Information Excellence for Digital Business

There is a lot of conversation happening around the importance of information management for digital business. For example, research firm IDC is talking about ‘Information Transformation at the Heart of Digital Transformation’. When I talk to customers one of things that consistently comes up is that they want more than just data quality. They want excellence in the way they manage and use their information resources, in much the same way as they have been working on excellence in how they manage and use their operational resources. They want each and every employee to be able to see the flow of value, to be able to tell if that flow is functioning optimally, and if not to be able to fix it.

So what are some aspects of Information Excellence?

Transforming Data into Insight

In order to do this you need to be able to provision data from a wide range of source like transactional systems, IoT devices and social media streams, then combine and process the raw data into actionable information.

For example, Nippon Paint uses SAP to combines structured data in transaction applications, with semi-structured web log data and unstructured social media data stored in Hadoop, and performs in-memory processing to deliver information that drives real time improvements in e-commerce customer engagement, satisfaction and revenue.

Acting in the Moment

In order to do this the information insights need to be available on-demand; delivered in context to transactional and analytical business activities; and easily exchanged across business processes with partners and customers to reduce the latency between business event and response.

For example, SK Solutions has thousands of devices collecting data at construction sites. One of the things they use the information for is collision avoidance with cranes. Since this needs to work even in the event of unexpected network failures they use SAP’s remote collection, storage and edge processing capabilities to ensure worksite safety in the moment. They also use SAP’s streaming and in-memory processing capabilities to perform real-time logistics management of equipment, vehicles and people from many different companies entering and existing construction sites.

Innovating without Constraints

In order to do this you need to be able to quickly extend existing applications and build new ones that intelligently utilize information assets to accelerate innovation delivery.

For example, while there is plenty of talk about the use of blockchain for payment processing in financial services, ATB Financial partnered with SAP and Ripple to send the first ever international, interbank, blockchain payment. Built on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform in 9 days, the application took only 20 seconds to complete the cross-border payment, which would typically take a week using current international settlement methods. While ATB is still working on how the front-end experience should work for customers, this industry first demonstrates how SAP helps customers experiment and innovate with emerging, disruptive technologies.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Information Excellence.

Do you have examples of Transforming data into insight; Acting in the moment; or Innovating without constraints to share?