Kent,
Apologies, I did not intend to be offensive. I happen to know about this domain a bit also, but I wouldn't mind being proven wrong.
So would you mind explaining why my premise is irrelevant?
How and for what purpose does SAP access these data stored in on premise servers managed by their clients?
Is it done on a systematic basis of is it related to some particular circumpstances, like the need to debug an issue?
Thank you.
Cheers,
Bernard
In 2008, as SAP was introducing its "cloud based" solutions, it opened up a large complex/campus for its "lab" and "research" headquarters. This is located in Ra'anana, which is the data mining/analytics capital of the wrorld. SAP shares and partners with Nice-Actimize (Bank Systems-Trading Floor Risk Reduction through data mining/analytics); McKit (Data collection for Asset Life Ccyle Analysis); Kinor Knowledge Networds ("...Enables health care suppliers to integrate information and achieve compliance
and to share data betwwen law enforcement and homeland security)G-Stat (Data mining events and individuals for predictions needed for risk assessment, inventory managment and planning based on consumer demand)Entopia (Knowledge management semantic mapping, searching and retrieval of web based information) Clear Forest (DIAL Software - which assimilates date of indefinite size identifying key terms to generate taxonomy with inter-relationships)
Each of these companies has a large facility in Ra'anana or Kiryat Aryeh.
Israel, for the obvious defensive reasons, has absolutely no regulatory restrictions on the acquisition of "private" information, or its use for non citizens, or citizens where state security might be involved, nor does it have any developed anti-trust law (having many companies with 50% or more market share) or foreign holdings disclosure requirements for foreign companies with operations in Israel.
SAP, in order to implement its "solutions" has access to all of it's customer data. Most recently, SAP is "partnering" with Equity Funds where it promises predictive data to enhance the profitability.
SAP necessarily has access to all client data.
I've edited the remainder of this post because the confidentiality guarantees that I'm acquainted with are US based and it would be unfair/unwise to generalize or address extra-territorial interpretations for which I'm neither licensed or qualified.
Thanks,
Ken Richmond