About 40% of our global R&D workforce is in India: Sindhu Gangadharan

Gangadharan emphasises India's strategic importance for SAP's growth and innovation

With a talent pool of 13,000, half skilled in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, SAP Labs India is becoming a global AI hub for SAP’s worldwide customers. Headquartered in Bengaluru, it specialises in custom and multi-agent AI technologies to drive business transformation. As SAP’s second-largest research and development (R&D hub), it develops solutions that set new digital transformation standards for SAP’s 450,000 customers. Sindhu Gangadharan, managing director and head of customer innovation services, in conversation with Peerzada Abrar, emphasises India’s strategic importance for SAP’s growth and innovation. Edited excerpts:

You were recently appointed as chairperson by the information technology industry body Nasscom. What are your priorities and transformations that you aim to bring?
 

India is poised to grow based on the strengths we have, such as talent, tech savviness, and consumption. We have seen remarkable growth in global capability centres (GCCs) in India.

From a technology industry revenue perspective, we are seeing nearly $254 billion, reflecting a 3.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth.

For the domestic technology sector, we expect around $54 billion in revenue, which represents a 5.8 per cent Y-o-Y growth.

India, with our technological expertise and talent, is an attractive destination for GCCs looking to expand or establish a base. Engineering, research and development, startups, intellectual property (IP) creation, and employment are other key focus areas.

You mentioned India is well-positioned to spearhead large-scale digital transformations that are sustainable and inclusive.

Beyond talent, India also possesses considerable consumption power. Our domestic revenue stands at roughly $54 billion and continues to grow. For many organisations, including SAP, India represents a strategic growth location — not only from a tech talent perspective but also in terms of market opportunity.

I believe there is no other industry body that can boast of such collaboration as we see with Nasscom in India. While we may be strong competitors outside, we come together at the table to determine the best course of action for the industry.

What is the role of SAP Labs India in the technology ecosystem and building innovations?
 

India is one of our most strategic locations for SAP in terms of investment, growth, and market opportunity. It is the largest R&D hub outside of our headquarters. Approximately 40 per cent of our global R&D workforce is based in India, developing innovations for the world. We continue to grow as a talent hub and are developing our second campus in Bengaluru.

This November, the entire supervisory board and the executive board of SAP will visit India to make critical decisions on investments and plans for SAP overall.

What are these investments and expansion plans?
 

This year, we will continue to hire between 1,200 and 1,800 people. For a product organisation, these are impressive figures.

For me, growth is not just about numbers; it is also about the innovations generated from this location for the world.

In terms of IP creation, 25 per cent of the global patents filed by SAP originate from this location.

Are there any major government opportunities you are exploring?
 

We are actively collaborating with various state governments and the central government. There are tremendous opportunities across a variety of use cases. We localise many of our solutions for the Indian context.

For example, we were the first to develop a comprehensive e-invoicing solution for India, as well as the goods and services tax (GST) capabilities. Imagine having all GST functionalities integrated into a core enterprise resource planning system — this has a massive impact on adoption.

How do you view the adoption of generative AI and its impact on businesses?
 

We are fundamentally reimagining how business models can be changed, enhancing customer experiences tailored to specific needs and altering how end users interact with systems. If we consider the economic impact of generative AI alone, we estimate that it will generate $4.1 trillion in economic value over the next three years. About 77 per cent of the world’s transaction revenue interacts with an SAP system.