I. Overview
This year marks the first year that we’ve conducted the Developer Insights Survey. We launched this annual survey with the objective of obtaining data that can help us better understand our developer audience so we can improve our educational offerings, understand how developers are currently using our products and tools, determine what developers are working on and how we can help and support them better, and overall, be able to better respond to developers’ evolving needs.
The survey collected data from a total of 3,084 developers We looked at geographical location, age, developer roles and career goals, level of influence and impact on annual revenue. Respondents told us about the tools and technologies they use most often, which projects they’re working on, and how they’re likely to learn. It’s important to note that not all fields were ‘mandatory’ so the results and graphics may not reflect the total number of respondents for every question.
II. Key Takeaways
- 71% of respondents have built integrations or extensions for an SAP ERP system or digital core system in the past twelve months
- 44% of respondents said that they are using some kind of cloud platform at this time
- 36% of respondents indicated an interest in using SAP Cloud Platform in the near future
- 39% of respondents work for larger companies (5,000+ employees)
- 36% of respondents have a direct influence on buying decisions
- 64% of respondents have been members of the community for over 5 years
- On average, respondents indicated that they have 6+ years of experience in SAP related projects
III. Developer Profile
This section contains insights about location, age, years of experience, level of experience and role.
a. Geography
SAP developers are diverse and located across the globe. In our first survey, respondents represented 86 countries with the majority being in Europe (43%) and Asia-Pacific (31%). North America represented a smaller share (12%) as did Latin America (10%) and the Middle East/Africa (4%).
b. Age
A little over two-thirds of developers that took our survey are in the 25-44 years old range.
c. Years of experience
On average, respondents to the survey said that they have 6+ years of experience across a variety of fields.
d. Level of experience
The majority of respondents consider themselves to be at a Professional level regardless of the type of project.
e. Role
The top two roles that the majority of respondents said they identified with are programmers/software developers (40%) and architects (17%).
IV. Work
This section contains insights into industries, company size, relationship with SAP, employment status, career impact, team structure, measurements of project success, culture and core values.
a. Industry
Developers work in a broad cross-section of industries. Approximately 31% of respondents work in software companies and 24% work in manufacturing. The retail, consulting, and energy industries are also well represented with 17% of respondents working in each of these industries.
b. Company Size
Respondents work in companies of all sizes, from small to large enterprise organizations. Roughly 39% work for larger companies (5,000+ employees).
c. Working Relationship with SAP
We found that most respondents work for an SAP partner (44%), an SAP customer (35%), or are independent contractors (24%).
d. Employment Status
The vast majority of respondents said to be Employed (83%) while 13% said to be Self-Employed.
e. Career Impact
Knowledge of SAP products/technologies has been a valuable career booster for many developers, with 40% reporting that the impact has been significant.
f. Team Structure
Survey respondents said that their teams are generally structured according to product/technology (30%) or location (30%). Their teams are also organized by product/technology, with ownership for specific functions on multiple projects (25%) or based on the availability of developer resources andbexperience (24%). The survey also found that 18% of respondents work in cross-functional matrix teams.
g. Project Success
Respondents placed a high value (90%) on the quality of code (e.g. reliability, portability, security, performance, etc.) and usability (86%). However, the companies that they work for seem to place more emphasis on OKRs (58%), delivering on budget and on time (52%), and positive ROI (52%).
h. Culture and Core Values
Respondents noted that several factors defined the attributes and culture of their companies. Among the top three are reaching goals, ongoing learning, and focus on the customer.
V. Technology Adoption
This section highlights the technologies, tools, platforms and programming languages respondents are currently using or are planning to use.
a. Products and Technologies in Use
The ABAP platform was the most popular category among respondents (86%) while SAP Cloud Platform was selected as a strong preference among respondents ‘Planning to use’ an additional technology or product in the future (36%). Only 6% of respondents said to be using SAP Leonardo/Intelligent Technologies.
b. Integrations and Extensions
Respondents indicated that the vast majority of the integration/extension scenarios they are working on are related to ERP and Digital Core (71%).
c. Cloud Platforms
Respondents indicated that 56% of them are not using any kind of cloud platform (neither SAP Cloud Platform nor other Cloud platform providers).
However, when referring to SAP-related projects, SAP Cloud Platform is the top platform being used (435 responses).
d. Programming Languages
The most used language by respondents is ABAP (76%) followed by JavaScript (51%).
VI. Developer Impact and Influence
Respondents indicated that 38% of them are not involved in purchasing decision. However, 36% of respondents said that they make recommendations and/or have a direct influence on IT buying decisions. Additionally, 15% said they were involved in determining the specifications used to guide purchasing decisions.
VII. Community
This section provides a quick overview of the respondent’s interest on community related activities as well as learning preferences.
a. Community Activities
The majority of respondents (64%) indicated that they have been community members for over 5 years.
Among the most valued elements of the Community are developer discussions (66%), questions and answers (52%), as well as newsletters and blog posts (51%).
Approximately 34% said they visit the Community daily, with another 30% visiting weekly. Meanwhile, 18% said they only visit the Community when they need specific information or help.
b. Learning Preferences
Developer community websites and forums (47%) and online tutorials, how-to videos or webinars (46%) were the preferred learning methods for respondents.
VIII. Methodology
The report is based on a survey of 3,084 respondents from 86 countries. The survey ran between November 18, 2019 and January 15, 2020. Qualtrics estimated the time to complete the survey to be 26 minutes. The survey was promoted via the SAP Community website (community.sap.com) and the SAP Developer Center (developers.sap.com), social media, and newsletters.
I. Overview
This year marks the first year that we’ve conducted the Developer Insights Survey. We launched this annual survey with the objective of obtaining data that can help us better understand our developer audience so we can improve our educational offerings, understand how developers are currently using our products and tools, determine what developers are working on and how we can help and support them better, and overall, be able to better respond to developers’ evolving needs.
The survey collected data from a total of 3,084 developers We looked at geographical location, age, developer roles and career goals, level of influence and impact on annual revenue. Respondents told us about the tools and technologies they use most often, which projects they’re working on, and how they’re likely to learn. It’s important to note that not all fields were ‘mandatory’ so the results and graphics may not reflect the total number of respondents for every question.
II. Key Takeaways
- 71% of respondents have built integrations or extensions for an SAP ERP system or digital core system in the past twelve months
- 44% of respondents said that they are using some kind of cloud platform at this time
- 36% of respondents indicated an interest in using SAP Cloud Platform in the near future
- 39% of respondents work for larger companies (5,000+ employees)
- 36% of respondents have a direct influence on buying decisions
- 64% of respondents have been members of the community for over 5 years
- On average, respondents indicated that they have 6+ years of experience in SAP related projects
III. Developer Profile
This section contains insights about location, age, years of experience, level of experience and role.
a. Geography
SAP developers are diverse and located across the globe. In our first survey, respondents represented 86 countries with the majority being in Europe (43%) and Asia-Pacific (31%). North America represented a smaller share (12%) as did Latin America (10%) and the Middle East/Africa (4%).
b. Age
A little over two-thirds of developers that took our survey are in the 25-44 years old range.
c. Years of experience
On average, respondents to the survey said that they have 6+ years of experience across a variety of fields.
d. Level of experience
The majority of respondents consider themselves to be at a Professional level regardless of the type of project.
e. Role
The top two roles that the majority of respondents said they identified with are programmers/software developers (40%) and architects (17%).
IV. Work
This section contains insights into industries, company size, relationship with SAP, employment status, career impact, team structure, measurements of project success, culture and core values.
a. Industry
Developers work in a broad cross-section of industries. Approximately 31% of respondents work in software companies and 24% work in manufacturing. The retail, consulting, and energy industries are also well represented with 17% of respondents working in each of these industries.
b. Company Size
Respondents work in companies of all sizes, from small to large enterprise organizations. Roughly 39% work for larger companies (5,000+ employees).
c. Working Relationship with SAP
We found that most respondents work for an SAP partner (44%), an SAP customer (35%), or are independent contractors (24%).
d. Employment Status
The vast majority of respondents said to be Employed (83%) while 13% said to be Self-Employed.
e. Career Impact
Knowledge of SAP products/technologies has been a valuable career booster for many developers, with 40% reporting that the impact has been significant.
f. Team Structure
Survey respondents said that their teams are generally structured according to product/technology (30%) or location (30%). Their teams are also organized by product/technology, with ownership for specific functions on multiple projects (25%) or based on the availability of developer resources andbexperience (24%). The survey also found that 18% of respondents work in cross-functional matrix teams.
g. Project Success
Respondents placed a high value (90%) on the quality of code (e.g. reliability, portability, security, performance, etc.) and usability (86%). However, the companies that they work for seem to place more emphasis on OKRs (58%), delivering on budget and on time (52%), and positive ROI (52%).
h. Culture and Core Values
Respondents noted that several factors defined the attributes and culture of their companies. Among the top three are reaching goals, ongoing learning, and focus on the customer.
V. Technology Adoption
This section highlights the technologies, tools, platforms and programming languages respondents are currently using or are planning to use.
a. Products and Technologies in Use
The ABAP platform was the most popular category among respondents (86%) while SAP Cloud Platform was selected as a strong preference among respondents ‘Planning to use’ an additional technology or product in the future (36%). Only 6% of respondents said to be using SAP Leonardo/Intelligent Technologies.
b. Integrations and Extensions
Respondents indicated that the vast majority of the integration/extension scenarios they are working on are related to ERP and Digital Core (71%).
c. Cloud Platforms
Respondents indicated that 56% of them are not using any kind of cloud platform (neither SAP Cloud Platform nor other Cloud platform providers).
However, when referring to SAP-related projects, SAP Cloud Platform is the top platform being used (435 responses).
d. Programming Languages
The most used language by respondents is ABAP (76%) followed by JavaScript (51%).
VI. Developer Impact and Influence
Respondents indicated that 38% of them are not involved in purchasing decision. However, 36% of respondents said that they make recommendations and/or have a direct influence on IT buying decisions. Additionally, 15% said they were involved in determining the specifications used to guide purchasing decisions.
VII. Community
This section provides a quick overview of the respondent’s interest on community related activities as well as learning preferences.
a. Community Activities
The majority of respondents (64%) indicated that they have been community members for over 5 years.
Among the most valued elements of the Community are developer discussions (66%), questions and answers (52%), as well as newsletters and blog posts (51%).
Approximately 34% said they visit the Community daily, with another 30% visiting weekly. Meanwhile, 18% said they only visit the Community when they need specific information or help.
b. Learning Preferences
Developer community websites and forums (47%) and online tutorials, how-to videos or webinars (46%) were the preferred learning methods for respondents.
VIII. Methodology
The report is based on a survey of 3,084 respondents from 86 countries. The survey ran between November 18, 2019 and January 15, 2020. Qualtrics estimated the time to complete the survey to be 26 minutes. The survey was promoted via the SAP Community website (community.sap.com) and the SAP Developer Center (developers.sap.com), social media, and newsletters.