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Grayscale says recent inflation data could be a short-term negative for crypto, but persistent inflation will ultimately foster a supportive environment for crypto.

Venture capitalist Tim Draper believes Bitcoin remains a vital hedge against devaluing fiat currencies.

He invented yield farming, has a Boomer-level property portfolio, and now Synthetix founder Kain Warwick has a plan to reinvent DeFi.

WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) will release its full results for the first quarter of 2024 on Monday, April 22, at 10:05 p.m. CEST/ 4:05 p.m. EDT.

SAP CEO Christian Klein as well as CFO Dominik Asam will host a virtual analyst conference to present first quarter financial figures, as well as an outlook on the current financial year.

Media representatives may listen in on the virtual analyst conference via Webcast on April 22 at 11:00 p.m. CEST/ 5:00 p.m. EDT, accessible at broadcast.sap.com/go/QReport.

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It is no secret that I have had technology in my blood since I was young, having received my first computer at age 12 and learned programming at 14. We founded our first company at 17 and, as time went on, we created our first professional application — a mini ERP system to help photographers with their business. With that, I began to realize the power of technological improvements for businesses and how enterprise software impacts lives in general.

For example, the introduction of low-code/no-code has made application development accessible to everyone in an organization — with or without a technical background — to improve experiences for everyone. Just take Dak, the then 12-year-old junior app developer from Massachusetts, who was part of my SAP TechEd keynote in 2022. With SAP Build solutions, Dak was able to develop all kinds of apps and publish them to a wide audience, such as the “Knowledge 4 Ever” app that offers kids a playful learning experience during summer break.

Then, there are cloud technologies that further boost accessibility and offer other benefits. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has put more power into more hands. Another advancement, composable technology, will make it easier for businesses to quickly assemble, reassemble, and compose solutions to meet their needs and those of their customers.

Over the course of my 11-year journey at SAP, the SAP Innovation Awards have served as a one-of-a-kind global platform to showcase customers and partners that have used their creativity, teamwork, SAP products, and cloud technologies to achieve remarkable results. This year, though, is a different experience for me. As an executive sponsor of the awards, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing up close what makes this program and the participating businesses so special.

Today, I am thrilled to announce the 2024 SAP Innovation Award winners. Out of 170 businesses, one in three were chosen as finalists and now the winners have been announced. These winners come from various industries and locations worldwide. What all of them share is the use of SAP products and technologies to create innovative solutions for their customers, employees, and communities. Congratulations to all participants for demonstrating remarkable abilities and highlighting the importance of curiosity and continuous learning!

SAP Innovation Awards Winners Revealed: Get Inspired and Submit Your Own Ideas

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Generative AI has empowered more people. Many of the participants have utilized SAP Business AI to boost their businesses. Take the winner Martur Fompak, one of the world’s leading suppliers of automotive seat systems, which has leveraged SAP solutions, including SAP AI Launchpad and SAP AI Core, to revolutionize cockpit customization. When personalizing cockpit elements such as seats, door panels, and dashboards, OEMs and customers can see the carbon impact of each choice. By providing and promoting more sustainable and environmentally friendly options, Martur Fompak has decreased carbon emissions by 34% for each seat the company produces. AI has also helped the company increase its efficiency to achieve calculations 50 times faster than with manual methods and accelerate data collection by 75 times. 

Sustainability for a Better World Today – and Tomorrow At SAP, we love to celebrate inspirational customer and partner stories Learn more about the SAP Innovation Awards

Technology has significantly contributed to improving lives, both within and beyond business contexts. Numerous winners like Martur Fompak have prioritized sustainability. Let us look at one more innovator in this area: González Byass S.A.

A producer of high-quality sherries, González Byass is committed to the circular economy concept of eliminating waste, circulating materials, and regenerating nature. The company deploys sustainable and water-saving agricultural techniques. To assist with eliminating and recycling waste, González Byass turned to SAP and SAP Responsible Design and Production. The company needed a faster, more transparent way to gather and manage data, specifically around the purchase and use of plastic. With SAP Responsible Design and Production, González Byass can quickly and effectively monitor, measure, and act on data. The company recovers 99% of the waste generated during production while recycling 100% of paper, cardboard, glass, and plastic.  

Adoption Can Be Challenging

Even top technologies such as AI may need support to gain widespread acceptance. Many of this year’s winners have been innovative with their focus on adopting SAP technology. Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a prime example.

A leader in onshore/offshore wind energy production, Vestas wanted to improve its supplier and partner collaboration and selected SAP for the task. Vestas began its journey with SAP in 2007 by employing SAP ERP Central Component and consolidating to ONE ERP in 2015. Since 2017, the company has been transforming its digital procurement for supplier collaboration with SAP Ariba solutions. Last year, Vestas began to build out its value chain alongside suppliers and partners with SAP Business Network, enabling data transparency and connectivity in finance, production planning, and logistics management. As a result, 6,000 suppliers were onboarded, US$12.5 billion in purchase orders was executed, 350,000 orders were confirmed, and 25,000 advance ship notices were generated, to name a few transactions — all in 2023. 

I am happy to say that the 2024 SAP Innovation Awards honor businesses that have demonstrated their innovation and effective use of SAP products and technologies. They’ve adapted to and met the ever-changing needs of their customers and communities and, as I wrote earlier, achieved remarkable results in diverse areas. Congratulations to all winners! 

The Winners Shine in Seven Categories

If you’re curious about the path to victory for our winners, learn more in this article. Thirty winners were selected, covering the following categories:

• Business Innovator, focusing on transforming the supply chain, processes, or business networks using cloud solutions from SAP
• Industry Leader, for employing SAP solutions to address big challenges and change how business is conducted
• Experience Wizard, for achieving business transformation with cloud solutions from SAP to improve employee and customer experiences
• Sustainability Hero, achieving sustainability with leading-edge solutions
• Services Supernova, for outstanding achievements in transforming businesses into sustainable enterprises
• Transformation Titan, demonstrating exceptional innovation and transformational leadership in using SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)
• Partner Paragon, for accelerating the adoption of SAP BTP

Juergen Mueller is chief technology officer and a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

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The SAP Pinnacle Awards, our most prestigious global partner recognition program, shine a spotlight on our top-performing partners that demonstrate excellence in unlocking innovative new ways for customers to run their businesses.

SAP’s ecosystem plays a key role in our vision to enable every organization and every industry to become a network of intelligent, sustainable enterprises. Through their unique industry expertise, implementation methodologies, complementary solutions, and commitment throughout the Customer Value Journey, partners help customers thrive and succeed with SAP.

Across 26 categories in the areas of Customer Success, Intelligent Enterprise Realization, Sustainability, and Social Impact, partners are recognized for their outstanding contributions, exponential growth, and simplification. Through delivering cloud innovations that help customers achieve their goals, these partners exemplify dedication to teamwork and embody our vision for partnering excellence.

Twenty-five of the 2024 winners and finalists were selected from SAP’s wide-ranging partner base, using system-generated data on core metrics and key performance indicators. A steering committee of global SAP representatives reviewed, vetted, and ranked the achievements according to our internal criteria, which aligned with SAP’s communicated business strategies.

The only exception is the Social Impact category, which recognized a partner’s lasting societal impact by leveraging SAP innovation with concrete results. Partner nominations were evaluated and ranked by a panel of jurors consisting of SAP internal and third-party representatives.

Winners and finalists for all categories will receive a communication package to help them promote their success to their customers, prospects, and the media, including logos for online and physical marketing vehicles. To increase their global exposure, SAP will list the winners and finalists on its Web site for an entire year, in addition to running a comprehensive campaign that promotes these winners and finalists to joint prospects and customers.

Congratulations to the winners and finalists! We look forward to celebrating your success at SAP Partner Connect and SAP Sapphire.

Karl Fahrbach is chief partner officer at SAP.

SAP Pinnacle Awards showcase partners that have excelled in helping customers become best-run businesses Check out this year’s winners and finalists

LunarCrush CEO Joe Vezzani believes that despite the upcoming Bitcoin halving, there might not be a significant shift in retail engagement.

WALLDORF — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announced that Ericsson, a world leader in 5G and communications technologies and services, has selected the SAP Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain (SAP IBP) solution to drive further operational efficiencies in its global supply chain network.

Stand up to disruption with connected processes and fast, flexible planning Learn more

Supporting networks with more than 2.5 billion subscribers in more than 180 countries, and with 40% of the world’s mobile traffic outside China carried over its networks, Ericsson needed a technological foundation to provide for a single source of truth for its entire planning and logistics process.

The cloud-based SAP IBP solution integrates business planning capabilities across various business functions, improves the ability of companies to anticipate supply-chain risks and offers mitigating solutions. With SAP IBP, Ericsson will be able to navigate complex planning requirements while improving response times of sales, operations, resources, and inventory planning. This will empower Ericsson to further focus on driving innovation and improving cost efficiencies.    

The ability to predict and meet demand in an agile manner is crucial for companies to achieve several business objectives. Choosing SAP IBP is part of a long-time SAP and Ericsson partnership, in which SAP has supported Ericsson’s vision of providing limitless connectivity for the world.

“Agility, resilience and trust are critical for global leaders like Ericsson to achieve supply-chain resilience and meet customers’ needs,” said Dominik Metzger, head of the SAP Digital Supply Chain organization. “Ericsson and SAP have had a strong collaboration over the years, and its choice of SAP IBP allows us to support it in further digitalizing its supply chain to cement its position as one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies.”

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Ulrika Wass, +46 73 827 1074, ulrika.wass@sap.com, CET
Lesa Plingen, +49 622 776 9000, lesa.plingen@sap.com, CET
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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 2023 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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Smart contracts that can be turned on and off by a multisignature mechanism or governance vote are potentially problematic, says Coin Center’s Peter Van Valkenburgh.

While Bitcoin halvings can put a huge dent in crypto mining profitability, miners say they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Biden wants to impose a new 30 percent tax on the electricity that Bitcoin miners are using — regardless of how it's sourced. That means many will move abroad.

Influencer Brian Jung is being extra vigilant about sponsorship deals post FTX but happily predicts a big spike in AERO’s price. Hall of Flame

Data suggests that a fresh influx of investor capital marks the crypto market entering a euphoric phase.

The retiring chair of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee is optimistic about digital asset legislation now before Congress.

Bitcoin faces some familiar whale games into the U.S. economic reports as BTC price fails to find support above $70,000.

Over the past few years, HR has steadily evolved into one of the most critical functions for any organization. HR not only has a seat at the table, but the ability to become a driving force behind organizational change and growth. Most customers I speak with recognize this opportunity, but many have the same question: how can HR make the most impact?

Each year, the SAP SuccessFactors Growth & Insights team conducts in-depth research on the latest trends and predictions impacting the HR function. Our PhD-level organizational psychologists and market intelligence experts aggregate and analyze a mountain of HR trends and predictions data to deliver a list of actionable “meta-trends.” For 2024, a list of 611 individual trends were broken down into nine key themes.

Above all, there is no question that 2024 is the year of artificial intelligence (AI). No longer just hype or speculation, AI is officially here. Exciting possibilities have become realities and organizations must embrace AI or risk being left behind. And while our number one HR trend is AI, you can also see its effects across every trend.

Below is a snapshot of the top three 2024 HR meta-trends, with examples of how SAP SuccessFactors solutions can help organizations stay ahead of the curve.

1. AI Upends the World of Work as We Know It

I don’t go a day – or maybe 10 minutes – without a customer asking for all the latest and greatest on AI innovation. That makes sense, as AI has dominated the 2024 trends discourse and it’s increasingly become seen as a way to augment human work.

Trends indicate that using all forms of AI to improve day-to-day productivity will be top of mind for organizations in 2024. In particular, self-serve AI tools like copilots are poised to increase employee productivity on various day-to-day tasks. As employee sentiment about using AI tools at work has improved, so has the ability of these tools to make employees more efficient and effective.

Be ready for AI built for business Meet SAP’s AI copilot, Joule

HR use cases abound, particularly within talent acquisition, but concerns continue about data privacy, ethics, and regulatory compliance. There’s a lot of noise and movement in the space, and regulators and enforcement agencies are acting quickly to keep up.

With the tech landscape and market realities in mind, the HR leaders who head AI implementation programs, maintain a strong policy posture, and avoid overhyped or underbaked propositions to take advantage of the most valuable capabilities will steer their organizations down the right AI path.

Embedding an AI copilot in HR solutions, like Joule in SAP SuccessFactors solutions, can help employees and managers work faster and smarter by making it easier to find information and complete common HR tasks, such as updating personal data, giving feedback, and initiating a promotion.

Joule, SAP’s AI copilot. Click to enlarge. 2. Skills Become the Center of HR Practices

As AI needs rise within organizations, many organizations will need to immediately respond to determine what AI skills are needed, who possesses those skills, and how to fill skill gaps – whether build, borrow, buy, or bot. On the other hand, AI capabilities will also drive the ability for organizations to more effectively engage in strategic workforce planning.

Furthermore, in today’s increasingly complex business environment, traditional top-down human resources approaches fail to address employees’ increasing expectations for flexible and personalized career development. In 2024, HR will need to meet employees’ growing expectations for bespoke career paths while also solving the broader organization’s growing skills gaps and talent shortages, which present a major concern for leaders.

Looking forward, it will be interesting to see whether the average organization fully engages in long-term, strategic, skills-based workforce planning, which has long been a strategic objective for many but often remains out of reach as they react to immediate priorities. AI skills could work as a forcing function here – and contribute to other trend areas like learning and employee potential.

SAP SuccessFactors solutions for talent management can drive better employee experiences and business outcomes by using a common skills framework across recruiting, learning, performance management, internal mobility, and development.

Overview of skills and aspirations in a growth portfolio for SAP SuccessFactors. Click to enlarge. 3. Hybrid Work Returns to the Office

Looking back at our yearly analyses of HR meta-trends, we saw the hybrid work topic shift from a focus on remote work as a reactive tactic to protect employees’ health and safety in 2020, to a focus on flexibility in 2021, to maintaining productivity and collaboration while working flexibly in 2022, and finally to an emphasis on underlying flexibility and the need for and benefit of malleable guidelines and principles in 2023. With the recent increase in partial and full return-to-office (RTO) policies, 2024 trends data suggests that the pendulum has swung back to hybrid, referring specifically to work location versus a broader perspective centered on flexibility.

Companies in 2024 will continue to experiment with motivating employees to return to the office in ways that promote productivity, collaboration, and cost savings but don’t alienate their top talent. But some organizations are focusing more on redesigning the nature of work rather than just mandating where or when work gets done.

SAP SuccessFactors solutions for core HR, time, and payroll help employees adopt a hybrid working model by providing options for common HR tasks regardless of when and where they are working, such as clocking in and out via desktop, mobile, or Microsoft Teams.

Clock in and out via Microsoft Teams with SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Click to enlarge.

There are plenty more strategic takeaways in the full report – the entire paper is a must-read for HR leaders to learn more from our research team on the latest trends in:

• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B)
• Employee mental health
• Leadership trust
• HR skills and agility
• Compensation
• Sustainability

For additional insights, read the full report.

Dan Beck is president and chief product officer for SAP SuccessFactors.

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The potential Telegram vulnerability can be avoided by disabling the automatic downloading of media files on Telegram Desktop, but Telegram rates the threat as likely to be a hoax.

BTC price action takes an uncertain turn as weak Bitcoin ETF inflows spark nervousness.

Cryptocurrencies are headed for intense turbulence in the second half of April, spurred by the Bitcoin halving and a Fed “bag of tricks,” says the BitMEX co-founder.

Solana’s percentage of failed non-vote transactions went over 75% last week, and developers are now targeting a fix to be implemented on April 15.