SAP CEO Christian Klein. Image: SAP SAP says it is ready to lead customers into a cloud-based future, but the business software group may need all its powers of persuasion to convince its 400 000-strong client base to launch a major overhaul of systems in a pandemic. The leading provider of vital enterprise applications from financial management to logistics this week launched its “Rise with SAP” pitch — the result of a strategic pivot announced by CEO Christian Klein last year that stunned markets and caused its biggest share price slump in a generation. Investors baulked at Klein’s abandonment of his mid-term profit targets as SAP winds down its legacy software-licence business, which is profitable and cash generative, replacing it with subscription revenues that are standard for cloud services and are more spread out over time.