Impressions from TechEd

I was very impressed with the innovation I saw at TechEd Las Vegas this week.  This year there seemed to be more of a business slant than in the past.  The primary announcements were where we can extend SAP Applications with the Business Technology Platform

HANA Cloud Services (HCS) is part of the Business Technology Platform and provides data and analytic services to the business user.   It brings everything you need to drive the business into one platform.  HCS provides the ability to manage, store and virtualize data from LOB solutions as well as external sources.  It also has data warehouse services to blend and integrate the stored and virtual data.  Now that you have combined all the data you need HCS empowers the business to conduct analysis, predict future outcomes and plan the enterprise with SAP Analytics Cloud.

Customers and partners shared how they used the combination of analytics and data management to return value to the business.

• Mercy Health shared how they were able to create a data orchestration and insights network. This enables multiple health providers to leverage an evidence-based approach to care delivery. More details can be found at Mercy Technology Services
• itelligence talked about a chemical manufacturer that used analytics to optimize their production process. By combining readings from >40 sensors with weather data, they were able to identify the optimal settings to create the “Golden Batch” or best outcome.  This detailed analysis of voluminous data identified the best balance between quality and profitability. The cost of the initial project was recovered in 8 months.  The payoff is continual due to the incremental improvements of ongoing adjustments projected to be in the millions. For additional practical use cases, please see Robert Chicvak’s blog
• Nimbl and Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA) walked through the process of optimizing procurement operations. They were able to reduce spend and supplier risk while improving delivery time.   Based on the initial success, FCA has identified Vehicle investment dashboard and credit analysis as the next two projects to tackle.  Various analytic use cases can be found at Nimbl’s website.

All these use cases had one thing in common.  They needed to harmonize their data and analyze it quickly and simply.    If you want to learn more about how the integration of data and analytics can provide material value to your organization, please see the SAP Customer Story Finder.  To see replays of the highlights of TechEd Las Vegas, please visit TechEd Online.