Come Along on a Space Odyssey at SAP TechEd Barcelona – A Special Invitation from the Center for Digital Leadership

For now, I can only give you a hint. However, next week at SAP TechEd in Barcelona, the Center for Digital Leadership will be showcasing something very exciting for all to experience: a completely new way of converting geospatial data into consumable insights on a global scale with the help of the SAP HANA database. On the keynote stage, together with Bernd Leukert, member of the SAP Executive Board, the European Space Agency – one of our strategic partners – will demonstrate this new technology that will enable entrepreneurs, partners, and SAP customers to observe and predict events. Be sure to attend the keynote on 8 November, 9 a.m., to find out more and see the results of this stunning new alliance in action, where only space is the limit – as our practice head for Strategic Alliances, Oguzhan (Ozzy) Genis, would say.

In the following days, you will be able to catch up with all technical details and experience the background of the development process. Come by and visit us at our booth in the Explore area (EZ35 & EZ36), at the live studio interview, and at networking sessions to be held during the week.

• NET39888 – New Spatial Services for SAP HANA with the European Space Agency, Tuesday, 14:30–15:00, Hall 2
• Live Studio Interview with Dr. Carsten Linz on the European Space Agency partnership, Tuesday, 11:00–11:20, Live Studio on the show floor
• NET39890 – New Geospatial Use Cases for SAP HANA with the European Space Agency, Wednesday, 14:00–14:30, Hall 2

On-site offerings from the Center for Digital Leadership

And actually, that’s just one of the many things going on at SAP TechEd that will be getting a lot of attention. Our team will have a strong presence there, with expert sessions by those of us with first-hand implementation experience and the customer perspective, as well as additional networking opportunities. We hope you will participate and stop by our pod to learn more about our initiatives. Look for the Center for Digital Leadership team, which you will find in the “Explore” area together with the SAP Digital booth. Let me tell you what you can expect.

Our purpose: tangible results for digitalization programs

Digital innovation and transformation are at the top of the agenda of every leader. This is why the Center for Digital Leadership has evolved into one of the trusted advisors for our CxO customers, with whom we can openly discuss their digitization programs and leadership challenges on a peer-to-peer basis. Digitization needs tangible results beyond PowerPoint decks.

The center’s primary goal is to provide a world-class hub at SAP, and on a global level, to support organizations in producing tangible results through their digitization programs. To accomplish that, the center comprises three practices:

• The CxO Assets & Methodologies practice creates a stream of world-class assets, thought leadership presentations, methodologies, frameworks, and digital tools.
• The Strategic Alliances & CxO Events practice builds and actively manages the center’s digital ecosystem with strategic partners, represents the center at key SAP and partner events, and hosts our own thought-leading CxO formats.
• The Digital Innovation & Venture Lab practice develops new, mind-blowing showcases and products that provide clear value. This group focuses on agile incubation, from idea to proof-of-concept all the way to commercialization of the final solution, working with internal SAP developers as well as third parties.

Incubating innovation

And this is where I think there is such a charming synergy with our colleagues at SAP Digital. Since its inception, the team at SAP Digital has also been working on incubating solutions that might have a big chance of going on SAPStore.com. SAP Store is our online marketplace where anyone can buy software, education, and data from SAP and third parties with a simple click-through process, using a credit card or PayPal. For startups, SAP Store is an innovative channel that provides a great opportunity for marketing and sales.

SAP Digital provides the channel itself, as well as mentoring and support in preparation for consumer-readiness of these offerings – all of which fill a real need in the marketplace, sometimes broad, sometimes a niche. To get a glimpse, check out the current third-party products on SAP Store, which include an app for employee feedback, and another for peer-to-peer recognition; a project management tool for developers; an analytics tool for one-to-one marketing, and another for geomapping. There’s a lot more, but you get the idea.

My role with the Center for Digital Leadership touches all three areas, and I’d love to tell you more about it and how we might support you to “Go Digital. Right Now” – wherever your interests lie. So please stop by to see me and my team in Barcelona – or leave a comment below.