How Google inhibits success of SAP ByDesign in Germany

Hard to believe: a false report from 2013  still inhibits the success of one of the best software solutions of the world – and this just in Germany, SAPs home country:

If you search for “sap by design” in the German search engine google.de, the following results appear among the first 10 hits:

Easy to grasp that any prospective client is quickly unsettled – since nobody likes to place a bet on a dead horse! However, this is a false reports – with fatal consequences thanks to Google. Meanwhile, there were numerous corrections by SAP, for example this one:

Also, the solution was migrated to the high-performance HANA database and massively enhanced by additional functionality. But still almost 3 years later, this one web link continues to be popular. Probably, the Google algorithms are to blame, because these measure how often users are clicking this link. From the fact that users frequently click on this incredible message, Google concludes that it must be particularly relevant – and thus it stays on the first result page forever!

Same game for Computerwoche search

Computerwoche, one of the most prominent IT media in Germany, plays the same fatal game. In the search results on their web page www.computerwoche.de, the false reports from 2013 are still displayed prominently, although proven irrelevant long ago. We may ask if they use similar self-fulfilling click algorithms like Google?

Regarding the massive damage for their reputation, why is SAP not pushing the publishers for injunctive relief? I don’t get it.

“The end of Business ByDesign”, an article from October 23, 2013, still appears as second hit:

Eine ähnliche Meldung vom 21.10.2013 erscheint an 6. Stelle:

Golem.de is joining

And that’s not all – also the popular IT online magazine golem.de shows the ancient message right on the top when asking their search engine:

No issues in English: Google.com

By the way – the international search engine google.com does not have these issues. Here, you find only positive reports and articles, together with offers from service providers.

Could this be the reason that the strength of this fantastic Cloud ERP solution was recognized much earlier in anglophone countries? Leading to a number of implementations which is significantly higher.

It is high time that Germany, the motherland of SAP, overcomes this communicative flaw, and embraces the ByDesign solution with open arms, like the rest of the world already does.

Bear in mind: Google is your best friend, but may fail – with fatal consequences!