The news that Punit Renjen will replace Dr. Hasso Plattner is already a few days old. In case you missed it, Punit Renjen, Deloitte's former global CEO, will replace Dr. Hasso Plattner as the new SAP chairman. SAPinsider was among the first to report this transition. You can refer to this SAPinsider article for more details. Dr. Hasso Plattner is the only remaining founder still actively engaged as part of SAP leadership and will retire from his position when his current term ends. He has played a significant role in making SAP the enterprise software behemoth it currently is. For those who have followed SAP for decades, Dr. Hasso's retirement is akin to the end of an era. But the end of every era heralds the beginning of a new one. This article will discuss the strategic implications of Punit taking the chairman role. We will analyze why he is an excellent choice for SAP under the current circumstances. A fresh perspective from an outsider In 2006, Ford posted a $12.6 billion loss and was in a complete tailspin. The company tapped Boeing executive Alan Mulally to turn things around. Critics were quick to deride the decision. How could someone with no auto industry experience possibly lead a resurgence? Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford, responded, "Alan will have all the help he needs from inspired car guys. What our inspired car guys need is inspired direction." In the first four years he led Ford, Mulally's strategic thinking created a $19.2 billion swing, for which he was named the CEO of the year in 2011. SAP is fortunately nowhere near where Ford was in 2006. It is still THE leader in enterprise software market. And Punit is no stranger to SAP world either. Punit is no stranger to the software industry, but the fact is that he has spent almost his entire career in the professional services industry. Being an "outsider", he gets an opportunity to view everything from a lens that many within the SAP leadership may not. No one knew SAP's product capabilities better than Hasso, and no one probably ever will. But what Punit now brings to the table is a deep understanding of what those capabilities mean in today's world. He will bring an outsider's perspective on what direction those capabilities need to take, as discussed in the subsequent section. Software is becoming commoditized fast SAP pioneered the world of enterprise software that we see today. However, as we know, the world of enterprise and business software and solutions has changed drastically in the last few decades. If you cut through all the haze, the fact is that no matter how many features and functionalities you add to your software, there will always be a product better than you. Technology evolves at a rapid pace, and business solutions get launched daily. The gist is- software itself is now becoming a commodity. The differentiator is the value you can help create for your clients using your software. And this is where Punit's expertise lies due to this extensive Deloitte experience. For decades, Deloitte has helped clients across industries leverage technology to transform their businesses. Being at the helm of such an organization, Punit understood how clients have innovated by leveraging SAP and competing products. That knowledge, experience, and expertise, combined with his leadership experience, can be game-changing. Along with the young blood of SAP like Christian Klein, Punit can help SAP become what it needs to be (and is already on the path to becoming)- a technology consulting company that helps clients build intelligent, agile, and resilient enterprises leveraging SAP solutions. The diversity angel Punit was born in India and spent his early years there. As many successful technology leaders have demonstrated, diversity of any form brings a whole new perspective to leadership. Empathy is taking center stage as technology evolves to align with rapidly changing customer expectations. Diversity of background brings a variety of views. All these different perspectives combined help organizations understand the needs and wants of the end-users and consumers of technology. This diversity at the top is critical, and Punit brings that.