Big Tech Buys Little Tech: Will SAP Ruin SmartRecruiters?

About this episode

Tim Sackett discusses the implications of SAP's acquisition of SmartRecruiters and the intersection of AI and HR law.

In this solo summer edition of the HR Famous Podcast, host Tim Sackett unpacks one of the biggest HR tech acquisitions of the year: SAP SuccessFactors acquiring SmartRecruiters. Tim gives his unfiltered, insider take on why this move matters, how it stacks up against Workday and Oracle, and whether SAP will actually leverage the cutting-edge, AI-driven tech they just bought—or bury it in corporate bureaucracy. You’ll hear Tim’s firsthand reaction to: Why SmartRecruiters was a smart buy (but maybe not the smartest one) The risk of “Big Tech crushing little tech” and what history tells us The future of SAP’s Talent Acquisition stack—will they go all in or keep Frankensteining? Why TA pros should care about this acquisition right now But that’s not all. Tim also dives into the recent Workday legal battle over alleged AI discrimination. He dissects the lawsuit, explains why it’s a misunderstanding of how AI works in TA tech, and makes a compelling argument that AI is more likely to reduce bias—not amplify it. If you're trying to make sense of where AI, algorithms, and HR law are crashing into each other, this segment is a must-listen. Plus, Tim shares real talk about the current…

People in this episode

Host: Tim Sackett

Topics covered

• HR tech acquisitions
• SAP SuccessFactors
• SmartRecruiters
• AI in recruiting
• Talent Acquisition

Keywords

• AI-driven tech
• corporate bureaucracy
• Workday
• Oracle
• AI discrimination
• algorithms
• bias

Mentioned in this episode

Products: SAP SuccessFactors, SmartRecruiters, Workday

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