A Return to SAP Concur—at the Best Moment Possible

I’m excited to once again be part of the SAP family—now as head of SAP Concur market strategy—although, in many ways, I feel like I never left. I have a long history with SAP Concur, going back to 2001 when I served as a product marketing manager well before Concur was acquired by SAP. In fact, this is the second time I’ve boomeranged back to the company.

It’s because I love our industry. I love the people—at SAP, SAP Concur, and our partners and customers. I love our mission of reinventing travel, expense, and invoice management to create better experiences. That purpose resonates with me. At a time when companies are consciously refining their approach to employee travel and business expenses, and when SAP Concur is best positioned in the market for a new chapter of growth and innovation, I know that this is the perfect moment for me to return.

At SAP, we continue to be ranked #1 in travel and expense (T&E) technology, with 49% total market share according to the latest report from IDC. We have the only truly integrated global T&E platform, and Concur Travel is the largest online booking tool (OBT). Our depth of experience and our scale enable us to keep on top of continuously evolving global complexities and compliance requirements, from digital tax compliance to receipt handling to validation for tax reclaim purposes. SAP Concur solutions empower customers with confidence, flexibility, and the options that they demand.

IDC Worldwide Travel and Expense Management Software Market Shares, 2021

SAP continues to be ranked #1 in travel and expense (T&E) technology, with 49% total 2021 market share. 

Read the report

Consider the challenges and the changes that the corporate travel industry faces as it reinvents itself for a more sustainable future. Our fourth annual Global Business Travel Survey found that almost all business travelers (94%) plan to take steps over the next 12 months to reduce the environmental impact of their business travel. Employees also expect their company to support these efforts, as 92% of business travelers would like to see sustainability information incorporated into their company’s booking tools. Given the increased importance of operating sustainably, potentially within an adjusted travel budget, this is the moment for companies to turn intention into action.

In addition, companies’ digital transformation efforts continue to progress while they place a premium on improved employee experiences and access to decision-making insights. This is driving increasing demand for data management and automation technology. Organizations require enterprise-grade, global solutions that address complex travel, expense, and invoice workflows and needs of users, delivering a connected, seamless experience. In fact, according to an SAP Concur pulse survey conducted earlier this year, 100% of U.S. finance managers expect their company to make financial technology investments in 2022.

As Kevin Permenter, research director of financial applications at IDC, noted in the recently published Worldwide Travel and Expense Management Software Market Shares, 2021, “Building out essential data management features like advanced APIs and artificial intelligence (AI)-based automation capabilities will form foundational software elements to compete in this highly dynamic space.”

These considerations—combined with ongoing conversations with customers, TMCs, suppliers, partners, and others—validate the excitement around SAP Concur modernizing our entire platform to best address the changing needs of the industry and our vision for the future. Customer feedback and data insights, gathered with the support of the SAP partner ecosystem, are helping us to deliver a better experience in this pivotal moment in time for businesses. The evolution of Concur Travel through 2023 will lead to a consumer-grade UX that is intuitive and modern, sustainable travel options, improved policy compliance capabilities, and intelligent integrations across SAP products.

In his recent blog post, President of Concur Travel Charlie Sultan couldn’t have said it better: “This endeavor is one of the most significant development investments ever made in the history of SAP Concur.” As an employee who has experienced firsthand the growth of our business and its solutions over the past two decades, I couldn’t agree more. I look forward to participating in this moment of change that will bring SAP Concur that much closer to fulfilling our mission and helping our customers run at their very best.

Christopher Juneau is the Head of Concur Market Strategy