A major function of the IT Service concerns computer support for the University Administration, for many years centred on the SAP system:

“Newcastle University has been a longstanding SAP customer. We went live with SAP R/3 (3.1H) in Apr 1999 starting with the Human Resources, Payroll, Logistics (Materials Management and Sales & Distribution) and Accounting (Financial Accounting, Controlling and Project System) modules. In the early 2000s, the University opted to be a customer pilot of Campus Management (now known as Student Lifecycle Management) with several other universities. This joint venture saw participating universities collaborate with SAP and one another to co-create the product we see today, though we have significantly extended the product to meet our business requirements. We upgraded our SAP R/3 system to SAP ERP in 2004. Other notable milestones which added to our SAP portfolio include the ECC Travel Management module (expenses), SAP Customer Relationship Management (prospect/student enquiries), SAP Supplier Relationship Management (procure to pay), and quite recently SuccessFactors (recruiting). Underpinning the Business Suite are a multitude of integrations supported by the NetWeaver Hub systems between SAP, third party systems and business partners.” [From: Newcastle University’s Journey to SAP S/4HANA, by Alan Cecchini, an Enterprise Architect and SAP Development/Architect at Newcastle University (2020).]

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Background:

A Summary History of SAP – (Generated by Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine)

SAP, founded in 1972 by five former IBM engineers in Germany, has grown into the world’s leading provider of enterprise application software, revolutionizing how companies manage and integrate their business processes through innovative technologies.

Early Foundations

The company was established as Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung (System Analysis and Program Development), or SAP. Its founders—Dietmar Hopp, Hasso Plattner, Klaus Tschira, Claus Wellenreuther, and Hans-Werner Hector—sought to develop real-time data processing software for businesses, a revolutionary idea at the time. The first client, Imperial Chemical Industries, commissioned SAP to develop payroll and accounting software leading to the release of SAP RF, later named SAP R/1.

Growth and Innovation

SAP’s defining feature became the integration of business processes and real-time information access, which started gaining traction across Germany and later internationally by the late 1970s. The company released SAP R/2 in 1979, expanding its software capabilities to cover materials management and production planning, establishing itself as a key ERP provider throughout the 1980s.

Global Expansion and Modern Era

SAP went public in 1988, fueling international expansion and innovation, particularly with the game-changing SAP R/3 in 1992, which adopted a client-server architecture and enabled businesses to globalize their operations with modernized ERP solutions. In the 2000s, SAP embraced the internet, mobile, database, and cloud technologies, acquiring several companies to enhance its offerings, such as Business Objects, Sybase, and Ariba. Today, SAP’s products, including SAP S/4HANA and cloud applications with AI and machine learning, serve over 400,000 customers globally, spanning all major industries. SAP, founded in 1972 by five former IBM engineers in Germany, has grown into the world’s leading provider of enterprise application software, revolutionizing how companies manage and integrate their business processes through innovative technologies.