot because that is ingrained in SAP. When you are a leader, they look up to you as their mentor. It is part of the process of how to develop,” he adds. Edler himself has gained enough confidence that he aspires for higher positions at SAP regionally, perhaps. Part of SAP’s mission is to be able to give back to society. SAP has this so-called Social Sabbatical Program where they immerse employees to certain social enterprises in a particular country and help these organizations with regards to their objectives and missions. In the Philippines, SAP helps social enterprise Messy Bessy, a non-profit non-governmental organization whose employees are marginalized members of the society. These people at SAP help the systems of the enterprise automate their processes in their payroll and inventory thereby improving efficiency so they can be productive, profitable and sustainable. Now, Messy Bessy has become mainstream from the bazaars to the shelves in major supermarkets. SAP is also proud of its 1 million lives program. The Philippines has always been selected around the world of SAP and granted a certain funding to work on a particular project that impact the lives within a society where the organization is operating. The Philippines has always been part of this program, which seeks to impact a million lives by 2020. “This is other side of SAP, the heart of SAP,” says Edler.