Improved Processes for Corporate Customers

American Express and SAP Ariba have announced that they have entered into a strategic multi-phased partnership designed to offer buyers and suppliers new payment and financing options on Ariba® Network. This partnership would extend its value for joint large and global corporate customers. American Express and SAP Ariba plan to continue to provide additional digital solutions through this strategic partnership.

As a network extension partner, American Express will leverage Ariba Network APIs to enable its virtual Card capabilities within the SAP Ariba process and platform to facilitate seamless commerce, secure payments, and easy reconciliation between businesses on a single platform. Through this new integration available later this year, businesses will have the opportunity to use their existing American Express^® Corporate Cards to generate virtual Card payments, making it simple for customers to get started without the need to set up and maintain a separate standalone account.

 Lasting Partnership

“We are continuously looking for ways for our customers to conduct more business in a simple, intuitive and integrated manner. With over half of American Express’ largest global customers already using SAP Ariba to manage their expenses, this partnership has the opportunity to provide significant value for our joint customers,” said Koo. “We couldn’t be more excited about building a long-term partnership with SAP Ariba.”

“American Express’ unique integrated business model provides deep relationships with both buyers and suppliers. As a global leader in the payments space, they deeply understand the needs and pain points that businesses face throughout the supply chain cycle,” said Thompson. “Partnering with American Express as a new network extension partner integrating virtual payment capabilities within Ariba Network we’re able to deliver a true end-to-end procure-to-pay process to customers that changes the game in the corporate payments space.” 

To learn more, American Express Corporate customers should contact their designated American Express representative.

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Improved Data Quality Tools

Talend, a global leader in cloud data integration and data integrity, today announced it has once again been recognised by Gartner, Inc. as a Leader in data quality tools as described in the 2019 Magic Quadrant for Data Quality Tools. This is the second consecutive time that Talend has been positioned in the Leaders quadrant.  Talend improved its position over the previously issued report based on completeness of vision and ability to execute.

Only Talend offers a single suite of apps for data integration and data integrity with built-in, pervasive data quality and governance. Talend solves some of the most complex aspects of the data value chain, enabling companies to collect data across systems, govern it to ensure proper use and compliance, transform it and improve quality, and share it with internal and external stakeholders to help more users make the right decision on time, every time.

Software Tools

In the report, Gartner notes: Data quality tools are vital for digital business transformation, especially now that many have emerging features like automation, machine learning, business-centric workflows and cloud deployment models. According to Gartner, the market for data quality software tools reached $1.61 billion in 2017 (the most recent year for which Gartner has data), an increase of 11.6 percent over 2016.

“Data quality has never been more important,” said Mike Tuchen, CEO, Talend. “It’s essential that companies can trust the data fuelling their business decisions while delivering it at the speed required to remain on the cutting edge. We believe our position in the Leaders quadrant validates our vision and unique approach where data quality and governance are built-in and managed throughout the data value chain. We’re thrilled that Gartner has again positioned Talend as a Leader in this Magic Quadrant report.”

For a full copy of the report click here.

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Data-Driven Decision Making

Snowflake Computing, the only data warehouse built for the cloud, today announced a new partnership with the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Formula One team to support the team’s winning ambitions and drive data-based decision making in the 2019 F1 racing season. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing will use Snowflake’s cloud-built data warehouse to gain a more holistic view of its business. The partnership will enable Snowflake to tap into exciting marketing opportunities with the Team.

In Formula One racing, where every millisecond counts and data insight is essential for performance, the very best technology and innovation are vital to achieving success. Partnerships are key to helping Aston Martin Red Bull Racing reach new benchmarks in performance. By tapping into Snowflake’s built-for-the-cloud data warehouse, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing will be able to obtain data in real time to enable more effective business strategies.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing,” Snowflake CMO, Denise Persson said. “Formula One racing thrives on pushing the boundaries of performance, which is the same ethos Snowflake operates on with our technology. By providing instant and infinitely scalable access to data when organisations like Aston Martin Red Bull Racing most need it, our customers can put data in the driver’s seat to make quick business decisions and ultimately drive their competitive edge both on and off the track.”

A Winning Formula 

Snowflake is the only data warehouse built for the cloud, enabling the data-driven enterprise with instant elasticity, secure data sharing and per-second pricing, across multiple clouds. Snowflake combines the power of data warehousing, the flexibility of big data platforms and the elasticity of the cloud at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions. This flexibility has attracted strategic partners.

“A large part of our success is built on our technology and innovation partnerships, and our new collaboration with Snowflake is a continued step toward securing yet another strong Formula One season,” Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Head of Technical Partnerships, Zoe Chilton said. “We are excited to be working with Snowflake to get instant access to insights throughout this racing season.”

For more Snowflake news check out our other article.

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Secure Login Experience

Jamf has announced that it is partnering with Google Cloud to provide both schools and enterprises with a simple, unified authentication and account synchronisation process. With Jamf Connect, users can unbox their Apple device, power it on and access their corporate and learning applications after signing on with Cloud Identity (or G Suite) credentials. Additionally, IT admins are more easily able to manage Mac accounts while knowing their hardware and information is secure. 
 
Jamf Connect simplifies the provisioning process with Apple and is a streamlined way to manage accounts and authentication in organisations that leverage Cloud Identity credentials with:

• Jamf Authentication plugin – Users can log onto their Mac with their Cloud Identity credentials.
• Account creation – IT admins can create local accounts based on Cloud Identity user information, and for identity providers that allow it, keep passwords in sync with those in the directory service.
• Multifactor – IT admins can use supported Cloud Identity credentials multifactor authentication methods at the macOS login window.

Jamf’s Beginnings

Jamf initially stepped into the identity authentication space with the acquisition of Orchard & Grove, the makers of NoMAD.  The  open-source solution, NoMAD, remains free while the commercial versions of NoMAD (including NoMAD Pro, NoMAD Login+ and PKINIT) were folded into a single solution and rebranded Jamf Connect. Jamf Connect is able to integrate with other mobile device management (MDM) providers, not just Jamf Pro, Jamf’s flagship MDM product. And, in addition to Google Cloud, Jamf Connect now also integrates with IBM, OneLogin and Ping, along with Okta and Microsoft Azure.

SAP chose Jamf, the standard in Apple management, to manage its 17,000 Mac, 83,000 iOS and 170 Apple TV devices in 2018. SAP is managing these devices together with Jamf Pro to create a native and integrated IT and user experience across all of its Apple devices.

“Jamf Connect is a cutting-edge product that allows organisations to easily set up, manage, and authenticate users on a Mac with the cloud identity provider of choice,” said Joel Rennich, Director of Jamf Connect, Jamf. “By partnering with Google Cloud, a top identity provider especially within education organisations, we aim to securely streamline the way users sign in and access their tools.” 

For more information on Jamf Connect, click here.

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Public Cloud Solution

Site24x7, the cloud-based performance monitoring solution for DevOps and IT operations from Zoho Corporation, has announced the general availability of Site24x7 CloudSpend, its cost analytics solution for public cloud platforms. The new solution is aimed at bridging the gap between capacity planning and cost optimisation for resources running in Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments. CloudSpend’s business intelligence (BI) insights enable businesses to visualise runaway expenditures and implement effective budget controls, while reducing operational expenditure (OpEx) across multiple accounts.

Public cloud adoption has witnessed exponential growth in recent years, and according to IDC, spending on public cloud services and infrastructure is forecast to reach US $210-billion in 2019, an increase of 23.8{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} over 2018. The market is forecast to achieve a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.5{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} with public cloud services spending reaching US $370-billion in 2022. With public cloud being cost effective and easy to set up, businesses tend to leverage them to digitise their services and achieve their business goals faster. This often leads to complexities that arise due to unmonitored, underused or idle cloud resources on various platforms in multiple accounts, resulting in overspend. To eliminate these undesired expenses, organisations need a solution that can help monitor and optimise their cloud costs without impacting their services.

Holistic Solution

Site24x7’s CloudSpend addresses these cost optimisation issues with a holistic view of cloud expenditures across multiple accounts from a single console. CloudSpend also provides IT teams (IT financial planners & cloud service providers) BI insights for addressing cloud cost adjustments that achieve priority-based resource allocation, and thus helps in reducing overall OpEx.

“With pay-as-you-go pricing models, public cloud platforms are strategic drivers for digital transformation. Since digital transformation is largely a process and not the end goal, businesses not only want to embark on their digital transformation journey but also wants to optimise it to reap greater results,” said Srinivasa Raghavan, product manager, Site24x7. “CloudSpend’s addition to our AI-driven monitoring capabilities not only streamline and enhance performance of their applications on AWS but maintain an equilibrium when it comes to cloud spending, thus creating a win-win situation for DevOps, and IT teams.”

The new addition along with the existing full stack monitoring insights reiterate the company’s commitment to help customers run more efficiently in the cloud. The company also plans to extend the Site24x7 CloudSpend capabilities to other cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, in the near future.

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Deploy Tableau in Stages

Tableau Software, the world’s leading analytics platform, has announced that Woolworths Group will deploy Tableau’s data reporting and visual analytics. The agreement will enable employees across Australia’s leading retailer to analyse data for fast, real-time decision making.Woolworths will rollout Tableau in a staged deployment in the coming months across multiple group businesses covering functions including Merchandising, Finance, Supply Chain, Store Operations and People Operations.

Nigel Mendonca, Head of Tableau ANZ said, “Retailers worldwide are transforming themselves to thrive in the omni-channel marketplace. We’re delighted to partner with Woolworths to fuel their innovation agenda through modern business intelligence for the benefit of its customers.”

Partnership

Woolworths’ decision to partner with Tableau forms part of the Group’s ongoing focus on insight-driven decision making. Tableau was selected due to the solution’s connectivity with existing systems, agility and user-friendliness.

Doug Frank, Woolworths Group General Manager of Data & Analytics, said, “ Customer expectations are always rising in retail and we need to work smart to keep up with them.  The key advantage of Tableau is speed and ease for our team. It will allow team members across the business to analyse, understand and act on customer insights incredibly quickly.  We see this type of capability as key to delivering what our customers want and expect of us into the future.” 

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First SAP.iO Foundry Singapore Applicants

The first SAP.iO Foundry Singapore will comprise 8 to 10 start-ups in the 13 weeks accelerator programme commencing July 2019. The SAP.iO Foundries programme is a global network for top-tier startups, including accelerators that help them build innovative software and deliver high value for customers. The seven other SAP.iO Foundries are in major startup hubs, including Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Tel Aviv, New York City and San Francisco. SAP.iO Foundries have accelerated the growth of over 100 startups.

“As the most innovative country in Asia, Singapore was selected as our first SAP.iO Foundry location in South East Asia to deliver high value to our customers,” said Ram Jambunathan, Managing Director of SAP.iO. “We are excited to work with and help South East Asian startup ecosystem with our value proposition of curated mentorship, exposure to SAP data and technologies, and opportunities to meet and collaborate with SAP unparalleled, global base of enterprise customers.”

Startup Challenges

One of the biggest challenges faced by business managers is the need for continuous innovation to stay relevant. The launch of SAP.iO Foundry Singapore will support early-stage companies with a B2B enterprise focus and deliver incremental value to SAP customers. Selected startups will be provided with curated mentorship, access to SAP data and technologies, and opportunities to meet and collaborate with SAP customers. Building on the success, SAP is delighted to welcome its upcoming cohort of founders.

Startups interested in participating in SAP.iO Foundry Singapore should apply between 12 March and 15 May 2019 here.

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Applications for 2019 Programme

The ASEAN Foundation and SAP are calling for applications for the ASEAN Data Science Explorers (ASEANDSE) 2019, targeted at tertiary students across all 10 ASEAN member states. This programme aims to harness the power of data to help solving the most pressing developmental issues in the region.

The ASEANDSE is a flagship programme rising from the collaboration between the ASEAN Foundation and SAP that aims to galvanise youth activism among students in ASEAN. The programme aims to increase youth activism by increasing their information technology competencies. As well as, transforming them into innovators who are capable of delivering data-driven recommendations and solutions that help contribute to the achievement of ASEAN Community’s goals.

The initiative integrates 2 key activities, which are a series of enablement sessions and a data analytics competition. Since its introduction in 2017, the ASEANDSE has empowered over 5,000 youths from 287 higher education institutions in the region and has been recognised by 10 ASEAN leaders for its contribution to youth development.

Competition Details

The competition will be carried out from February to October 2019, start off with informative enablement sessions organised for students and lecturers in local institutions of higher learning across all 10 ASEAN member states to improve their data analytics’ skills and knowledge. The enablement sessions will then be followed with a national and regional data analytics competition where successful youth applicants will converge to present data-driven proposals which highlight issues in ASEAN across 6 United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, namely good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure and sustainable cities and communities utilizing SAP’s Analytics Cloud software.

In order to take part in the competition, students are required to form teams of two. One participating team from each member state will stand a chance to be crowned as the national finalist before advancing to compete in the regional finals. At the highest honour of the regional finals, the 10 national finalists will be given the opportunity to present their winning ideas to a panel of judges which consists of distinguished representatives from the ASEAN Foundation, SAP and various government officials and selected NGO organisations.

The call for applications for the ASEANDSE 2019 will close on 17 May 2019.

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New CEO Appointed

Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited (HKIRC) has appointed Information Technology industry veteran Wilson Wong as its new CEO. HKIRC is a non-profit-distributing, non-statutory company limited by guarantee designated by the Government of the HKSAR to undertake the administration of Internet domain names under the .hk country code top level domain. HKIRC provides registration services for English domain names ending with .com.hk, .org.hk, .net.hk, .edu.hk, .gov.hk, .idv.hk, .hk, Chinese domain names and other domains to be introduced from time to time in Hong Kong.

In his new role, at HKIRC, Wong will be responsible for encouraging a better understanding and more effective use of the Internet and related technology in Hong Kong and across the region, in addition to promoting Hong Kong as an international centre of e-commerce.

Before HKIRC

Mr. Wong is a seasoned professional within the IT industry, with over 20 years of management experience in the field. Before joining HKIRC, he was the General Manager of IT Industry Development Division of Hong Kong Productivity Council (“HKPC”). Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of SAP Hong Kong and held various key management positions in Microsoft Hong Kong.

Wong previously served as the general manager of IT Industry Development Division of Hong Kong Productivity Council (“HKPC”). He has also served in senior industry positions, such as various senior roles at Microsoft Hong Kong.

 “We are delighted to have Mr Wong taking up the helm,” said Simon Chan, chairman of HKIRC. “He brings an exceptional track record in areas that are important for us, and has proven skills in multi-level management.” “We look forward to Mr Wong’s insights and skills providing the impetus for HKIRC to step up to new levels of achievement for industry, business and public community in the years ahead.”

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SAP Business One Systems

Business software solutions company, Inecom has announced that it had been awarded ‘Top SAP Business One HANA Partner Singapore’ for the fourth successive year, securing Inecom’s position as the leading SAP Business One partner for business analytics and the next generation of business software applications.

SAP Business One is business management software designed for small and medium-sized enterprises. As an ERP solution, it aims to automate key business functions in financials, operations, and human resources. It is another powerful application from SAP SE.

The Inecom Group is a leading Asia Pacific SAP partner, with offices in Singapore, India and UAE. Established in 2002, Inecom has a proven track record of delivering world-class business software solutions with their quality accredited systems implementation methodology and complete customer care services. Inecom has completed over 400 regional implementations to date. Inecom is provider of SAP solutions as well as business analytics, cloud-hosting and disaster recovery solutions.

Leading the Way with SAP

According to a leading IT industry analyst, Forrester Research, SAP HANA is among the world’s leading Translytical databases. The term “Translytical” describes in-memory database technology that is designed to support both transactions processing and analytical processing in real-time and at the same time.

These advances and innovations are rapidly obsoleting traditional SQL database technologies, which struggle to support real-time applications, mobile applications and IOT effectively. Ms. Chua, Beng Choo, CEO of Inecom Singapore said, “We are delighted to receive recognition once again for our dedication to SAP HANA. In 2015, we recognized the coming technology shift and decided to focus entirely on SAP Business One HANA systems instead of the traditional SQL versions.”

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