The 2014 SAPPHIRE NOW and the 2014 ASUG Annual Conference were tremendously successful, especially for customers, partners, analysts, and SAP employees focused on the Industrial Machinery & Components (IM&C) sector.
This was my seventh trip to the Orange County Convention Center, all with SAP, and I must say my expectations were very high. With over 300 attendees focused squarely on the industrial manufacturing market, I am overjoyed to report that the 2014 SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference far exceeded my lofty expectations.
After spending a full day speaking with industry analysts as well as three more full days networking with customers, partners, and colleagues, it is crystal clear to me that SAP is absolutely committed to helping industrial companies simplify their businesses so they can drive even better financial performance for themselves and create even greater value for their customers.
The “simplify everything to do anything” battle cry was heard loud and clear and often, leading to an overwhelmingly productive, educational, and enjoyable week in Orlando.
Please continue reading to learn more about a few of the many highlights I thought were particularly valuable for industrial manufacturers moving toward a true “industry cloud.”
The Experience
Attendees continue to tell me that the three days of SAPPHIRE NOW and the ASUG Annual Conference provided them with a level of understanding that would have taken several months to gain under normal circumstances. As in years past, the networking opportunities with fellow SAP for IM&C customers, employees, partners, and influencers offered tremendous value.
The Community
The Industry Analyst Base Camp was held on Monday June 2, 2014 and included keynotes from SAP executives in the morning, followed by a breakout session with analysts from IDC, Gartner, ARC Advisory Group, and LNS Research focused specifically on the IM&C and Automotive industries in the afternoon. Although the Monday sessions were not taped, you can watch Denise Broady, SAP Industry Cloud COO, give her perspective on Creating Competitive Advantage through Innovation and listen to Simon Paris, SAP Industry Cloud President, discuss his thoughts on how SAP is Leading the Way to the Industry Cloud.
For the first time ever, the IM&C ASUG Special Interest Group (SIG) had a dedicated IM&C track focusing on e-commerce at SKG, digital work centers at Joy Global, HR at TEK Systems, as well as Global Trade Management (GTM) at Eaton. For more information on the IM&C ASUG SIG, please click here.
C-level executives also participated in dozens of roundtables and 1:1 meetings with fellow SAP IM&C customers and prospects in the Customer Connect Center, while even more collaborative sessions focused on IM&C were conducted in the Executive Meeting Center.
Nearly 200 people enjoyed networking over dinner and drinks at the Discrete Manufacturing Industries Reception on Tuesday night, while the Industrial Machinery & Components Networking Breakfast provided yet another forum to continue the conversations the following morning.
The Content
Click on any of the links to watch a video of a few highlights from the 2014 SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference that I feel were particularly valuable for IM&C companies.
Enable Responsive Manufacturing Processes: This industrial-focused customer panel discussion offered a compelling look at how embracing end-to-end processes for all aspects of design, manufacturing, and post-production operations has helped Varian Medical Systems, Larsen & Toubro, as well as General Electric reap the benefits of innovative technology.
Make the Real-Time Enterprise a Reality: This outstanding customer panel discussion featured Kaeser Kompressoren moving their CRM on HANA as a foundation for predictive maintenance, Bayer Material Science going live with CRM on HANA last year to re-engage with their end users, Mercedes AMG migrating to ERP on HANA to reduce analytic queries from 3 days to 15 minutes, as well as Warner Brothers moving to CRM on HANA to solve performance issues with significantly large documents on IBM DB2.
The Internet of Things and Industry 4.0: Watch Nils Herzberg, SAP Global Sector Head of Discrete Manufacturing Industries, discuss how industrial companies are on the cusp of a new revolution driven by increasingly ubiquitous connectivity, smarter machines, and bigger data.
A Proactive Cloud Approach to Master Data Validation and Compliance: Learn how the Timken Company is using the SAP HANA Cloud Platform to improve data quality and compliance, as well as the importance of managing data across an integrated suite.
For even more replays of the 2014 SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference sessions please click here.
More than 20,000 of us came together in Orlando and another 125,000 joined on-line to discover how SAP solutions can help “simplify everything to do anything” in order to improve people’s lives. By bringing the Industry Cloud powered by SAP HANA to life, the largest IM&C ecosystem in the world can truly simplify, increase financial performance, and provide superior customer value.
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