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Source to pay is a critical process for every organization. In a constantly evolving business environment, how does SAP continue to support this process with its portfolio of SAP Ariba Procurement solutions? Simple. We listen to our customers, track market signals, and deliver innovative technology designed to help businesses achieve the best possible outcomes.

This is our long-standing strategy, and we have no plans to change something that clearly benefits our customers. No one knows this space better than SAP. The introduction of SAP Ariba solutions more than 25 years ago revolutionized procurement processes for businesses. We’ve taken the investment, innovation, and integration across our product line to deliver a complete portfolio of solutions. SAP Ariba is the future of procurement, and everything procurement at SAP is now SAP Ariba.

SAP also understands that what works for one business, one industry, or one geography, may not play in another. Businesses need to choose the right source-to-pay solution partner – with a platform and ecosystem poised to ensure their procurement teams have the tools and actionable data they need to succeed in their increasingly essential and strategic roles.

As we’ve listened to our customers and the market, here is what they have told us are their critical requirements:

• The ability to see and analyze spend across all categories
• Intelligence-driven category management that leverages analytics, spend data, and market intelligence
• Robust contract management functionality
• Automated management of external labor and services
• Practical AI use cases that drive efficiency across the procurement process

Within the source-to-pay landscape, SAP delivers integrated solutions to help manage all forms of spend. Our solutions comprise a full suite of enterprise-level functionality spanning sourcing, category management, buying and invoicing, services procurement, supplier relationship management, contract management, and spend analytics. Additionally, we enable businesses to connect with suppliers across 190 countries via SAP Business Network.

As you evaluate source-to-pay solution partners, consider the following:

• The source-to-pay landscape is changing quickly. Stay current. Today, everyone’s perspective on the source-to-pay technology landscape is vastly different than it was even half a year ago. Be mindful of how your business is evolving, and assess providers based on how their vision and road map align with your future needs.
• “Best of breed” doesn’t always mean “best for your business.” SAP has demonstrated that in addition to the breadth of our solutions for source to pay, we can enable businesses to address their global requirements, handle high transaction volumes, and integrate into many back-end ERP systems.
• SAP’s ecosystem of partners enables us to deliver advanced functionality to our customers. We remain committed to ongoing development of core, native capabilities across our source-to-pay portfolio. At the same, our strategy is to augment this development in some areas with innovation and advanced functionality through partners. This allows us to add significant value rapidly for our customers.
• Having access to a global network of suppliers is a game changer. SAP Business Network, which can extend the source-to-pay process beyond the walls of any business, can give our customers unmatched access to a global marketplace of trading partners. In 2023, annual commerce on the network reached US$5.3T, with 746M B2B transactions.

Five Ways SAP Is Addressing Customers’ Strategic Needs

SAP has demonstrated its ability to balance product modernization, innovation, and our larger vision to enhance procurement capabilities in SAP S/4HANA with delivery of cutting-edge innovations that benefit our customers. Here’s how we’re addressing the critical requirements mentioned earlier.

The Ability to See and Analyze Spend Across All Categories

In our conversations with customers all over the world, this is one of their top asks. They are also asking for greater visibility into spend that impacts their sustainability goals.

Last fall we unveiled SAP Spend Control Tower, which offers advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend in SAP cloud ERP solutions, SAP Ariba solutions, and SAP Fieldglass solutions. Visibility into data from SAP Concur solutions, SAP Business Network, and non-SAP solutions is also on our road map. This can enable businesses to uncover cost-saving opportunities and process improvements. SAP Spend Control Tower is expected to be available in the second half of 2024. See a demo to learn more.

Intelligence-Driven Category Management Improve business outcomes with intelligent category management Learn more

In our 2022 and 2023 research with Economist Impact, category management was ranked as a top driver of digital transformation in procurement. Driven by this and our extensive market analysis, SAP released the SAP Ariba Category Management solution last summer, empowering businesses to realize better results in this critical area.

The solution can streamline category strategy development, execution, and monitoring at scale. Additionally, it can enable organizations to optimize source-to-settle processes with embedded analytics enriched with spend data and market intelligence. Watch this demo.

Robust Contract Management Functionality

SAP understands the importance of balancing risk and profitability within source to pay. To provide the additional advanced contract management capabilities our customers need, we entered into an expanded partnership with Icertis in 2022. This partnership helps ensure a joint product road map and deeper technological integration between SAP and Icertis solutions.

For SAP customers, integration with Icertis Contract Intelligence can allow them access to best-in-class innovations such as smart authoring, AI-assisted risk identification, obligation management, contract-driven insights for decision support, and the ability to have one contracting system for both sales and procurement – a capability no other source-to-pay solution offers.

Based on user evaluations, SAP Ariba solutions received these leader badges from G2.

Automated Management of External Labor and Services

Sometimes overlooked within the source-to-pay discussion is services procurement. That’s changing. A 2023 Future of Work Exchange report said 72% of enterprises plan to focus more extensively on ROI in their services procurement and statement-of-work management activities. The goal is to manage external labor and services strategically, applying the same process rigor there as with any other procurement category.

SAP Fieldglass solutions can enable you to transform how you find, engage, and manage contingent workers and services providers to maximize business value.

Practical AI Use Cases

SAP is embedding AI throughout the spend management process to help eliminate the mundane and elevate the strategic. Current use cases range from auto-complete and recommendation engines leveraging traditional AI and machine learning, to generative AI functions that can automate complex procurement processes. In 2024, we will continue to develop SAP Business AI use cases that help drive efficiency across spend management processes. Find out more about new generative AI scenarios.

In the Words of Our Customers…

More confirmation that SAP’s source-to-pay strategy is sound can be seen in the results we’re delivering for our customers. Here’s what they’re saying:

“[SAP Ariba] has no comparison in the market. No other software is even close. Best part is, once our supply chain executives get using it, they simply fall in love with it…Savings are immense.”

Verified SAP Ariba user, via TrustRadius

“[SAP Ariba] stacks up by being a great, user-friendly platform that is easy to use.”

Verified SAP Ariba user, via TrustRadius SAP Ariba Sweeps the 2023 TrustRadius “Best Of” Awards

Each year, TrustRadius issues awards to vendors who provide the best offerings in their category. In 2023, SAP Ariba solutions won all four awards based on customer satisfaction ratings.

Leaning In to Our Source-to-Pay Strategy

As we’ve seen in the input from our customers, as well as assessments from analyst organizations like IDC, SAP’s source-to-pay strategy is producing solutions that help businesses run better. And that is SAP’s mission, plain and simple. In 2024, we’ll lean in to deliver solutions and innovations that continue to outpace the competition across the source-to-pay technology landscape.

Baber Farooq is senior vice president and head of Market Strategy for SAP Procurement Solutions.
Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president, chief product officer, and head of Engineering for SAP Procurement.

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As quantum computers evolve, SAP is among the leading companies exploring how this technology can disrupt business norms for unparalleled innovation and opportunities.

While it might be early days given hardware limitations, SAP experts are in full-on discovery mode, working with customers and partners at quantum-related industry associations.

How Quantum Computers Can Solve Real-World Problems

SAP experts are spearheading several working groups as members of the Quantum Technology and Application Consortium (QUTAC). QUTAC is a German-based group focused on applying quantum technology for business value in various industries. In one group, the team is modeling potential use cases using quantum computing for optimization and machine learning in production and logistics. In another, they are researching various quantum computing systems to compare strengths and weaknesses for use case consideration.

“We’re trying to understand how quantum computers can solve real-world business problems,” said Andrey Hoursanov, head of Quantum Exploration at SAP. “In collaboration with other QUTAC members, we’re identifying which next new quantum computing use cases will be most valuable for organizations, sourcing information from external research and our own expertise.”

Working Groups Take On the Quantum Challenge

Quantum computers can speed up computationally intensive tasks, promising the delivery of better and faster solutions for specific classes of problems. Much of this exploratory phase consists of benchmarking available quantum technologies, such as available machine capabilities by qubit size to handle industry-specific problems. Questions include what special properties each kind of quantum system offers, as well as their suitability and scalability to address business relevant challenges. For example, some teams are focused on applying the unique advantages of quantum computers to speed up and improve anomaly and fraud detection, cost optimization for cloud providers, image recognition, and data synthesis.

“Through open discussions with different companies that are participating in these working groups, we’re discussing potential road maps for innovation,” said Peter Limacher, leading researcher of the Quantum Exploration team at SAP. “People are very interested in quantum computing, and we want to make sure that we prioritize use cases that have the greatest potential to deliver business value.” 

Limacher was involved in a working group that recently published a peer-reviewed paper based on a study of quantum computing approaches for multi-knapsack optimization, meaning one recurrent task that several industries face. In addition to the high demand for better quantum hardware, the paper concluded that the industry needed more and improved quantum optimization algorithms for multi-knapsack and other problems.

SAP Is Committed to Meet Enterprise-Grade Expectations

To be clear, there’s a significant gap between the performance of current quantum computer hardware and the many variables that require scaling quantum-driven solutions in actual industry settings. Forward-thinking innovators are moving ahead despite the chicken and egg conundrum.

“To meet our customers’ expectations, we cannot wait until full-fledged quantum computers are completely operational,” said Hoursanov. “Through collaborative use case discovery and testing, we’ll be prepared to provide customers and partners with access to the latest technology as soon as it makes sense for them.”

Just as standardized frameworks for classical computers evolved, so will quantum computers. There are no standards yet, and every quantum computer design has advantages and disadvantages. For example, superconducting quantum computers require low temperatures and protection from electromagnetic waves to prevent qubit degradation. Eventually, researchers will be able to match targeted use cases to the best-suited quantum systems and software application developers will apply quantum programming to any machine.

Collaboration Unlocks the Quantum Advantage

SAP is also a member of the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC), a non-profit organization focused on developing the quantum industry and ecosystem for the region and others including North America, Japan, and ANZ. In addition to her role as research project director at SAP, Laure Le Bars is president of QuIC.

“Our members consist of companies of all sizes that create and use quantum technologies, including hardware manufacturers and software developers. They’re working together with members in government policymaking, academia, standardization bodies, and others to help spark market growth from quantum advantage,” said Le Bars. “In the future, we’ll have hybrid architectures with a combination of classical and quantum computers using their respective strengths to achieve business objectives.”

Susan Galer is a communications director at SAP. Follow her @smgaler.

Photo courtesy of SAP employee Renan d’Avila

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The world faces increasing climate and social crises. Comprehensive assessments have given us a deeper understanding of the science and the role of industry. As a global technology company supporting the vast majority of the world’s business, SAP needs to lead from the front with our ambitions and actions. That is why SAP has committed to achieve net-zero emissions across our value chain by 2030.  

Since 2009, SAP has been on a sustainability journey with the objective to create positive economic, environmental, and social impact within planetary boundaries. Along the way, we have learned a great deal about measuring economic, social, and environmental performance and integrating sustainability into our business strategy. Central to this effort has been a continuous effort to decarbonize our business. Setting ambitious targets and leveraging digital solutions have proven crucial. 

Raising our ambition to achieve net-zero emissions is a key element of our approach to sustainability, which looks across the interconnected areas of holistic steering and reporting, climate action, the circular economy, and social responsibility. 

What Does Net Zero Mean? 

Net zero is a state where the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal out of the atmosphere. Corporate net-zero pledges have gained significant traction as half of the world’s largest companies, representing an annual aggregate revenue of US$27 trillion, are committed to net zero.  

Together, we can enable a future with zero emissions, zero waste, and zero inequality Learn more

There are a number of definitions of net zero and how companies can achieve it. SAP follows the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Net-Zero Standard , which provides a credible and independent assessment of corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science. The continually improving standard enables companies to align their climate actions with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. SAP became a member of SBTi in 2017 and was the first German company with a science-based carbon reduction target for 2050. In 2019, SAP raised its commitment and adopted a 1.5°C science-based emissions reduction target. We announced our net zero by 2030 ambition in early 2022, bringing this commitment forward by 20 years. 

Achieving net-zero emissions across our entire value chain means that all our emissions across all emission sources need to be either eliminated or, up to certain limits, compensated for. These emission areas, known as scopes, include those from our own operations, those generated by the energy we purchase to run operations, and finally, the largest area, external emissions such as those incurred by employee travel, items procured, and customer data center use. 

Targeting Our Entire Value Chain 

SAP’s net-zero plan is implemented through a comprehensive and integrated approach that involves all functions in the company, customers, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders. We have established a cross-company program team involving experts from different lines of business to plan and implement our net-zero transformation. Reducing emissions from the use of SAP software will be the primary area for reductions, followed by purchased goods and services. The SAP net zero by 2030 approach includes: 

• Accelerating the transformation of on-premise customers to the cloud through our market-leading RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP offerings
• Enhancing direct investments in renewable energy sources and operating our internal and external data centers on 100% renewable electricity
• Reducing emissions by improving the energy efficiency of best-in-class data centers – our own, our co-locations, and hyperscalers – with sustainable programming and a cloud carbon footprint calculator for all SAP cloud solutions
• Strengthening engagement with key suppliers to commit to net zero and deliver carbon-neutral products and services
• Electrifying the vehicle fleet, promoting green mobility, and enabling hybrid work situations
• Compensating for emissions by investing in high-quality, nature-based solutions, such as reforestation, renewable energy, and community development, that have verified environmental and social benefits
• Enabling our customers and partners by adding sustainability features and functions into our core offerings, such as SAP S/4HANA, SAP Ariba solutions, and SAP SuccessFactors solutions, and by giving them tools, guidance, and best practices to measure, manage, and reduce their emissions through our portfolio of dedicated sustainability solutions including SAP Sustainability Footprint Management, SAP Sustainability Data Exchange, SAP Sustainability Control Tower, and SAP Responsible Design and Production
• Accurately measuring and reporting emissions using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative and showing progress and performance through platforms such as CDP, EcoVadis, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Capturing the Opportunities of Net Zero 

We have many achievements to build on, but we also are charting new territory. 2030 is not far away. The challenges increase the farther we move upstream and downstream into our value chain. Despite the complexities, there are enormous opportunities ahead as we establish further success with our net-zero efforts. 

From a business perspective, focusing on net zero means reducing risk, improving SAP’s operational efficiency, and delivering cost savings by reducing our energy consumption and waste and optimizing our processes and resources. Net-zero action helps increase our market competitiveness by creating new products and services that meet the growing expectations of customers, partners, and regulators for low-carbon and sustainable solutions. We’ll also be better at attracting and retaining top talent who are increasingly discerning about their employer’s sustainability actions. We’ll offer a compelling case to investors who used focused criteria to inform their holdings. Finally, we’ll continue to enhance our reputation with industry media and analysts as a leader and innovator in sustainability. And most importantly, we’ll reduce our overall carbon emissions to provide much-needed relief for the over-accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  

With an increased sense of urgency, we recognize the responsibility, as well as the opportunity, to step up and drive a faster transformation toward a sustainable future. Not only must we accelerate our own net-zero transformation, but we must help other businesses and industries reinvent themselves as well. Only a fundamental transformation of our global economy will allow us to limit global warming to 1.5°C. It’s vital that we build sustainability into the very nature of how we do business.

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer at SAP.

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SAP is expanding the SAP Sports One solution with artificial intelligence (AI). In collaboration with German professional soccer clubs FC Bayern and Hertha BSC, AI-based automation of summaries and evaluations of scouting reports has been developed.

Being a talent scout sounds like a dream job for many: travelling across the country to watch competitions in your favourite sport and being paid to do so. However, being a scout on the road means hard work. In addition to analyzing increasingly detailed statistical data — such as the number of overplayed players or the likelihood of increasing the goal count — players are scouted live at the stadium or from watching back videos.

Both the current performance and the potential of the player are portrayed as accurately as possible. The aim is to develop a comprehensive picture of the player incorporating team ability, mentality, and other important factors.

SAP Sports One: Get insights about your players and your team with real-time analytics Learn more

“At a professional club, a four-figure number of scouting reports can be generated during a season,” Fadi Naoum, head of Sports and Entertainment at SAP, said at SPOBIS, the largest European sports business event, taking place in Hamburg on January 31 and February 1.

Naoum presented the new AI component for scouting at the conference.

“Squad planners and chief scouts must summarize these reports in such a way that club management can make decisions based on them regarding who should be signed,” he shared. “This was previously a manual process, but now we have been able to extensively automate it, thanks to AI.”

With the help of AI in SAP Sports One, decision-makers in the sports sector now have aggregated performance reports at the touch of a button, as well as comparisons between players. Transfer decisions can be now much faster and more informed.

Large Language Model for Automation

AI is used for the consolidation and targeted processing of unstructured data, which is mostly in natural language. It is capable of considering and processing not only different languages, but also different types of note-taking and writing styles. Behind the AI component for scouting is a large language model (LLM). This deep learning algorithm can perform tasks in the field of natural language processing (NLP).

“We currently use GPT from OpenAI, but we are also evaluating language models from other providers,” Naoum said. “The decisive advantage of the LLM is that commands can be given in natural language and can be varied according to language, text length, or target audience, as needed.“

In Brazil, for example, if a scout prepares manual reports for a specific player in Brazilian Portuguese, he can have the summary generated in German for the management of his German club.

“A typical command could be: ‘Compare the players x and y with regard to their strengths and weaknesses, write a summary and give a transfer recommendation, volume 100 words, answer in German’,” Naoum explained. “Depending on your preference, you can have the result presented as a flowing text or as a management summary.”

Co-Innovation Demonstrates Strength of Generative AI

In collaboration with FC Bayern and Hertha BSC, a prototype was first created for the AI-based automated summary and evaluation of scouting reports in SAP Sports One.

“We were impressed by the high quality of the results achieved automatically in SAP Sports One using generative AI,” commented Markus Pilawa, head of Scouting at FC Bayern. “We expect huge time saving for us and, especially in the hectic transfer period, this can be another advantage for us.”

Timon Pauls, head of Squad Planning & Scouting at Hertha BSC, added: “This co-innovation project has very clearly demonstrated the actual strengths of generative artificial intelligence. The player comparisons and summaries of scouting reports that can now be created ad-hoc will be very valuable for our squad planning. “

In the near future, SAP plans to also use AI technology to enrich the results of scouting reports with information from other sources, including data about matches from external data providers. Integrating AI capabilities into other components of SAP Sports One, including performance diagnostics, training management, and match analysis, is also planned.

SAP Sports One with AI-powered scouting reporting is planned to be made available to customers worldwide in the second quarter of 2024.

SAP Sports One

SAP launched SAP Sports One as a cloud solution in 2015. The athlete management solution and team performance platform covers all sporting processes. Various components support communication, team management, training and performance control, fitness and health management tracking, scouting, squad planning, performance diagnostics, match analysis, and preparing players for their next match.

In conjunction with SAP Analytics Cloud, clubs can also evaluate a wide range of sports-related data delivered by specialized SAP partners. SAP Sports One is currently being used by 12 out of 18 German Bundesliga football clubs. SAP also offers the solution for ice hockey, basketball, and handball.

Worldwide, SAP Sports One supports more than 80 customers in 19 countries, including clubs such as FC Bayern and Hertha BSC, as well as TSG Hoffenheim and FC Sankt Pauli (Germany), BSC Young Boys Bern (Switzerland), Genoa CFC 1893 (Italy), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), Leicester City (England), Vissel Kobe (Japan), SC Rasta Vechta (Germany, basketball), and the German Football Association.

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Top image via FC Bayern Munich

Companies across all industries are meeting the moment by rethinking their business operations. Could this be the year that one of those promises is boosting cloud adoption?

Considering global business spending on cloud computing infrastructure is set to soar to an astounding US$1 trillion in 2024, it could be. But the motivation behind this surge isn’t just about saving money or time; it’s a quest for accelerated innovation, greater agility, and increased productivity.

SAP customers at the forefront of embracing the cloud are adopting emerging use cases for generative AI, industrialized machine learning, applied automation, and many more innovations. However, fulfilling these cloud ambitions requires expertise to navigate potential hurdles, especially data protection and integration.

This is precisely where two of SAP’s offerings – SAP Preferred Success and SAP Learning Hub – can step in, providing the guidance and training essential for unlocking the full business value of the cloud.

Get Ready to Break Down Barriers

While technology is a crucial aspect of cloud adoption, true success depends on organizational transformation driven by the software – from the user experience to the underlying processes.

Regrettably, most businesses have yet to connect their cloud strategy with the challenges faced by employees expected to use cloud applications to complete their work. The cloud may bring new processes and applications that differ in appearance and functionality from the on-premise software used in the past. However, much more must be done to make people’s everyday work experience more productive, efficient, and effective.

Many SAP customers are finding that the answer to overcoming this common obstacle revolves around four key elements:

• Access to expertise whenever and wherever required
• Continuous learning to empower productive use and optimization
• A comprehensive plan aligned with immediate, short-term, and long-term business needs
• Advanced support for solution administrators

Transform Meaningfully with SAP Preferred Success

One challenge that most organizations face is incomplete familiarity with cloud solutions, even if their IT team is well-versed in them. SAP Preferred Success and SAP Learning Hub can empower our customers to close that gap with guidance, helping to overcome any barriers and optimize the bottom-line value of their cloud investment.

SAP Preferred Success can enable line-of-business users, key users, and administrators to build and maintain their knowledge about the cloud with continuous training. It helps establish an ongoing learning ethos that can give employees the confidence to adopt new cloud innovations and put them to good use to support the business as part of a center of excellence.

Fast track the value of your cloud investment with SAP Preferred Success Learn more

By enhancing their proficiency in using cloud applications, employees can handle daily tasks productively and navigate transitions and business changes efficiently. This dual advantage makes employees feel more comfortable with new processes, different approaches to work, and new terminologies that can collectively accelerate business transformation.

As a result, the transition to the cloud is smoother. SAP Preferred Success can facilitate comprehensive planning of transformative projects, guiding organizations throughout implementation, go-live, and adoption phases. Some of our customers have sought this level of support when deploying relatively new solutions to optimize their solution road map, including formulating best practices to align their business processes with their new cloud architecture.

For example, dedicated release management guidance and best practices can free administrators from the burden of sifting through new features and deciding whether and how to leverage them. So instead of sentiments such as “Our go-live was 12 months ago. Now what?” SAP Preferred Success customers can knowledgeably and confidently optimize the use and performance of their cloud investment.

Prepare Technical and Functional Teams with SAP Learning Hub

SAP Learning Hub is a gateway to premium, guided learning resources across the SAP solution portfolio. The digital learning solution offers technical and functional training for IT teams, starting long before implementation and extending into the future of learning.

With smooth access to self-paced and guided resources, learners can follow journeys tailored for their specific roles and skill levels to upskill in SAP solutions. They can also access guided learning resources to deepen their knowledge, such as expert-led live sessions and hands-on practice opportunities on preconfigured training systems.

Acquiring an SAP certification is another way to help boost cloud adoption, and SAP Learning Hub can provide the necessary enablement for learners to become certified. Subscriptions to SAP Learning Hub are available as standalone offerings or can be part of the SAP Preferred Success plan. Learn more about the enhanced SAP Learning Hub program and how it can help you transform your workforce and drive business success.

Rely On a Personalized Partnership for Cloud Success

As with any technology strategy, insight and guidance are vital for a successful cloud adoption. It’s similar to enrolling in an online course to learn a new skill or hiring a trainer to prepare for a marathon. Whenever we commit to change, we want the full advantage of expertise, solutions, and technologies to improve continually and achieve our goals. This same principle applies when aiming to boost the adoption of an existing cloud solution or one you plan to procure within the next 12 months.

Wherever our customers are in their cloud journey, SAP Preferred Success and SAP Learning Hub can offer the guidance and support necessary to help maximize the value of their cloud investment. Even with clear goals and specific objectives, customers can benefit from leveraging comprehensive expertise and identifying approaches and best practices that have proven successful or should be avoided.

Through a personalized road map covering workflows, user experience, and organizational culture, our customers can access insight-driven recommendations essential for aligning with corporate priorities and goals. But more importantly, they gain access to a customer success partner that can assess their operations and provide guidance to immediately use the cloud effectively – creating a journey of continued business growth and evolution.

Discover how you can boost your organization’s adoption of cloud solutions from SAP.

Chad Crook is chief innovation officer of Cloud Success Services at SAP.

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WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the launch of a new guided premium learning offering with SAP Learning Hub and an enhanced certification program including a new role-based certification for SAP S/4HANA Cloud implementation consultants.

The demand for skilled IT professionals is expected to grow dramatically – up 23% by 2031 in the United States alone, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. To help meet this demand, the new role-based certification for implementation consultants of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition emphasizes core skills and competencies that can be applied across various cloud solutions from SAP and related versions.

Grow your skills. Future proof your career. Learn SAP for free, anywhere, anytime. Start now

“The pace of change and the talent shortage call for a new approach to identifying future-focused skills and roles. Instead of focusing on traditional aspects like degrees, job histories and titles, professional competencies become more important,” says Andre Bechtold, senior vice president and head of solution and innovation experience at SAP. “By transitioning to role-based certifications that focus on core skills and competencies, the skillset of a learner becomes more valuable and gains sustainability and more relevance for longer periods of time.”

Many organizations rely on SAP solutions and skilled professionals to ensure a smooth and fast transition and drive business success. The enhanced SAP Learning Hub provides access to great content and includes four certification attempts per learner per year. Subscribers can receive expert guidance in digital live sessions, on-demand hands-on practice systems, advanced analytics and learning management functionalities. This new digital premium offering marks a major step in the evolution of the SAP Learning portfolio. To meet the rapid pace of technological innovation and the need to quickly gain new and future-proof skills, SAP continues to help organizations learn and become certified faster to maximize their investment.

With the need for fast, comprehensive and role-based upskilling, the new certification model will make continuous learning and assessments a priority. Starting in early second quarter, these changes will support customers, partners and individuals in gaining skills across the SAP solutions portfolio and keeping them up to date.

Partners can benefit from further advancements, including a tailored partner experience with curated learning journeys, exclusive access to events and subject matter experts. A subscription to SAP Learning Hub, partner edition comes with a significantly reduced price per user per year and offers additional chances to earn certifications, as well as improved analysis and tracking features.

With the move to the cloud in full swing, the enhanced SAP Learning Hub and new certification program help customers and partners meet the challenges of a tight labor market and necessary workforce transformation. Learn more about SAP Learning Hub and the new certification program.

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP at @SAPNews.

Media Contact:
Martin Gwisdalla, +49 6227 7-67275, martin.gwisdalla@sap.com, ET
SAP Press Room; press@sap.com

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
© 2024 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.

BERKELEY, Calif. — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced it will collaborate with the Sky Computing Lab at the University of California (UC), Berkeley to support the university’s cutting-edge research on interconnected cloud technology in the context of artificial intelligence (AI).

UC Berkeley’s insights will help accelerate SAP’s AI strategy aiming to build hundreds of applications.

Learn how you can benefit from AI built into your core business processes Explore now

“There’s no technology advancing faster than AI,” SAP Chief AI Officer Philipp Herzig said. “While the progress on foundation models is impressive, there is a lot to learn and shape on the AI stack on top, in particular for designing and scaling distributed cloud applications in multi-cloud environments or to build AI agents in combination with large language models. The Sky Computing Lab at UC Berkeley conducts very relevant research in this field, and the frameworks that are being built look very promising.”

Generative AI is a transformative force that is changing how people work, communicate and learn. As AI applications become increasingly sophisticated, efficient handling of large workloads becomes critical.

UC Berkeley’s research activities focus on enabling users to run large language model applications and general AI workloads seamlessly on any cloud, substantially reducing cloud costs, tapping into best-in-class hardware on different clouds and enjoying higher resource availability, according to Ion Stoica, director of the Sky Computing Lab at UC Berkeley.

The interconnection of clouds aims to create a distributed network, giving users access to a vast pool of computing power. This agility is crucial for dynamically allocating and scaling computational capabilities based on specific AI task requirements, ensuring optimal efficiency and cost-effectiveness for users. As the computational demands of AI continue to evolve, this approach ensures not only the scalability and efficiency of AI tasks but also lays the groundwork for an innovative and interoperable future in artificial intelligence.

Through this collaboration with the Sky Computing Lab at UC Berkeley, SAP aims to advance knowledge in artificial intelligence. Besides AI-specific expertise, SAP will support graduate students through scholarships and internships.

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP at @SAPNews.

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Media Contact:
Samantha Finnegan, +1 (415) 377-0475, samantha.finnegan@sap.com, ET
SAP Press Room; press@sap.com

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ.  Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
© 2024 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.

WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced a comprehensive set of resources, services, and financial incentives to help every customer move to the cloud and maintain the pace and level of innovation that cloud enables.

RISE with SAP: A complete offering to empower you to thrive in the cloud Learn more

The RISE with SAP Migration and Modernization program addresses two primary issues businesses face when moving to the cloud – scope and cost. It gives leaders confidence to take even the most complex ERP systems to the cloud by helping to eliminate custom code, data silos and process complexity.

“Every company needs a cloud-first business strategy,” said Eric van Rossum, chief marketing officer for cloud ERP, SAP. “It’s more important than ever for customers to start their migration and modernization journey, so they can harness the potential of the latest cloud innovations, including AI and sustainability solutions.”

The RISE with SAP Migration and Modernization program helps customers become and remain innovation-ready to benefit from ongoing updates and new innovations. Once customers are operating in the cloud, SAP takes the burden of management to build reliability, strengthen security and compliance and unlock the power of business data.  Regardless of whether businesses today run on SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) or SAP S/4HANA, the program’s self-guided digital experience and assisted services offer a path from preparation through go-live. The program also introduces a set of new services and incentives to help customers in their move to the RISE with SAP solution.

“With the current announcement, SAP is making it clear that it is aware of the complexity of the challenges that customers face when transitioning to the cloud. At the same time, their previous investments in existing systems are being recognized,” explained Christine Grimm from the DSAG Executive Board. “By expanding the RISE with SAP offering to include financial incentives and support, SAP is reaffirming its promise to actively support customers on their journey to the cloud and thus make the transition easier. At DSAG, we appreciate this initiative and the willingness shown by SAP. The aim must be to further improve and expand this offering in collaboration with SAP in order to take into account the complex requirements and challenges of our members who are deciding in favor of a transformation process to the cloud. In doing so, we want to ensure that they benefit fully from the extended possibilities and innovations of the RISE with SAP offering.”

Offsetting Migration and Transformation Costs with Incentives

To recognize the investment made by SAP customers and to help offset the cost of migration and transformation, SAP is announcing a limited-time offer that may reduce the cost of migration up to 50% and shorten the time to value. Through the end of 2024, when moving to the RISE with SAP or GROW with SAP solution, SAP S/4HANA and SAP ECC customers will have access to credits that can be applied to offset the cost of maintenance, cloud services or cloud subscription. This incentive will include SAP S/4HANA Cloud and line-of-business solutions such as supply chain, human resources, spend management, CRM, business transformation tools and the business technology platform for extensibility.

RISE with SAP Methodology Provides Consistency and Quality

To drive predictable timelines for projects, all implementations – both through SAP and our partner ecosystem – will follow the RISE with SAP Methodology. It will provide project progress transparency, with key milestone checks. It is supported by SAP services and specialists who confirm the methodology is applied from discovery through go-live to get customers innovation ready. SAP is training and validating partners to use the RISE with SAP Methodology and will collaborate closely with these partners to provide consistency and quality.

Introducing the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service

For customers who need more time to complete their full migration, we are introducing the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper service. It is designed for customers using RISE with SAP that enter customer-specific maintenance for older releases of SAP S/4HANA. With SAP S/4HANA Cloud Safekeeper, customers may get their systems ready to upgrade to the latest version of SAP S/4HANA. It includes upgrade services and infrastructure optimization while providing business continuity for the customers’ current system with updates and patches for two more years.

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About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 26 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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Many SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) customers are seeking to leverage cloud-based solutions but want to ensure that their previous investments are safeguarded. While the benefits of modernizing to the cloud are clear, customers need a flexible path that builds upon their existing technology and talent. 

SAP Datasphere can offer that path. Its native connectivity to SAP BW means customers can reuse up to 80% of existing SAP BW content, retaining value while adding cloud speed, scale, and interoperability and avoiding costly and unnecessary rework. 

Delivering meaningful data to every data professional requires a comprehensive cloud data service. With SAP Datasphere, organizations can:  

• Access authoritative data, accelerating time-to-value by automatically reusing the semantical definitions and associations from SAP applications.  
• Enrich all data projects, harmonizing heterogeneous data into a business semantic model of their diverse data landscapes.   
• Simplify the data landscape, accessing all their data across hybrid and cloud environments no matter where it resides. 

SAP has also partnered with an open data ecosystem of leading technology vendors to provide tailored integration between SAP Datasphere and their solutions. The first set of industry-leading data and AI vendors includes Collibra, Confluent, Databricks, DataRobot, and Google Cloud. By closely integrating their data and AI platforms with SAP Datasphere, organizations can access their mission-critical business data across any cloud infrastructure. 

Transition to a modern business data fabric at your pace with SAP Datasphere Learn more Flexible Paths to the Cloud  

Many SAP BW users have always-on projects that depend on SAP BW data and objects, which requires flexibility in modernizing to the cloud.  

SAP offers flexible paths. Whether you’re moving directly or integrating SAP Datasphere as part of your data landscape to enhance your SAP BW deployment, there’s a strategy:  

• Gradually transition functionality over time using SAP Datasphere, SAP BW bridge to reuse and integrate SAP BW objects. 
• Leverage SAP BW data ingestion and staging to accelerate the move or, for SAP Business Suite customers without SAP BW, move directly to SAP Datasphere. 
• In some cases, migrate SAP BW systems to SAP Datasphere for a complete transition. 
• Modernize with a combination of SAP Datasphere and SAP HANA Cloud to benefit from the capabilities of both solutions. SAP Datasphere can provide the foundation for a business data fabric, while SAP HANA Cloud enables the development of intelligent data applications.   

The goal is to provide options to fit each customer’s unique environment and timeline. With the right approach, the move to SAP Datasphere can be straightforward while optimizing previous investments. 

Our experienced SAP partners understand the importance of flexible paths. They work with our customers to outline customized modernization paths that can safeguard their technology and fit their goals.

“We are excited to help SAP BW customers experience the power of SAP Datasphere. We’ve already seen multiple customers take this modernization approach and it’s the ideal modernization path to protect the customer’s existing SAP BW investments.”

Deepu Sasidharan, Vice President, Analytics, Applexus

No matter which path a customer takes, they can always progress to SAP Datasphere. Technically, this can be achieved with the support of SAP Datasphere, SAP BW bridge and modernization tools. That’s why customers like Nipro chose SAP Datasphere.

“SAP Datasphere, SAP BW bridge is a complete game changer. The cloud architecture allows us to simplify our landscape. We are also seeing significant improvements in our performance.”

Iaroslav Korzh, SAP Technology Manager, Nipro Europe Group Companies  New Professional Readiness Assessment 

Whether you’re starting fresh or modernizing an existing system, having a solid plan is key for a successful move to the cloud. 

SAP is now offering a limited-time, complimentary SAP BW system assessment to help you optimize your transition to SAP Datasphere. Through this assessment, you can gain insight into your SAP BW environment and learn which objects are active and frequently used and whether they can be migrated.  

This assessment helps deliver a reliable basis for an actionable modernization plan. With the right information, you can modernize on your terms. Get started today by applying for your complimentary assessment. 

Get Started  

Visit our Web site for the latest modernization tools, including our getting started guide, technical deep dive webinar series, and professional readiness assessment. 

SAP BW customers moving to SAP Datasphere may also qualify for exclusive incentives. Contact your SAP representative before this limited-time opportunity expires. 

Daniel Yu is senior vice president of Solution Management and Product Marketing for SAP Data and Analytics.

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The echoes of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference’s (COP28) groundbreaking commitments lingered as the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos became the epicenter of global dialogues this month. Against this backdrop, SAP’s innovative strides in sustainability and artificial intelligence (AI) spotlighted the transformative potential of technology in addressing pressing global challenges.

SAP’s presence at both events exemplifies the seamless connection between environmental commitment and technological innovation. The nearly 100 initiatives SAP was involved in at COP28 last month demonstrated the company’s unwavering focus on fostering collaboration across governance, the private sector, and civil society, which, coupled with a commitment to transparency, also resonated with Davos’ core values.

For example, the “From Farm to Consumer” showcase emphasizing intelligent agriculture solutions at COP28 and the WEF Collaboration Village at Davos both showed the power of technology, such as how AI can optimize all industry practices and foster collaboration across the supply chain. This embodies SAP’s multifaceted approach to innovation.

The company’s strategies involve valuing carbon assets, supporting collaborative supply chains, and actively backing local climate initiatives. Recent studies highlight how SAP solutions can seamlessly integrate sustainability into core business strategies, giving companies a competitive edge. By treating emissions tracking with the same rigor as financial transactions, SAP solutions can enable data-driven decision-making for positive environmental impact.

Record, report, and act with SAP Sustainability solutions Learn more Navigating the AI Landscape Responsibly

As the WEF in Davos unfolded, the pervasive enthusiasm for AI became evident along the promenade. A dedicated pavilion called “AI House” served as a testament to the technology’s significance in shaping the future. SAP’s commitment to innovation aligns with the forum’s pulse, offering a glimpse into how AI can transform industries and societies.

AI’s impact on the global workforce was a central concern at Davos. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the AI revolution could affect almost 40% of jobs worldwide, including highly skilled ones. In industrialized countries, this number could surge to 60%. The integration of AI in various industries can exacerbate inequalities, especially in terms of job displacement. However, SAP believes the time is right to explore the implications and the steps required for this future. One of the first mind shifts may be seeing AI as a coworker rather than a software tool.

SAP’s approach seeks to mitigate potential inequalities. The company didn’t merely showcase innovation at Davos; it actively engaged in discussions to address the complexities surrounding AI and find solutions for a responsible approach.

Striking the Balance: A Global Perspective

SAP recognizes the broader, global context of responsible AI, particularly with varying regulatory standards in the U.S. and China. The discussions at Davos provided a platform for SAP to advocate for a harmonized approach to AI regulation, which is especially relevant for the EU. The company’s commitment to finding the right balance resonated in discussions about regulatory standards, emphasizing the need for global cooperation to navigate the evolving landscape of AI. This global perspective gains profound meaning when viewed through the lens of COP28.

COP28 concluded with a landmark decision by nearly 200 countries to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems. The renegotiated text emphasized a just, orderly, and equitable shift, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This signifies a global move, committing nations to tripling renewable energy use by 2030 and doubling energy efficiency. The resolution proposes the first-ever phase-out of fossil fuels, accelerating coal’s exit, boosting renewable energy, and emphasizing energy efficiency. However, the resolution falls short of a complete commitment due to opposition from economically reliant countries like Saudi Arabia. And despite progress, vulnerable island nations stress the need for inclusive decision-making, as they face immediate threats from climate change and depend on global solidarity for survival.

Hand-in-Hand: AI and Climate Action

It’s crucial to recognize AI’s broader role in climate action. Scaling proven applications and technology, AI has the potential to unlock insights that could help mitigate 5% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and significantly bolster climate-related adaptation and resilience initiatives. Approximately 87% of executives view AI as having the potential to address climate issues, making it a key player in the fight against climate change.

AI contributes to climate protection not only by helping to reduce emissions but also by helping to navigate unavoidable climate change impacts and provide essential capabilities that enable climate action. SAP, alongside its dedication to AI ethics, wants to ensure that its AI solutions drive sustainability strategies and contribute to a more resilient and adaptive world.

SAP believes that working together and being open and transparent are key to solving bigger challenges. It’s not just about cool tech; it’s about creating real connections. As AI evolves, SAP’s dedication to a responsible and inclusive future shows the power of teamwork in making a difference.

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When Danielle Thomé was a teenager, she asked her father for a job. That’s not unusual, especially since her father was the founder of Projex Engenharia, a successful business in Brazil. But the business focused on civil and industrial construction, an industry where a 15-year-old girl didn’t fit the typical job description, despite her passion for civil engineering. Although Thomé would eventually take over her father’s business, her road to success was paved with many challenges.

“One of the biggest challenges I faced was the age-old problem of gender discrimination,” Thomé recalled years later. She is one of many women driven to lead businesses that reflect their life passions.

Like other entrepreneurial women, she needed support. But where are the networks to help women turn their passions into successful businesses? Thomé found her network in an SAP customer. WEConnect International connects women-owned businesses to qualified buyers around the world. As a result of becoming WEConnect International certified – and a lot of hard work by Thomé and her team – Projex Engenharia’s revenue grew by a staggering 200% in just two years.

Many Challenges, Huge Potential Impact

Women who start and lead businesses face unique challenges. Cultural and social norms, or simply being underestimated by investors, can impede their entrepreneurial efforts. Harvard Business Review observes that “women are massively under-represented among both venture-backed entrepreneurs and VC investors.” It adds that companies founded solely by women receive less than 3% of all venture capital investments.

Also, the pandemic exacerbated the imbalance in unpaid care work – managing the household or caring for children and aging parents – which disproportionally affects women in business.

Women must also deal with the challenges other businesses face, including access to markets, information technology gaps, and the red tape involved with government programs designed to help new businesses.

Yet despite these challenges, women-owned and women-led businesses offer the potential to make a significant impact on the global economy. The World Economic Forum (WEF) observed that “societies with greater gender equality not only offer better socioeconomic opportunities for women, but also tend to grow faster and more equitably.”

The WEF also reports that advancing women’s employment could add US$12 trillion to global GDP and boost some countries’ economic output by as much as 35%.

Yet despite a clear business case, the WEF sees global progress stagnating.

Who Has the Power to Drive Change? All of Us.

Traditionally, the procurement function within larger organizations has held the power to fill supply chain gaps and build networks of suppliers. Yet today, other voices are making themselves heard. Consumers are expressing preferences to buy from women and other diverse businesses. Around the world – for example in the United States, Australia, and Canada – government regulations are requiring increased diversity and inclusion.

SAP Business Network powers transparency, resiliency, and sustainability Learn more

Additionally, the C-suite is reframing corporate policy to reflect more sophisticated approaches to selecting suppliers. In my role as customer officer, SAP Intelligent Spend & Business Network, I see business leaders prioritizing inclusive sourcing metrics within their procurement strategies to help ensure they have access to all the world’s best suppliers, not just the ones they always buy from.

Concerned about supply chain risks, procurement leaders are increasingly adopting localization strategies. While seeking new local suppliers, they also focus on inclusive sourcing. Of course, finding diverse suppliers is not easy – even local ones. Many women-owned businesses are small entities, not well-known in the business community. They often lack access to communication technology that would help them create greater visibility for the business.

How can we make it easier to connect enterprise buyers and women-owned businesses?

Creating Connections with SAP Technology

As president, CEO, and co-founder of WEConnect International, Elizabeth Vazquez is a leader in women’s economic empowerment and global supplier diversity and inclusion. Through WEConnect International, she helps women around the world grow their businesses to create wealth, hire more people, and contribute to the prosperity of their communities.

Last week, she participated in panel discussions during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The discussions focused on opportunities to direct more corporate spend to women-owned businesses, not only to do good but to close supply chain gaps.

“Women-owned businesses are a valuable and under-utilized resource,” she said. “The women who run these businesses understand what their communities need most, and they are in a unique position to help solve them. In the process, they are creating entirely new industries.”

WEConnect International recognizes that to compete in the global marketplace, women-owned businesses must be visible to potential customers. It developed the WECommunity platform, a global register of women-owned businesses that makes it easier for buyers to find women-owned suppliers.

Unfortunately, the initial version of WECommunity relied on technology that delivered a poor user experience, making searching the register cumbersome. WEConnect International needed a scalable, global solution that offered smooth user experiences in multiple languages for buyers and suppliers.

The SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance solution and SAP Business Network more than met these criteria. As an added advantage, many of the WECommunity member buyers were already transacting on SAP Business Network. SAP partner Premikati Inc., a women-owned business, was engaged to help deploy the SAP solutions.

In its first year, the improved functionality of WECommunity produced dramatic outcomes:

• Buyer membership increased by 91%, a $2 trillion increase in purchasing power.
• Over 6,000 women-owned businesses experienced revenue growth, creating 24,000 new jobs.
• Over 7,800 new registered women-owned businesses joined the database, a 95% growth.

“By making it easier for women to register their businesses and for large buyers to find them, our online portal based on the SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance solution, SAP Business Network, and SAP Business Technology Platform helps women compete in a global marketplace,” Vazquez explained.

Breaking Through the Barriers

Remember Thomé, the teenage girl who wanted to work in her father’s construction business? Today, she is owner-director of Projex Engenharia, the business her father founded.

As a noted in a recent profile, Projex Engenharia earned the WEConnect International Women’s Business Enterprise Certification. Thomé leveraged the global network of women suppliers and large buyers to become a more confident and assertive leader.

The relationship has also helped produce significant benefits for her business. In just six years, Projex Engenharia landed six large corporations as clients. This enabled the company to hire more people, ensure their safety and well-being, and support social, health, and environmental campaigns.

SAP is committed to helping all customers achieve their diversity and equity goals. And it is gratifying to know that our technology has become a valuable tool in making this happen.

Megan O’Connor is customer officer for SAP Intelligent Spend & Business Network.

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Much has changed for Nassozi Berna, her husband, and their seven children since she began farming oil palm trees on Kalangala, an island in Uganda’s Lake Victoria, 11 years ago. Before that, Berna and her husband were subsistence farmers growing cassava, banana, and some coffee and living in a small, timber-framed house.

Like many other farmers on Kalangala, Berna started growing oil palm trees in 2012 while emphasizing sustainability and avoiding the deforestation and other issues associated with oil palm farming in some parts of the world.

Oil palm trees bear the fruit that makes palm oil, a much more reliable and lucrative crop than the cash crops they were producing previously. “When we were farming cassava, bananas, and coffee, we were affected by monkeys. They came and destroyed our crops,” she says.

She also explains that she had to leave home and go to the market to find a buyer for the crops that survived the monkey attacks and never knew in advance how much they would fetch. “Our living conditions where bad,” she remembers. She and her family lived in a makeshift timber house. “In the night when we were sleeping, winds would come and destroy our houses and our children fell sick almost every day.”

Cloud Technology Empowers Ugandan Island Community

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That began to change when Berna began working with the Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT) and the family planted their first oil palm trees in 2012. They expanded their crop in 2019 and again in 2022. In Kalangala, many of the people are oil palm farmers. “When a day starts, some of my family members help me with the pruning,” she says. “The others go to the plantation and do other activities.”

As part of its mission, KOPGT teaches farmers better agricultural practices. But perhaps most importantly, it has created a transparent payment system so farmers get paid faster and know if what they’re getting paid is accurate, increasing the standard of living of the farmers and, subsequently, much of the island itself.

As the number of farmers and transactions increased, KOPGT needed a digital solution to enable continued growth. Since 2009, SAP has worked to create applications that help smallholder farmers in developing nations, primarily across Africa, enhance food production.

David Balironda, KOPGT’s general manager, explains that the trust’s system is based on SAP Rural Sourcing Management, which can digitally record information on producers, their farms, and communities at every level of the value chain. This helps provide visibility and allows parties to easily and quickly communicate with each other.

Build a sustainable and traceable agriculture supply chain with SAP Learn how Sustainability

Underscoring the importance of sustainability to KOPGT, the trust conducted an initial environmental impact assessment before launching the project and uses SAP Analytics Cloud to monitor the farmer plantings and ensure they are in compliance with the National Environment Management Authority guidelines.

SAP cloud technology also enables KOPGT to ensure that the oil palm planting meets the most stringent sustainability guidelines set by Uganda’s National Environmental Authority. “We are in the process of applying for that certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to make sure that we work within those guidelines,” says Fredrick Sulwe, KOPGT’s finance and administration manager.

As part of KOPGT’s commitment to sustainability, the trust maintains a lake buffer zone between the planting and the lake itself and even rehabilitates those areas that have been damaged by other plantings. “Restoration of those areas – the lake buffer zones – is key,” says Sulwe.

In addition to maintaining the buffer zones, the trust also follows recommendations for the stocking of trees and ensures that no chemicals or herbicides are used. “As we increase household income, we must keep an environment that is free of any distortion by the project,” explains Sulwe.

The KOPGT system allows the farmers to input information about their crops using the lead farmer’s mobile phone and enables them to receive information and advice back from the trust. The system also includes a mapping feature that has helped farmers to know exactly how much land they are farming. “That means when I go to the bank to get a loan, I’m sure of the size of my lot,” explains Berna.

In addition, she also knows exactly how much of the loan is outstanding and when it needs to be repaid. “Previously, we would almost spend a year without knowing the status of our loan,” she says. “Now we can learn the status of our loans monthly. This never existed before.”

Better Information

She also credits the system with making her a better and more informed oil palm farmer. “At the end of the month I get an SMS that shows how much I have harvested from my lot,” she says. Before the system came online, she says the family was spending a lot of money on transport going to and from the KOPGT office.

“Oil palm has not only impacted my life, but also the community,” she says. “There are many farmers who are like me who have built houses and some have bought cars. They have used the money they got from oil palm to start new businesses on Kalangala and outside.”

Big Dreams

Berna says her hopes and dreams are enormous. “I have started to achieve some of them,” she says. “Now, because I have a permanent house, I am able to sleep well, my children no longer get sick, and I’m sure that the winds won’t take my house.”

“Now, we are able to take our children to school. We can live a decent life. We have some place to stay, and we get paid every month. We are sure that our life has greatly changed,” she adds. And although she doesn’t yet own a car, she hopes to learn to drive in the coming years.

Meanwhile, she says she wants to thank everyone for their help. “What gives me confidence is we have good officers at KOPGT that have tried to give us a good direction. We hope that when they continue doing what they are doing our lives will be impacted greatly.”

Berna’s confidence and newly found optimism reflects the success of the vegetable oil program on Kalangala island. Because palm fruits can be harvested throughout the year – compared to one or two seasonal harvests – and have high yields, palm farming has become a viable alternative for the residents.

Palm oil is already the most widely used vegetable oil on the planet, with about 71 million tons consumed in 2021. And there is not only a domestic need, but also a demand from the foreign market that Ugandan smallholder farmers like Berna’s family and neighbors can help fill.

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With the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition 2402 update, we are bringing a new round of exciting innovations.

Over the last year, artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm and captured our collective imagination – and it has been a clear focus for us. We see a lot of potential in how AI can improve user and organizational productivity: doing things faster, making better decisions, and automating business processes. We have been embedding intelligent capabilities in our product regularly and will continue to invest in AI to help organizations be successful. 

Simply Ask Joule

Available through the SAP Early Adopter Care program, Joule, our AI-powered copilot, can redefine user interaction, streamline business processes, and enhance productivity. It can offer quick, contextual access to content and applications; users can simply ask Joule for guidance and get pointed in the right direction.

Catch a glimpse into the future of AI in ERP and find more information about the development of AI and Joule in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition here.

Improve Productivity with Embedded AI

The 2402 update also enhances productivity across various business processes through embedded AI capabilities. Examples include:

• Sales order auto-completion helps accelerate sales order creation and processing by providing smart input field recommendations.

Input recommendations for sales order completion. Click to enlarge.

• Automated material inspection helps streamline material inspection for customer returns, enhancing logistical efficiency and flexibility.

Automatic material inspection in customer returns. Click to enlarge. Adopt a Modern and Collaborative User Experience

The launch of spaces and pages in the SAP Fiori design system can offer a more intuitive user experience, enabling better task organization and quicker resource access. Highlights include:

• The new My Home space helps enhance personalization for end users, including personalization export/import and improved language support for System News. Watch a video to learn more.
• Collaborative stage view integration facilitates information sharing in Microsoft Teams, helping to enhance collaborative efforts across platforms. Watch a video to see it action.

Integration of collaborative stage view in Microsoft Teams. Click to enlarge.

• Contact card collaboration is now possible by initiating chats, calls, or video meetings directly from the To Do section in My Home. Watch a video to see how.

New features on My Home. Transforming to Intelligent and Sustainable Finance

One important aspect is treasury and risk management, where IDC MarketScape has positioned us as a leader for SaaS and cloud-enabled enterprise applications. Our latest finance enhancements are specifically designed to help elevate businesses into sustainable, intelligent enterprises:

• Enhanced compliance through improved risk management can increase transparency and process health, helping to ensure a more robust compliance structure in your financial operations.

Integration of risk management into financial compliance management.

• Integrated financial planning with CO2e insights in SAP Analytics Cloud allows planning alongside economic sustainability goals. This can provide a dual perspective on financial metrics and environmental impact, aiding in the development of eco-responsible strategies and identification of related financial risks.

Sustainability planning in integrated financial planning. Click to enlarge.

• The integration with Planon Real Estate focuses on seamless data management for enhanced efficiency in real estate and contract management processes.

Powering Service-Centric Companies

We have seen a spike in service-centric companies using SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and were named a leader in this area by Gartner. Based on feedback from our customers and partners, we are continuously improving the product experience. Examples include:

• The Project Control – Professional Services Projects app can offer a detailed project overview, enabling managers to monitor project health and address issues like missing time entries, pending invoices, or unassigned roles. This can allow for more proactive and efficient project management.

Project Control – Professional Services Projects app. Click to enlarge.

• The improved billing solution helps prevent revenue losses and streamline billing processes for increased flexibility and accuracy. Enhancements include editing billing due dates, merging billing plan items, and creating preliminary billing documents, all within the Manage Project Billing app.
• The SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)-based module of SAP Subscription Billing is tightly and seamlessly integrated. It can support customers’ transitions to subscription-based commercial models. Effective and detailed profitability analysis becomes instrumental to maximize revenue with tailored subscription-pricing models with the seamless support of profit centers. Take a look at our brand-new interactive value journey.
• Advanced solution order management can elevate your sales strategies. By integrating sales kits into solution orders, we provide the tools to help enhance your solution selling approach, working to ensure that every sales opportunity is maximized for optimal results, enhancing the process from ordering to billing and accounting.

Sales kits in solution orders. Click to enlarge. Boosting Manufacturing and Product-Centric Companies

The enhancements for product-centric companies help elevate operational efficiency, streamline processes, and unlock new revenue opportunities. Gartner named SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition as a cloud ERP market leader for product-centric enterprises. Highlights of the 2402 update include:

• For manufacturing sectors operating under the produce and sell standard products model, we now offer integration between SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and the SAP Integrated Business Planning application for demand. This synergy allows you to leverage comprehensive data insights for precise production planning, helping to ensure that your manufacturing processes align seamlessly with market demand.
• Efficient third-party order processing (TPOP) is tailored for businesses in a two-tier ERP setting and can simplify direct shipments from suppliers to customers with enhanced order fulfillment, greater sourcing flexibility, and reduced logistical expenses.

Efficient third-party order processing. Click to enlarge.

• The automatic linkage of equipment to service contracts helps improve the combined sales of a physical good and a service and enables you to increase revenue by selling combinations of physical products, one-time services, and recurring services. This also helps to avoid errors and reduce manual effort.

Automatic linkage of equipment to service contracts. Click to enlarge. Enhancing Global Reach

We further invested in localization, so our software complies with local regulations and cultural norms:

• With the 2402 update we are introducing new local versions for Kuwait, Oman, Kazakhstan, and Slovenia to meet specific regional requirements.
• We extended the business scope in our standard 59 local versions, responding to customer needs and enhancing local compatibility.
• We enhanced scope in our Customer Local Version countries (formerly CLT) to include baseline, finance, and now product-centric capabilities, catering to a wider range of customer needs.

And So Much More…

Throughout this year, we will deliver many more innovations that help bring value to your business. For more details around what is being delivered for the 2402 update, see the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition release info. For more information on SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition:

• Visit the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition community
• Watch product videos on our SAP S/4HANA Cloud YouTube playlist
• Explore the early release webinar series here
• See what’s new here
• Visit our product page on the SAP Help Portal site
• Explore extensibility options by leveraging sample scenarios from SAP in the SAP Extensibility Explorer tool
• Learn more about SAP Business AI

Arpan Shah is SVP of Public Cloud ERP Product Management at SAP.

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WALLDORF — SAP SE announced today its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

• SAP exceeds non-IFRS operating profit and cash flow outlook for FY 2023
• Cloud revenue up 20% and up 23% at constant currencies for FY 2023, underpinned by 25% cloud revenue growth at constant currencies in the fourth quarter
• Current cloud backlog of €13.7 billion, up 25% and up 27% at constant currencies
• IFRS cloud gross profit up 23%, non-IFRS cloud gross profit up 23% and up 27% at constant currencies in FY 2023
• IFRS operating profit down 5%, non-IFRS operating profit up 9% and up 13% at constant currencies in FY 2023
• 2024 outlook anticipates accelerating cloud revenue growth
• Planned transformation program including restructuring in 2024 reflects focus on scalability of operations and Business AI
• 2025 non-IFRS operating profit and free cash flow ambition updated to reflect updated non-IFRS definition as well as approximately half a billion Euro of incremental efficiency gains from the program

“SAP has delivered: We met or exceeded our outlook for 2023 in all key metrics. Based on a stellar order entry, our current cloud backlog expanded by 27% – an all-time high. We are confident about the company’s prospects in 2024. From this position of strength, SAP is opening the next chapter: with the planned transformation program, we are intensifying the shift of investments to strategic growth areas, above all Business AI. Going forward, this will empower us to keep leading with innovation while increasing the scalability of the operating model.”

Christian Klein, CEO

 

“2023 was a year of inflection. We kept our promise and achieved double-digit non-IFRS operating profit growth despite an adverse macro environment. In 2024, we will focus on putting the right gradient of earnings growth in place to deliver on our raised ambition for 2025 and sustain growth and financial performance beyond.”

Dominik Asam, CFO

Read the Quarterly Statement

Press Contacts:
Joellen Perry, +1 (650) 445-6780, joellen.perry@sap.com, PT
Daniel Reinhardt, +49 (6227) 7-40201, daniel.reinhardt@sap.com, CET

WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announces plans to implement a company-wide transformation program including restructuring for 2024. In addition, SAP is updating its ambition for 2025. The update reflects the strong performance in the fourth quarter 2023, the updated non-IFRS definition of profit measures, as well as the anticipated benefits from the new program.

The updated 2025 non-IFRS operating profit ambition of approximately €10.0 billion now reflects share-based compensation expenses of approximately €2 billion. Based on SAP’s analysis, this profit ambition is materially ahead of corresponding analyst consensus estimates. In addition, the updated 2025 free cash flow ambition of approximately €8.0 billion is ahead of the latest analyst consensus. 

Ambition 2025

The update of the non-IFRS operating profit ambition includes a reduction by approximately €2 billion due to the inclusion of share-based compensation expenses under the updated non-IFRS definition, as well as an increase of approximately €0.5 billion due to anticipated incremental efficiency gains from the transformation program.

By 2025, SAP now expects:

• Non-IFRS cloud gross profit of approximately €16.2 billion, now including share-based compensation expenses of approximately €0.1 billion (previously: approximately €16.3 billion, excluding share-based compensation expenses)
• Non-IFRS operating profit of approximately €10.0 billion, now including share-based compensation expenses of approximately €2 billion (previously: approximately €11.5 billion, excluding share-based compensation expenses)
• Free cash flow of approximately €8.0 billion (previously: approximately €7.5 billion)

SAP continues to expect:

• Cloud revenue of more than €21.5 billion
• Total revenue of more than €37.5 billion
• A share of more predictable revenue of approximately 86%

The 2025 ambition is based on an exchange rate of 1.10 USD per EUR.

2024 Transformation Program: Focus on Scalability of Operations and Key Strategic Growth Areas

In 2024, SAP will further increase its focus on key strategic growth areas, in particular Business AI. It also intends to transform its operational setup to capture organizational synergies, AI-driven efficiencies and to prepare the company for highly scalable future revenue growth.

To this end and to ensure that SAP’s skill-set and resources continue to meet future business needs, SAP plans to execute a company-wide restructuring program in 2024. The majority of the approximately 8,000 affected positions is expected to be covered by voluntary leave programs and internal re-skilling measures. Reflecting re-investments into strategic growth areas, SAP expects to exit 2024 at a headcount similar to current levels.

Restructuring expenses are preliminarily projected at around €2 billion, the vast majority of which is expected to be recognized in the first half of 2024, impacting IFRS operating profit. Excluding restructuring expenses, the program is expected to provide only a minor cost benefit in 2024. Expected cost savings and re-investments are fully reflected in SAP’s 2024 outlook and the updated 2025 non-IFRS operating profit- and free cash flow ambition.

Financial Outlook 2024

SAP’s business outlook, which includes the financial outlook 2024 as well as the financial ambition 2025, is based on SAP’s updated non-IFRS definition of profit measures which, beginning in 2024, include share-based compensation expenses and exclude gains and losses from equity securities, net.

Furthermore, the 2024 outlook and 2025 ambition for free cash flow assume all payouts associated with the planned restructuring program will be completed in 2024.

For 2024, SAP expects:

• €17.0 – 17.3 billion cloud revenue at constant currencies (2023: €13.66 billion), up 24% to 27% at constant currencies.
• €29.0 – 29.5 billion cloud and software revenue at constant currencies (2023: €26.93 billion), up 8% to 10% at constant currencies.
• €7.6 – 7.9 billion non-IFRS operating profit at constant currencies (2023: €6.51 billion based on updated non-IFRS operating profit definition), up 17% to 21% at constant currencies.
• Free cash flow of approximately €3.5 billion (2023: €5.08 billion). This includes a preliminary €2 billion estimate for payouts associated with the program, a €0.2 billion impact from a settlement earlier this year of pre-existing regulatory compliance matters accrued in 2023, as well as a €0.2 billion adverse impact due to the discontinuation of the SAP-triggered financing program.
• A non-IFRS effective tax rate of approximately 32% (2023: 30.3% based on updated non-IFRS tax rate definition).

While SAP’s 2024 financial outlook is at constant currencies, actual currency reported figures are expected to be impacted by currency exchange rate fluctuations as the Company progresses through the year.

SAP will publish its fourth quarter and full year 2023 results shortly after this release.

SAP senior management will discuss these items in more detail during its financial analyst conference call on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:00 a.m. CET/6:00 a.m. GMT/1:00 a.m. EST (Tuesday, January 23, at 10:00 p.m. PST), which will be webcast on the Company’s website at https://www.sap.com/investor and will be available for replay.

Visit the SAP News Center.Follow SAP at @SAPNews.

About SAP

SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 26 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.  

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For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
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United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)

For more information, financial community:
Anthony Coletta, Chief Investor Relations Officer, +49 (6227) 7-60437, investor@sap.com

For more information, press:
Joellen Perry, +1 (650) 445-6780, joellen.perry@sap.com, PT
Daniel Reinhardt, +49 (6227) 7-40201, daniel.reinhardt@sap.com, CET

Webcast
SAP senior management will host a financial analyst conference call on Wednesday, January 24 at 7:00 a.m. CET/6:00 a.m. GMT/1:00 a.m. EST (Tuesday, January 23 at 10:00 p.m. PST), followed by a press conference at 10:00 a.m. CET/9:00 a.m. GMT/4:00 a.m. EST /1:00 a.m. PST. Both conferences will be webcast on the Company’s website at https://www.sap.com/investor and will be available for replay.

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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Companies are under tremendous pressure to remain competitive. This requires the reinvention of themselves and their offerings, along with their underlying IT systems – while still operating. And all of this needs talent.

In times of everything-as-a-service, it is important for SAP experts to build modular system architectures for the sustainable enterprise using SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). But unfortunately, according to ASUG, maintaining knowledgeable staff and internal skills hindered organizations’ technology and business progress.  

Acknowledging these challenges and embracing the power of SAP’s partner ecosystem, SAP has launched an enhanced partner experience on the SAP Learning site specifically tailored to the needs of partner learners. This new experience features curated SAP Learning Journeys, exclusive access to events and subject matter experts, plus the opportunity to earn valuable credentials.

And this SAP partner enablement model is not the typical training. As much as a golf coach can explain how to perfect a swing, true learning actually happens when golfers swing the clubs themselves. Similarly, the partner experience on SAP Learning can provide hands-on interaction designed to help build skills using practical scenarios. Additionally, our newly launched platform can give SAP partner learners access to the right resources for a significantly reduced price per user per year – including certifications. 

Explore learning resources tailored exclusively for our partner ecosystem Learn more

Beginning January 2024, SAP partners accessing the new learning experience will receive the following:

• Free, self-paced courses that can enable learners to quickly upskill, reskill, and stay up-to-date, offering engaging learning, rightsized to fit the learner’s day-to-day work needs
• Partner-specific SAP Learning Journeys that can enable partners to become an extension of the SAP team
• Enhanced analytics, providing the ability to map and track individual skills and to monitor the growth of certified consultants and active learners
• Access to expert-led live sessions
• Unlimited on-demand access to hands-on practice systems
• Four certification exam attempts
• A single starting point for partner digital learning with AI-supported search across content repositories

Keeping skills current is the key to unlocking success, and it ensures access to future job opportunities. It is important to stay relevant in the work that SAP professionals do as businesses transform. That is why SAP helps make it easier to stay up-to-date with certifications:

• Certification validity will be 12 months from the assessment completion date to the next checkpoint. This supports professionals in staying up to speed with innovations and new methodologies.  
• SAP is transforming certifications to become role-based – such as, enterprise architect or backend developer – adapting the learning efforts to the needs of the partner consultants. This shift aligns better with the needs of the learner, thus making the training more efficient.

With the new partner experience on SAP Learning, partner learners can access free content and take advantage of reduced fees for premium SAP partner enablement. They can also get more chances to earn certifications and benefit from extended certification validity and personalized role-based training.

Doubling down on SAP’s cloud-only innovation strategy, we continue to focus on developing new talent and capacity in the ecosystem to support the increased future demand for cloud transformation across our customer base.

For more information, visit the partner experience section on the SAP Learning site. 

SAP Partner Live: SAP Global Partner Kick-Off 2024

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Tine Vandenbreeden is global VP of Digital Partner Learning at SAP.

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In a world where innovation is happening at an unprecedented pace, businesses are finding themselves at a crossroads. They are presented with new opportunities to reimagine the way they work, collaborate, and invent. But businesses of all sizes, in every industry, are struggling under the weight of disjointed and disparate technology stacks that distract them from growth, resilience, and innovation.

That’s where clean core comes in. With a clean core strategy for your business technology – starting with your ERP – you can stay focused on what matters most to your business.

Operating with Greater Control and Agility at Your Core

Clean core is a concept designed to keep your organization’s core ERP systems transparent, flexible, consistent, and efficient. It provides the foundation for igniting innovation in the areas of your business that matter the most, allowing your systems to keep up with your business needs more easily, enable innovation, and even support a transition to the cloud.

Clean core has long been the primary goal of enterprise resource planning. After all, the point of having an ERP system is to keep your business running smoothly and adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Yet somewhere along the way, many businesses got lost – they adopted sprawling technology stacks with significant customizations and redundant integrations that negate the purpose of a modern, intelligent ERP system. Why? Too often, businesses believe they are so different that almost every process warrants a nonstandard approach.

In reality, most businesses have more in common than they realize. In terms of finance, accounting, HR, procurement, and many other core business processes, you’re probably very similar to your competitors and others in your industry. Clean core identifies those parts of the business that are standard and enables you to focus on your technology needs related to the nonstandard processes that set you apart from the rest.

Explore the value of a clean core strategy Learn about RISE with SAP Setting Your Business Apart with Strategic Differentiators

Take a luxury fashion brand and a fast-fashion retailer, for example. They both have the same core business goal – and related processes – of designing, manufacturing, and selling apparel and accessories. However, the luxury fashion brand likely focuses more on customer service and the procurement of high-quality materials, while the fast-fashion powerhouse probably places greater importance on rapid design and production cycles. 

Despite their differences, both these businesses would benefit from using the same standard ERP and best practices designed for their industry. Doing so empowers them to focus on the strategic differentiators that make them unique, whether that’s creating custom solutions for the customer experience or innovating ways to cut costs.

So, what are SAP customers doing to differentiate themselves from the competition? Hitachi High Tech (HHT) replaced its highly customized, multinational business landscape with a move to the cloud, investing in SAP S/4HANA Cloud. With a two-tier public and private cloud model, using a side-by-side development approach on SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), HHT reduced 9,000 custom code developments to 472, allowing it to facilitate major upgrades every year and minor updates every six months. Moreover, it’s adopted a clean core mindset as part of the strategy going forward. By embracing the change, HHT moves from a legacy approach to a future-ready intelligent enterprise.

The Clean Core Journey: A Starting Point, Not an End

The industry is sending a clear message: cloud is the default, and it’s rapidly becoming the new normal. However, to truly future-proof their business, organizations should adopt a clean core strategy, a concept that is revolutionizing the way businesses innovate. For many businesses, upgrading to a cloud-based ERP system is the natural next step.

But there are steps you can take to get closer to a clean core and prepare yourself for the future, even before you are ready to make the jump to the cloud. To start, determine what parts of your ERP drive value. Create two categories: one for differentiating elements that deliver value to your business and another for basic functions that don’t create value but keep your business running. By determining which parts of your business set you apart – and whether they’re locked behind fragile integrations and custom code – you can begin thinking more strategically about whether your core ERP system is helping you achieve your goals. You can build on this foundation, enriching your systems to incorporate your competitive differentiators and create a business platform that sets you apart in the marketplace.

The future belongs to those that embrace the clean core and leverage it as a launchpad for innovation and growth. The time to embark on this transformative journey is now.

Claudio Muruzabal is chief business officer at SAP.

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In an ever-changing world, businesses require data-driven, real-time insights from HR reporting and analytics to make informed decisions that affect their workforce. But many HR teams still rely on older technology and struggle to fulfill demands for reports that encompass an increasing volume of metrics and data. The time they spend gathering, extracting, and transforming data across a patchwork of tools and spreadsheets detracts from other urgent tasks. Despite their efforts, the resultant reports are limited in usefulness by past data and often contain inconsistencies that require additional time to resolve. 

Global specialty materials company Eastman overcame its HR reporting challenges by implementing story reports in SAP SuccessFactors solutions, making its reporting easier and more efficient. For example, a standard talent report – once a labor-intensive task that took several days of precious time – is now generated in under two hours complete with detailed graphics that are continuously updated with live data. Indeed, an SAP study found that with the analytics tools available in SAP SuccessFactors solutions, customers reported a 74% decrease in time spent on report generation, saving days and even weeks on HR reporting.  

“The ability to give our [HR] information to leaders as they need it is huge,” says Nina Nabors, manager of Talent Systems, Eastman. She summarizes the transformation in improvement over past reporting methods. “Before, it was lagging data. It was never data that was live. Having that benefit of building the story report in SAP SuccessFactors and it continuously updating with the latest information is very nice.”

Based in Tennessee, U.S., Eastman Chemical Company was founded in 1920 as a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak. It has a workforce of 14,000 employees in 15 countries. Energized in its purpose to “enhance the quality of life in a material way,” Eastman engages with customers in 100 countries to deliver innovative materials found in items people use every day, including safe, durable medical materials; premium plastics for eyewear frames and lenses; food and beverage packaging; sustainable fibers for luxury home furnishings; and energy-efficient window glass for the construction industry, among others.

Cloud HR Delivers Sustainable Value with Exceptional Employee Experience

To future-proof its workforce, Eastman set itself up for success by moving to the cloud with SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Eastman was already using an on-premise human capital management (HCM) solution from SAP, but wanted the scalability and cost-effectiveness of a cloud-based HR solution. “Delivering [HR] services in the cloud gives us an opportunity to make the technology available to our employees in a way that is more sustainable than having it housed on our servers,” says Nabors.

Prachi Sathe, director of Global HR Technology and Solutions, Eastman, underscores the value of receiving the latest innovations and new features with each biannual SAP SuccessFactors release update. “We also wanted to make sure our HR platform is sustainable in terms of how we support it, how we grow it, and how we make more functions available to our employees. Going to SAP SuccessFactors just made sense for us,” she says.

Put employee experience and engagement at the heart of your organization with SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite Learn more

Eastman uses a range of solutions in SAP SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite – including SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and modules for recruiting, learning, compensation, variable pay, performance and goals, career development planning, and succession – to help harness the efficiency of end-to-end integration and provide an exceptional experience throughout the employee journey from hire to retire.

The SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting solution, for example, is a key driver of Eastman’s talent strategy. “That’s how we bring our new talent into the organization. That’s really their first introduction to our tools,” says Nabors. “We’re bringing great talent into the organization. How we do it is very important, and SAP SuccessFactors is a part of that.”

Accelerating Efficiency with Real-Time Analytics

Eastman needed a streamlined approach to HR reporting that accelerated efficiency and optimized value by fully using the analytics and data in SAP SuccessFactors solutions. “We were using separate tools outside of SAP SuccessFactors solutions to pull our reporting together,” recalls Sathe. “The challenges with that [were figuring out] how we get data out of SAP SuccessFactors solutions and feed it into those reporting tools.”

Eastman’s customer success partner for the SAP Preferred Success plan identified SAP resources to help Eastman increase value from its use of SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics. Eastman also joined a hands-on lab session at SuccessConnect 2022 to gain experience working with story reports, a tool available in the report center of SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Story reports can deliver real-time data analytics and generate reports faster by using live data from across SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite, displaying presentation-style reports in a clear format with detailed visual graphics that communicate insights in an understandable way. As Sathe notes, “When we saw [story reports], it was so motivating for us that data is already there and tools are there. We came back and started working on our first dashboard.”

“We’re so happy Eastman joined us at SuccessConnect,” says Maryann Abbajay, chief revenue officer, SAP SuccessFactors. “Hands-on lab sessions like the one Eastman participated in are invaluable learning experiences. Eastman is a great example of how customers are applying that new knowledge to unlock value with SAP SuccessFactors. With story reports, they are already able to deliver the type of data-driven insights that transform HR into a strategic partner for the business.”    

Data-Driven Insights That Advance People Strategy

Eastman began working with a manager dashboard, one of the many time-saving templates preloaded in story reports, and later built its own version tailored to the information requirements of its organizational leaders, supervisors, and people managers. The HR team also developed custom objects to use in its story reports, including an organizational hierarchy table with extensive drilldown capabilities and a currency exchange table to help executives track international labor costs. The story reports, customized with the look and feel of Eastman’s branding, quickly gained broad acceptance with Eastman’s organizational leaders.

Explore stories in SAP SuccessFactors solutions Read the guide

The HR team recently built a dashboard showing a holistic view to help leaders identify opportunities to advance the organization’s people strategy. This dashboard uses data from SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and will later be augmented with data from the recruiting and learning solutions. A talent dashboard is also forthcoming to Eastman’s HR community, which includes talent partners and leaders. Sathe notes, “By creating the stories, as its name says, we are bringing various data sources together.”

Michael Glenn, talent assessment and analytics manager, Eastman, is building a new learning dashboard that will go out to all learning administrators and supervisors to enable them to see how many people are overdue on their learnings and what learnings are coming up in the next 30 days – and how many hours are required to complete the learning sessions. This information is especially important for production teams that work on fixed schedules, as it enables managers to plan the learning hours into the employee’s schedule.

To ensure the reports provide the right level of information to each recipient based on their role, Glenn intends to use the role-based access permissions available in story reports. So far, he is impressed with the feature, which saves him time from performing manual activities and distribution list maintenance. “We’ve been testing out role-based permissions and it is just working great,” he says.

Empowering HR Administrators with User-Friendly Solutions for Improved Productivity

Nabors says that though she has no background or training in analytics, she found that she was able to get up to speed with stories very quickly. She recalls previously spending several days to build a single report that integrated data from SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central and SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting. In stories, she is now able to generate the same report in just one to two hours.

Also, troubleshooting and addressing gaps in data is much easier. “If there’s an error somewhere – for example, requisition data that shows up under the wrong person’s name – being able to see it in a story is very easy,” she says. “It’s easy to address that error quickly because you can go right to the error without having to dig through lines and lines of data, rows and columns of data.”

Better Analytics for Faster Decision-Making

Eastman plans to build on its early success with story reports to drive more insights for the organization. For example, there are plans to integrate data to track progress towards Eastman’s ambitious inclusion and diversity goals, which include increasing diverse talent and supporting employees in bringing their whole selves to work. Real-time information from SAP SuccessFactors solutions supports organizational leaders in advancing Eastman’s strategy to build a high-performing organization.

“We really believe in sustainability and sustainable outcomes,” says Sathe. “We want our employees to be self-service reporting employees and create better analytics that give them information versus data. What we were doing previously was giving them data. Story reports transformed this.”

For more information, read “A Guide to Stories in SAP SuccessFactors.”

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I’m thrilled to share a sneak peek of our SAP TechEd program for 2024, which brings together developers, practitioners, enterprise architects, and global IT leaders to explore SAP’s latest innovations and gain hands-on learning.

This year, we’re offering three unique and convenient event experiences so customers and partners can build skills and meet 1:1 with SAP experts.

SAP TechEd Virtual

Held October 8-9, 2024, the free two-day virtual event will deliver SAP technology news and announcements via global keynotes, technical and developer enablement, and engaging sessions of live and pre-recorded content for everyone across the globe.  

SAP TechEd On Tour

Taking place on multiple dates throughout the year, the single-day in-person events hosted across the globe by SAP experts and the SAP Community will deliver deep learning, networking, and hands-on engagement. Locations will range in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and Asian-Pacific and Japan (APJ) regions.  

ASUG Tech Connect, in partnership with SAP TechEd, West Palm Beach, Florida

From November 12-14, 2024, the major three-day event stopover on the SAP TechEd program tour will deliver visionary keynotes, technical education and enablement, expert-led sessions, and a full-scale show floor community experience with networking, best practices, and hands-on engagement.  

I can’t wait to see everyone at an SAP TechEd event in 2024! 

JG Chirapurath is chief marketing and solutions officer for SAP BTP.

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If 2023 was the year when generative artificial intelligence (AI) finally became a consumer reality, this will be the year when AI in a business context takes a big step forward.

There is simply no doubt that more and more companies will adopt business AI this year as a key part of their digital transformations and to future proof their operations. But to look at AI alone is to miss the bigger picture of this generational shift in enterprise technology.

See what SAP is building with generative AI Explore now

While AI may get all of the attention, this is actually a moment when two transformative technologies for business are converging. On one side there is the awesome power of the cloud, which allows businesses to break down silos so their teams can access the data they need to innovate faster and in a more secure environment. On the other side is generative AI for business, which can do everything from generating content and code to automating time-consuming tasks and discovering new insights.

But behind the hype and the headlines about generative AI lies a fundamental truth that IT professionals know very well: Any new technology only has value when it can be integrated seamlessly across systems and processes so organizations can do things they couldn’t do before.

In other words, it’s never about the new technology itself; it’s always about what the new technology can do to move businesses forward that really counts.

Increasingly, CIOs recognize what is at stake with getting generative business AI right. According to CITI’s 2Q23 CIO survey, 86% of respondents are directly funding generative AI projects. But there’s a lot of confusion about where these investments are best directed to drive growth for business and value for customers.

In my role for SAP, I speak with CIOs all the time about how to make the most of their technology investments. And whether it’s the cloud or generative AI, my message to IT professionals is simple: experience within your industry and integration across your systems matter now more than ever. Working with experienced partners like SAP is also the only way to unlock the power of responsible, reliable, and relevant AI for business. 

The potential of ERP systems powered by AI is huge. It could allow mundane tasks to be automated more intelligently, freeing up teams to tackle more strategic challenges. It could allow analytics to become even more predictive by using data in AI algorithms to identify trends and patterns long before they become obvious. And it could enhance customer experiences by using data on preferences coupled with real-time data on supply chains to help companies offer more personal recommendations while also making sure those products are available where and when people are ready to buy them.

SAP has been helping businesses use technology to solve these kinds of challenges for decades, starting with ERP and expanding across the enterprise. And while the idea of having cloud solutions augmented by AI might seem new, the reality is we have already been embedding AI into use cases. Today, more than 24,000 businesses are already using and benefiting from SAP Business AI capabilities — and they are seeing impressive results.

For example, American Sugar Refining, Inc., which has been delivering sugarcane products for over 150 years, is now using AI embedded in SAP Business Technology Platform to predict the cost of moving freight more accurately. Predictions that used to be a painstaking process are now being generated automatically in seconds. As a result, the company has been able to generate 2,200 forecasts for 628 trucking lanes sampled from six U.S. states with six months of data — with 95% accuracy.

Or take the example of Motor Oil Group, which need to monitor the health of its refinery equipment to minimize downtime and reduce maintenance costs. By embracing machine learning and predictive analytics from SAP, the company has been able to build predictive models for abnormal events based on sensor data and feed them into user-friendly dashboards and e-mail notifications. As a result, it has been able to explain abnormal events with 77% accuracy and predict future sensor measurements with 70% accuracy.

These are just two examples of what’s already happening when AI is embedded into cloud solutions. And it is just the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come.

But to get the benefits of business AI, companies must first move to the cloud. And that raises an important question for IT professionals. What are you doing today to get ready for the coming flood of business AI solutions that will be available to you but also to your competitors?

This race has already started. Those who team up with partners with the right combination of experience and integration will be the ones set up to win it.

Scott Russell is head of Customer Success and a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

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