Third expansion of SAP Labs Latin America counted with investment of R＄ 120 million; unit joins SAP's global innovation hub
After 16 years of activity, SAP Labs Latin America, SAP's innovation, research and development hub, had its third expansion phase concluded and inaugurated on 06/20, in São Leopoldo, metropolitan region of Porto Alegre (RS) . Located within the Unisinos campus, the new unit received investments of R＄120 million and will house a workforce of around 850 Brazilian employees and 20 other nationalities, within a total of almost 2000 people. The expansion is also expected to generate more than 200 indirect jobs in the region.
Elected the best technology company to work for in Brazil by Great Place to Work, SAP Labs is one of the main technology centers in Rio Grande do Sul. With a diverse and global population, the company stands out for a high rate of intern hiring — on average, 80% of students who intern at Labs are hired. SAP Labs also acts as a center for training and excellence in technology, forming a new generation of professionals prepared to meet the extremely high demand for specialized IT professionals in the country.
The expansion also marks the appointment of SAP Labs Latin America as a global HUB for innovation, research and development within SAP, along with centers in the US, China, India and Canada. SAP Labs Latin America becomes part of a select group of SAP organizations that are responsible for developing high standard solutions that help SAP customers address the major challenges of the business world today, from managing sustainability programs to high-capacity cloud management technologies.
Currently, at SAP Labs Latin America, technologies are already being developed that help companies in the ESG journey, control and management of energy consumption, waste management and producer responsibility policies. SAP Intelligent Agriculture is one of the solutions that came out of the innovation center and that allows companies in the agribusiness sector to increase their efficiency in a sustainable way, digitizing their agricultural processes and services through the use of data and machine learning.
“Latin American companies are increasingly investing in digital transformation, and paying special attention to sustainability,” said Dennison John, president of SAP Labs Latin America. “With this new expansion of our operations, we are in a position to lead this process and demonstrate the region's creativity and ability to innovate to the world, working together with experts from around the world to create agile, powerful technologies that have sustainability at the core. .”
sustainable building
The new building of the complex has 14,000 m² of built area and will be the building with the lowest level of CO emissions2 per company employee worldwide, and a reference in green buildings in Brazil, meeting LEED Gold certification requirements (Leadership in Energy and Environment Project, in English). Buildings with this certification use, on average, 20% less energy than buildings of the same size. Upon completion of the project, the entire SAP Labs complex will have a total of 30,000 square meters.
The expansion of SAP Labs was designed to generate the least possible environmental impact: concepts such as water reuse, smart energy consumption and maximum use of natural light, use of sustainable construction materials (metallic structure, glass and wood), destination correct waste and use of materials with low environmental degradation.
The internal spaces were designed to encourage collaboration and the exchange of knowledge among employees, essential characteristics for innovation to take place. The Flex Work concept—where employees can work anywhere in the building or remotely—was deployed to fulfill requests for even more flexibility in the work environment.
The building's interior design was designed to improve the well-being and productivity of employees, so all workstations are facing the outside area, which guarantees access to natural ventilation and maximum use of sunlight. All windows have a special film to reduce the heat inside the building during the summer, and technology that avoids the incidence of solar rays directly on the glass facades.
About SAP Labs Latin America
SAP Labs Latin America is the SAP organization focused on application development and support services for the Americas. Founded in 2006, in São Leopoldo, Greater Porto Alegre (RS), it is the first and only SAP center in Latin America, one of the 20 maintained by the company worldwide and one of the four research and development centers in Brazil. SAP Labs promotes a positive and collaborative work environment for its employees and developers, supports the local community through socially responsible projects, and respects the ecosystem around it with sustainable practices. Located at Tecnosinos – São Leopoldo Technological Park – at the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos), in a building built in 2009 under the Leed Gold sustainability certification standards, it has more than 1,800 employees. The company was awarded as the Best technology company to work for in Brazil, according to the Great Place to Work 2021 (GPTW) survey.
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