Thought Leadership
The Munich-based technology company Celonis has filed a lawsuit against the Walldorf-based software group SAP. In a federal court in San Francisco, Celonis is accusing the German industry giant of using anti-competitive practices and making access to important customer data more difficult.
At the heart of the dispute is access to data stored in SAP systems. Celonis, a provider of process mining software, requires this data in order to analyze companies’ business processes. According to Celonis, SAP restricts this access through technical and commercial hurdles.
In the statement of claim, SAP is accused of launching an “aggressive campaign” to exclude third-party providers of applications and technologies from its ecosystem. This approach is aimed at strengthening its own position in the market for process mining software and squeezing out competitors such as Celonis.
Billion-euro market in focus
The dispute concerns an important sector of the economy. SAP applications form the digital backbone of many companies’ financial, sales and logistics processes. Celonis, founded in 2011 and with a current valuation of 13 billion dollars, specializes in the analysis of such business processes.
The plaintiffs accuse SAP of hindering competition through high fees and other measures. SAP is also alleged to have made misleading statements to customers about the Celonis software.
The legal dispute is being conducted under case number 3:25-cv-02519 at the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Celonis is represented by attorneys from the law firm Hogan Lovells.
