Frenzied growth at software giant SAP in Newtown Square has filled its offices with new hires — and will likely continue to fill them throughout 2017.

But there’s been a big shift in the offices SAP’s newest employees are moving into.

The company’s early 2016 focus on new sales and marketing expertise has been replaced by heavy hiring in research and development, as well as cloud delivery operations, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report by Joseph DiStefano.

“Clearly, the company is investing for growth at the moment,” said Morgan Stanley Analyst Adam Wood.

But there’s an end in sight.

“We continue to invest in data center consolidation,” CEO Bill McDermott said. “Extraordinary investments in our cloud delivery business will come to an end. And then, as of 2018, we expect to see the leverage from these efficiency-based investments in a much higher progress of the cloud gross margins.”

Read more about SAP’s forecast for the future in the Philadelphia Inquirer here, and check out previous DELCO Today coverage here.