I have been in touch with some Signavio colleagues and I am d-mbfounded by their idiocracy. They employ HR Managers, referred to as People Leads, as Development Managers, despite their absence of technical expertise. This results in the need to hire a Product Owner, a Scrum Master, and two Tech Leads for each team, as these arts graduates often lack practical experience. To make matters worse, for every five People Leads, they also bring on an Area or Chief Product Owner, an Area Design Lead, and a Principal Tech Lead.
I had hoped that over time, they would address these shortcomings, but that hasn't happened. In an effort to create a harmonised product operating model, they have reclassified all People Leads as Development Managers and are encouraging other roles to seek employment elsewhere within SAP. CK is reportedly considering a board-level exception for Signavio to allow for this as Gero is being prepared for a future board position.
It's evident that this acquisition was a misstep. I'm unsure what Luca was thinking, but Signavio is resistant to integrating their products with BTP or adopting SAP's operational frameworks. Retaining these HR arts graduates instead of existing engineers, product owners, and designers is one of the most misguided decisions I've witnessed in any organisation. They should have transitioned these individuals under Gina and brought in qualified Development Managers or promoted existing employees.
As engineers and product owners are being urged to find new roles within SAP or exit by Q3 2025, there are rumours of impending layoffs in Q2 2025, with Signavio, LeanIX, and WalkMe likely to be affected.