On Tuesday, Vishal kicked off TechEd talking about disruption and transformation. He began with the example of the printing press, the most disruptive technology of all time, allowing the masses access to information. Other examples of disruption noted was Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post (who would have predicted that?) As a social media reporter at SAPTechEd, this got me thinking about disruption caused by the proliferation of digital media and
social media which allows companies to connect with customers like never before.
Vishal highlighted a few SAP customers, who are disrupting their industry with the help of SAP HANA including Charmer Sunbelt Group, Burberry and eBay, helping each to gain more transparency into their business and their customers -> as Vishal likes to put it, “providing eyes on the back of your head.”
The main point is, hang on and put on your seatbelt because SAP HANA is (and will) help companies become disruptors.
TechEd is About Tech and Ed + Disruption
I am feeling the vibe. In my two days of participation at SAPTechEd, I can feel the buzz. Attendees are here to learn and share information, discover the latest technology and best practices. Case in point, I had the opportunity to bump into two SAP customers in the clubhouse on the show floor.
- Kellogg’s – The maker of my son’s favorite breakfast cereal, Frosted Flakes is swimming in data, data and more data. A great example of a company that can benefit from having eyes in the back of their head. This is a company that has the need for speed. Kellogg’s has a requirement to provide product information to retailers like Walmart by store and by SKU. Think of the volume of information. Many times reports run over a weekend or more. Kellogg is looking to HANA to solve this big data issue and shrink their reporting time down to hours….or even minutes.
- GM – It was clear to me that GM prefers on premise software. GM sees the value in SAP and Ariba for running their procurement operations. While Carlos from GM was a “business guy” he was impressed with the depth of content and he was even talking up SAP HANA. Our conversation got to the theme of disruption considering the recovery of GM from the tough times of 2008-09. GM faces disruption every day with electric cars, competitors like Tesla and the rapid emergence of self-driving cars. I keep asking the question, will my 11 year old ever need a driver’s license?
The Cloud as a Disruptive Force
I think everyone would agree that the cloud is disruptive, not only for the software market but also customers. Here are two TechEd examples.
- Vishal also highlighted a use case of cloud based learning in field services. Training provides the opportunity to improve employees skill set. But there are opportunities to change the game in learning, with e-learning. It’s about the right information at the right time at the right place. A service technician can take a 3 minute refresher on your model of dishwasher prior to visiting your home. With the repair, you have clean dishes for the night. The cloud enables learning at the point of need.
- sven.denecken had two sessions titled, “Update on SAP´s Cloud Strategy – The Cloud is Business” is a great starting point for understanding SAP’s cloud strategy. I have to agree with one of Sven’s major proof points, that on premise software is not going anywhere soon. Customers are running reliable on premise systems don’t necessarily have a need to move those apps to the cloud. Hybrid (combination of on premise and cloud) is one of the key “cloudy” themes echoed throughout TechEd.
There are a few more hours of TechEd left and I’ll keep on Tweeting and posting. Stay tuned for some subsequent “cloudy” blogs. Cheers from SAPTechEd.
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