Yahoo Finance reported that Knoa Software, one of the leading providers of user experience management (UEM) software. The company has announced in early February that they will be supporting the SAP S/4 HANA migrations and maintaining the momentum for the SAP User Experience Management. It will be done through cloud-based Knoa deployments. The support provided by Knoa later resulted in a boost in cloud revenue for the company.

Customers have confirmed that they have received a return on investment (ROI) and have also documented their success.

One of their successful deployments includes the AES Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. AES Corporation’s business involves the generation and distribution of electricity on a global scale.

At the ASUG held on October 3, 2019, AES has shared how they leveraged the SAP User Experience Management application by Knoa, which was running on SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, in accelerating the migration of its existing ERP systems to SAP S/4 HANA. It has helped AES in building the foundation for its digital transformation project.

AES Corporation needed an advanced analytics application that will help them define their migration priorities. They also needed an efficient tool to isolate existing redundancies and to enforce standards that will govern the new system. Following the migration, the company shared how they have streamlined their deployment time, reduced and managed costs, and boosted user adoption. 

Another company that benefited from the Knoa deployments is AGL, electricity, gas, solar, and renewable energy specialist based in Australia. Their customer base includes homes and businesses.

AGL’s energy accounts make up approximately 20{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of Australia’s electricity generation. The company utilise data-driven insights in developing employee training and improving customer interactions for its business applications.

Recently, a premier global market intelligence firm, IDC, leveraged the SAP UEM by Knoa in conducting an extensive study of organisations. In their study, they showed how organisations achieved significant ROI for their business with SAP UEM by Knoa. Some of the results include five months of payback period, 30{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} more efficient management of business processes, and 15{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} average gross productivity gain.

The CEO of Knoa, Brian Berns, shared that SAP UEM by Knoa continues to drive the productivity of employees and facilitate SAP S/4 HANA migrations. They also want to continue supporting SAP’s focus on experience management.

Berns proudly shared how their customers have confirmed the value of the Knoa solution and have shared their excitement following Knoa’s validation.

He also added:

“The SAP S/4HANA customer base is extensive, so we hope to see significant growth in 2020.”

SAP UEM by Knoa aims to deliver enterprises complete visibility of employee interactions with the SAP enterprise software for enterprises. It highlights the application usage, measures user adoption, and engagement levels, and also provides insights to improve process and workflow.

This efficient tool has helped organisations from various industries and locations as they make a move to the SAP S/4 HANA and the SAP HANA database.

The post Knoa Software Supports SAP S/4 HANA Migrations appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

eXXpedition and Emily Penn sent an invitation to 300 women to join them in the next phase of their journey: sail 38,000 nautical miles in 30 stages. Their mission is to explore the science of and to find solutions to address the ocean plastic problem. The initiative encourages women to become ambassadors in combatting pollution in our oceans.

Emily Penn and the team are looking to raise awareness to a higher level with help from SAP’s scientific data.

Penn shared her excitement on the partnership with SAP. She said:

“I’m incredibly excited to join forces with SAP to improve the health of our ocean by bringing together the energy of our eXXpedition community and our scientific research with SAP’s innovative technologies.”

Furthermore, Penn shared that the bigger problem is finding ways to end the plastic pollution problem by focusing more on preventing plastics from coming into the ocean. She added that businesses need to take a step forward, just like what SAP has done.

SAP will be gathering and sharing data and insights from the voyages completed by eXXpedition and provide customers, governments, non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and partners with solutions that will help reduce—eventually, eliminate—waste, maximise the productivity of resources and raise awareness on the importance of cleaning the oceans.

The SAP Plastics Cloud, a pilot program deployed in 2019, was one of the steps taken in helping reduce wastes produced by single-use plastics. It will become the foundation for a custom-built digital platform that will support Emily and the eXXpedition team in educating people on the ways they can reduce waste within their local communities.

The program will be enabled by the Ariba Network and will allow brands to connect with new recycled plastics and alternative supply sources.

One of the 300 women who will be joining Emily Penn on one of the legs of the journey is the Global Sustainability Lead for Innovation Services and solutions at SAP, Natasha Pergl.

Pergl shared that she has never experienced sailing before; however, she will be joining the Galapagos to Easter Island Pacific leg of the all-women ocean voyage next week. 

Natasha shared that she considered this an opportunity of a lifetime and that as a child, she was curious about historical expeditions. She said that she was intrigued to know how things work in voyages. She also shared that she was born a problem solver and bet her confidence in the team to solve challenges related to plastics. But she emphasised it is only possible with the right knowledge and collaboration.

Pergl also said that she understands the work done by researchers, and scientists like Emily need data to inform the business world. She also added that it would help in impacting more positive changes in the future.

One of the ways they are looking at solving the problem is the creation of a circular manufacturing and supply chain process. Pergl intends to record the experiences and participate in the science on board. She added that she is looking forward to learning more from her fellow crew members and will be sharing insights with business leaders and NGOs as well as helping in the development of the SAP solutions and services.

The post Emily Penn Sails with SAP for the Oceans appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

SAP SE has announced that the Emerald Bay Resort and Casino is getting ready to be accomplished within budget and on-time opening after the developer, Lapu-Lapu Leisure Inc. welcomed SAP Ariba solutions to improve the efficiency of its procurement processes. 

Lapu-Lapu Leisure is a member of the PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc., which is the gaming and hospitality arm of the Udenna Group. The Emerald Bay Resort and Casino is expected to be one of the Philippines’ largest business and leisure destinations. It will feature 838 hotel rooms, 35 high-fashion boutiques, 18 specialty restaurants, and 3,000-capacity ballroom. The gaming centre will have 146 gaming tables and 1,186 electronic gaming machines. 

Lapu-Lapu Leisure Inc. has chosen the SAP Ariba Snap procure-to-pay solution to get it started on its processes digitalised. With this transition, Lapu-Lapu Leisure Inc. has eliminated the need for manual and paper-based procurement practices in an attempt to support its aggressive growth plans.

The developer deployed solutions from the SAP Ariba supplier marketplace in less than 12 weeks and has already replaced old processes with more efficient digital ones. It has begun its job of speeding up the approvals, delivery, and payments while the company puts more focus on the business outcomes.

Mean Bernal, the procurement manager of Udenna Corp., shared that SAP Ariba Snap has helped the developer in meeting the requirements for the procurement system that they had in mind.

She added:

“It will help us ease the process by automating the system so we can concentrate on doing what we do best: building world-class resorts.”

Bernal added that the SAP Ariba procure-to-pay solution would be the system to be used for the future projects of the PH Resorts Group as well.

Lapu-Lapu Leisure earned the reputation as the first adopter of SAP Ariba Snap in the country, and the developer will benefit from the SAP’s accumulated years of experience in delivering market-leading solutions and best practices.

Elvie Bantug, the IT director of Lapu-Lapu Leisure, shared that the partnership with SAP for the Emerald Bay digitalisation project has made things easier for the company.

She shared:

“We do not have to redo the integration development processes when we roll out the system to other departments. And SAP Ariba Snap provides us with access to the same powerful solutions that Fortune 500 companies use for simpler, smarter sourcing.”

Chris Haydon, the senior vice president of Customer Value for SAP Ariba, shared the value of efficiency and excellence in procurement when it comes to business growth regardless of the organisation’s size.

Lapu-Lapu Leisure is just one of the growing number of companies that are stepping up their digital transformation efforts in the Philippines. They have partnered with Deloitte in implementing the SAP Ariba Snap procure-to-pay solution. Deloitte Consulting Philippines’ executive director and country leader Ramon Chito Ramos shared Deloitte’s excitement to work with Lapu-Lapu Leisure’s digital procurement journey.

The five-star hotel and casino is undergoing construction and is scheduled to open this year on Mactan Island near the city of Cebu.

The post Lapu-Lapu Leisure Adopts SAP Procure-to-Pay Solution appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Tata Consultancy Services established its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. At present, it has more than 149 offices across 46 countries.

In mid-2019, TCS partnered with SAP Leonardo in launching an Intelligent Field Inventory Management Solution, which will be beneficial in streamlining the logistics and supply chain management of surgical kits to hospitals. The success of this solution is one of the many proofs of TCS as a reliable SAP partner in delivering solutions that leverage the power of the latest technologies.

In an article published on its website, TCS reported its latest partnership. Tne Indian multinational IT company has announced its collaboration with Coop Sweden, one of the largest grocery and retail providers in the country. TCS will help the hypermarket company in accelerating its business’ digital transformation program by introducing agile ways of doing work and embracing new automation technologies. 

The partnership is expected to help the business in delivering a consistent customer experience for both its digital and physical platforms. The retail company also sees the collaboration as a way to prepare for the business’ future by addressing its digital needs. TCS will help Coop Sweden’s SAP S/4HANA Retail platform by leveraging the newest automation technologies and new applications.

Liselotte Andersson, the CIO of Coop Sweden, shared how the transformation helped the company, noting that, at present, the company has more than 800 locations in Sweden alone and that managing a complex portfolio of retail IT-systems will be a challenge.

Andersson said that a strategic partner to help them would be beneficial in improving customer and employee experience. She shared how TCS’ proven track record in delivering solutions for the retail sector made the consultancy company a natural choice to meet Coop Sweden’s digital needs. She also noted TCS’s close partnership with the German software company, SAP, and their experience in delivering HANA digital platform.

She said:

“… TCS’ close partnership with SAP will enable us to harness the true value of the HANA digital platform. We look forward to enjoying the benefits of this partnership.”

Meanwhile, Avinash Limaye, the Country Manager for Tata Consultancy Services Sweden, shared that grocery and retail businesses have access to opportunities in serving customers. 

Limaye expressed delight in partnering with Coop Sweden and leveraging TCS’ expertise in technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT).

He said:

“We are delighted to partner Coop in transforming every element of its farm to fork value chain leveraging our deep domain knowledge and our expertise in AI, IoT, and automation.”

TCS also shared that it has established a close working relationship with some of the leading companies across industries in Sweden, such as financial, retail, and telecommunications. These companies include Ikea, the global furniture and home accessories company; the postal company, PostNord; the financial services company, Nordea; the processing and packaging solutions company, Tetra Pak, and the network telecommunications company, Ericsson.

The post Coop Sweden Partners with Tata Consultancy Services appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Rolling Arrays announced that it would put its priorities for strategic growth on markets in Australia, New Zealand, and greater some Asian markets. And they plan to do it by leveraging SAP SuccessFactors.

SuccessFactors was acquired by SAP in 2012 for $3.4 billion. It delivers human capital management (HCM) software. At present, it has a user base of more than 120 million and services over 7,000 customers.

Channel Asia shared an interview with Manu Khetan, the founder and CEO of Rolling Arrays. Khetan shared that their priority for this year is to expand further into new markets.

In his statement, he said:

“…we intend to continue establishing that we are the de facto leader in HR transformation being a true SuccessFactors implementation provider.”

He added that the company’s years of expertise and a stable customer base built the foundation for its goals to capitalise their reputation as an early mover in the industry as well as having a reputation in the field of HR tech transformation.

Khetan further emphasised how SuccessFactors is being adopted by customers driving the company to make sure that customers are getting the best value for their business. He also noted that as customer behaviour patterns change, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions are becoming more preferred over bespoke and on-premise software.

Rolling Arrays built its partnership with SAP in 2010, which kick-started its decade of experience in delivering consultation and implementation services for human resources. They have an impressive track record for delivering more than 150 HR transformation projects for over 75 blue-chip customers in Asia.

Khetan credited their experience to the company’s openness to small or big projects, helping them solve problems before they start an RFP or RFI process by getting to the “heart of the business needs.”

Additionally, Khetan talked about how businesses used to adopt HR technology after making investments for finance, procurement or supply chain solutions; however, they have seen companies put more focus on human capital by investing in HR solutions and services.

This 2020, Khetan said that customers now want HR solutions that are accessible, efficient, and simple. These experiences can be delivered with the help of technologies such as AI, chatbots, and machine learning.

Lastly, Khetan said that transforming HR will be met with challenges such as changes to the economy, industry, and statutory compliances. Also, other factors that may impact the transformation process are the diversity of cultures, dynamic employee demography, and globalisation.

The post Rolling Arrays Expands Market with SAP SuccessFactors appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

NoCamels published in an article that PlainID announced SAP’s investment for the company. The amount was not disclosed.

The company was known for its dynamic and efficient solutions that leverage its policy-based control platform. In return, the company is able to deliver smarter decisions within its access management. They also give customers the ability to gain access control that will aid in streamlining their business processes and data management.

Oren Ohayon Harel, the CEO, and co-Founder of PlainID, together with Dmitry Tuchinsky and Gal Helemski, shared that the investment is a milestone for PlainID. He shared that SAP’s investment is a sign of confidence and trust, further noting that this delivers a sense of momentum and success.

Harel added that many businesses that utilise SAP solutions are also using the PlainID technology in the SAP Customer Data Cloud platform. He said that these companies include oil and gas, retail, and pharmaceutical companies listed on the Fortune 2000.

The Israeli cybersecurity company intends to maximise the SAP investment as an efficient way to deliver its solution to a larger audience. This will help companies in upgrading their access management and identity, which will allow growth on a new platform.

Ben Jackson, the general manager of SAP Customer Data Cloud at SAP, talked about PlainID and SAP’s working relationship, noting that together, the new offering has the ability to deliver a market-leading solution.

He said:

“We embedded PlainID’s Authorization as a Service platform within the SAP Customer Data Cloud to help businesses fill gaps around access management. We’re pleased to be extending our relationship through this investment in PlainID.”

Meanwhile, Gadi Krumholz, the VP for Corporate Development at SAP, said that the recent investment and partnership with PlainID is an epitome of how SAP proactively contributes to Israel’s innovation ecosystem. SAP previously developed a partnership with Totango, a customer success specialist and BigID, data discovery, and privacy vendor.

In 2017 SAP acquired the Israeli customer identity management firm, Gigya, for $350 million. In January, SAP announced that they are planning to recruit around 100 big data experts, team leaders, and software engineers to support SAP and Gigya’s development center in Tel Aviv.

In 1998, SAP established its first R&D center, which led the SAP Cloud Platform development for the company. Additionally, they specialise in user identity management and machine learning. This endeavor led to the development of internal innovation initiatives, startup acquisitions, and strategic partnerships.

By 2019, SAP announced the launch of its first foundry program led by its venture capital arm, SAP.iO, in Tel Aviv. Now, SAP’s goal is to expand the data center for developing advanced solutions for Israel. 

Orna Kleinmann, the MD of SAP Labs Israel, shared that SAP works with Israeli startups that are expected to address the enterprise challenges and deliver further innovation this year.

The post SAP Puts Investment into PlainID appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Highbar Technocrat Limited is a software solutions company based in Maharashtra, India. They cater to customers in the construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, and real estate industries.

India Education Diary reported that the company just unveiled the next generation Cloud for Customer (C4C) solution, which will facilitate high performance between the front and back-office operations of a company. 

The C4C solution is expected to deliver extensive insights about a customer that will help drive improved sales results. It will also help the sales department in securing more time with clients as well as capitalising intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver recommendations that win deals.

Additionally, enterprises in the construction industry can maximise Highbar Technocrat Limited’s C4C solution in obtaining better sales outcomes because of certain benefits.

One of the benefits includes the delivery of a pervasive sales footprint. It helps achieve customer engagement in its peak condition with its real-time updates to develop a flexible sales strategy. Moreover, it facilitates performance tracking without being connected to the internet.

Another benefit that the C4C solution delivers is the ability to deliver AI-driven recommendations depending on specific client scenarios. It also incorporates other features such as adding contacts, updating records, and discovering new opportunities that are programmed automatically.

Joydeep Banerjee, the Business Development Head of Highbar Technocrat said that the solution is a proof of the IT solutions provider’s expertise in the industry and that the C4C builds a close collaboration among members such as customers, partners, sales teams and internal experts to ensure maximum productivity and personalised activity plans and timelines.

Other prominent features of the C4C solution includes access to back-office quote to cash information delivered in real-time via native integrations with SAP solutions such as SAP Commissions, SAP CPQ, and SAP ERP.

It also allows the evaluation of competitive pricing, industry trends, and other defining pre-emptive measures and enhancement plans.

Lastly, it helps mitigate end-of-quarter surprises by leveraging the embedded real-time customer analytics and interactive dashboards.

The post Highbar Technocrat Limited Rolls Out SAP C4C appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Currencycloud launched a Series A funding in 2011 which expanded by 2012. In the process, they were able to create an infrastructure for business-to-business (B2B) cross-border payments. CNBC reported that the investment round of the project was led by Visa, a multinational financial services corporation, and Sapphire, SAP’s venture capital arm.

TechCrunch reported that other big investors during the round include the French bank BNP Paribas, Japan’s SBO Group, Thailand’s Siam Commercial, and the Bank International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm. Meanwhile, Currencycloud had existing investors such as Google Ventures (GV) and Sapphire Ventures.

Currencycloud facilitates cross-border digital payments that are done through a set of remittance APIs.

The APIs allow businesses to integrate their existing services with Currencycloud’s platform so they can initiate remittances to other countries. The platform covers multiple cross-border transaction areas such as foreign exchange, inbound money collection, multi-currency digital wallet services, and outgoing payments.

At present, the platform has started a momentum because of the increased remittance flows between countries.

World Bank reported that in 2018, the remittance flows to middle and low-income countries hit a sky-high record of $529 billion. To date, over $50 billion has been transferred between 180 countries.

Some of the popular finance apps that use Currencycloud includes Moneze, Monzo, Starling, and Revolut.

With the new funding gathered, Currencycloud is looking to enter the Asian market because of its high adoption rate for finance apps. They are considering a new office in Singapore, a country with a stable and progressive plug-and-play business environment.

Singapore has been stirring up a commotion in the tech industry and has been attracting businesses—both local and abroad. It’s as if it has been giving out invitations to invest tech in the country. It has also been warmly welcoming start-ups.

For example, Datavard, a Germany-based SAP provider for more than two decades, decided to open a Singapore office in 2017. Ekrem Namazci, APJs’ regional managing director, identified Singapore as the next logical step for the company because of its leading high-tech advancement with a young population that openly embraces innovation.

With a new Singapore office in the plans, Currencycloud may have the opportunity to expand its services to more businesses in Asia with the possibility of opening its doors to more investors and customers.

The post Currencycloud to Open Office in Singapore appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

ThePrint reported that a new poll organised by SAP and Qualtrics through its survey platform indicated that most people all over the world feel that local schools are not equipped nor prepared to help students be job-ready. Additionally, results reveal that only two regions had respondents that rated their schools as ‘good’ or ‘excellent.’

The Qualtrics survey platform asked the question, ‘how would you rate local schools when it comes to preparing students to get jobs today?’

The majority of the poll participants responded with a rating that says the local schools are underperforming. Overall, only East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia respondents voted with a positive rating.

Outside of the regions of the Americas and South Asia, the majority of the respondents believe that access to good education is still a privilege instead of something that the majority of the population of the countries can enjoy.

Delivering quality education is the fourth key part of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted all of the United Nations Member States in the year 2015 for its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The results show that there is still work that needs to be done, especially with the impact that came with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The survey also asked questions that gauged global cooperation and rendered positive results.

Across all regions, the respondents noted that it is ‘important’ or ‘very important’ for nations to work harmoniously towards a common goal.

South Asia and the Sub-Saharan Africa regions were mostly in favour. Western Europe turned out to be the least in favour. Although, globally, more than one-third of the respondents think that it is crucial.

In addition to this, the Qualtrics survey also gathered results indicating that people think it is a good idea and beneficial to do so. The majority of the respondents from every region responded with ‘mostly good’ with only 12{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} voting with ‘mostly bad.’

The results revealed that nations need to work together to meet common goals and deliver better and more positive results.

Ten thousand five hundred respondents from 30 countries all over the world participated in the survey, which represents three-fourths of the global population.

The recent poll was not the first time SAP and Qualtrics assisted in organising global surveys. In 2019, Qualtrics organised a survey and gathered opinions at the 2019 India Economic Summit to gauge the Indian population’s response to technology. The poll also comprised of more than 10,000 respondents from 29 countries.

The post Qualtrics Survey Platform Gauges Quality Education appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud announced their plans to launch cloud in Indonesia, as reported by Data Center Dynamics. However, Alibaba Cloud was already a step ahead as it put up its second data center in the country this year.

At present, Indonesia is entering a phase where they openly welcome the digital age and is preparing the grounds for startups who would like considering to establish their IT systems on the cloud due to factors such as affordability and scalability. As for larger organisations, they are most likely to build data centres. 

Sutedjo Tjahjadi, PT Datacomm Diangraha’s managing director for cloud business, explained that startups could utilise cloud systems to create prototypes and get started on their companies quickly. Meanwhile, large companies that are already in operations are adopting cloud to meet their requirements and resource needs with consideration to the readiness of the market for cloud tech.

Additionally, Fanky Christian, the director and co-founder of PT Daya Cipta Mandiri Solus (DCM) shared that companies will not move to the cloud at the beginning; however, they will migrate standalone systems, such as its HR systems.

Despite the existence of regulations such as the Government Regulation 82 of 2012, which may impact data locality, Christian and Tjahjadi said that this is not a significant barrier to the adoption of the cloud.

Tjahjadi said that the operation of enterprise systems on an overseas cloud isn’t appealing. He noted that running SAP on a public cloud in another country, like Singapore, is going to be a challenge due to the required amount of expensive international bandwidth. He explained that it would depend on the type of applications and deployment.

Tjahjadi warned of hidden costs that may be impacted by the increase of cloud deployments and encouraged businesses to do their share in ensuring that cloud deployments are secured from cyber intrusions. Additionally, he explained:

“Putting the data in the cloud is a lot safer than an on-premises deployment…Protecting their data is the joint responsibility of both the cloud provider and the cloud user.”

Christian also explained that businesses must adopt a multi-cloud strategy, meaning cloud deployments are not limited to a single provider. He also added why human resources is an essential factor in successful digital transformation. He said:

“If you deploy in a data center, you will need the right talent to manage the facilities in the data center.”

He added that the same concept applies to the cloud, where the right expertise is needed to maintain a cloud deployment.

Ultimately, innovation is the key to Indonesian businesses. Tjahjadi concluded that companies should look beyond shifting to digital transformation as a way to reduce costs and consider how it can be used to encourage creativity and innovation using technologies.

The post Cloud in Indonesia: How Businesses are Transforming appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.