5 Most Progressive Companies in America

4. SAP SE (NYSE:SAP)

Number of sources that termed the company as progressive: 5

SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) is a Walldorf, Germany-based software company developing enterprise software that aids in managing business operations and customer relations. The company has the distinction of being the world’s biggest enterprise resource planning (ERP) provider.

SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) claims to have 35% female representation in its workforce, while 27% of women occupy a leadership position in the company as of 2022. The company has also accelerated its effort to become a net zero-emission entity by 2030. This reflects a pullback of two decades from the original target. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) has ranked SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) at the top position in the software industry for the past 15 consecutive years.

Brown Capital Management shared its outlook on SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) in its Q3 2022 investor letter. Here’s what the firm said:

“For example, SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) is the world leader in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Its customers generate 87% of total global commerce, and 77% of global transaction revenues touch an SAP system. The deployment of an SAP ERP system can take years and cost millions of dollars. Once deployed, however, an ERP system becomes the central nervous system of an organization, connecting departments such as manufacturing, accounting and sales. Processes and numerous pieces of thirdparty software are typically layered on top of the ERP system, creating an ecosystem that is difficult to dislodge. SAP is transitioning its new and existing clients to the cloud, and despite the macro uncertainty, it grew its cloud backlog by 25% in the most recent quarter. (Backlog represents client work that is yet to be delivered.) SAP generates continuous revenue from its clients via maintenance and subscription fees, and even in difficult times, clients cannot shut down their core ERP software, providing a base of recurring revenue for SAP. All told, predictable revenue is 80% of SAP’s total revenue.”