openSAP has been known in the SAP ecosystem to deliver innovative, expert-led learning at zero cost. With the coronavirus pandemic putting a halt on almost everything including training and learning sessions, openSAP has now reached the mainstream. New learners outside the SAP community like students, teachers, professionals, and organisations that are looking for a safe, healthy, and continuous online learning environment now know openSAP. 

One of the organisations new to the SAP ecosystem that has recently utilised openSAP is the ASEAN SME Academy, an online training tool developed by US-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive Small and Medium Enterprises (Business Alliance). Business Alliance was established by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) in 2014 to train over 4,000 SMEs utilising the world-class expertise offered by US-ABC corporate members in areas such as Marketing and Business Management, Finance, Legal, Logistics, and Information Technology. 

openSAP Courses in the Academy

The Academy incorporates training materials focused on SMEs from Fortune 500 companies including regional firms and international organisations. The curated set of courses is part of a larger program to provide training and mentorship to enhance ASEAN SMEs’ access to financial products, regional and international markets, information and advisory services, and technology and innovation.

In today’s economic climate, ASEAN SME Academy aims to further support the MSMEs with openSAP courses that would boost their digital capabilities and strengthen competitiveness.

The following new online learning courses are now accessible to Academy users who want to learn more about SAP’s latest innovations and how to thrive in the digital economy:

Enterprise Architecture in the Era of the Intelligent Enterprise

The Internet of Things with SAP

Intrapreneurship – Employee-driven Innovation

Sustainability: Learning from Leading Companies

Design Thinking and Challenge Management

Digital Supply Chain – From Design to Operate

Cloud-Native Development with SAP Cloud Platform

Sustainability through Digital Transformation

openSAP Adoption

Since March 2020, when SAP announced free access to several of its intelligent solutions to help organisations navigate and thrive in the new normal, the demand for openSAP, in particular, has been overwhelming. Over 25,000 records of achievement and more than 35,000 confirmations of participation were awarded in self-paced courses between March 31 and June 30. 

The pandemic has encouraged the openSAP team to open courses from previous years to allow learners to catch up and earn certificates– an opportunity for new learners to catch up with what they might have missed. 

SAP’s digital learning platform openSAP also features a variety of learning options with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Microlearning, and Podcasts. 

MOOCs leverage tried and trusted classroom concepts, with digital enhancements including gamification and discussion forums, to interact with other learners and experts in an online delivery format. Users can choose from two types of openSAP MOOC: Enterprise MOOCs, which focus on SAP technology; and Thought Leader MOOCs, which feature external speakers who share thought-leading ideas around business and technology.

Microlearning features self-contained videos that are all prepared by SAP experts to complement the users’ level of knowledge.

openSAP Podcasts is SAP’s Podcast channel providing knowledge from members of the SAP ecosystem, including SAP employees, partners, and customers. Users can stream or download episodes on any device with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, or directly from openSAP.

“Life changed so suddenly,” Michaela Laemmler, Global Head of openSAP, said. “We were glad to be in a position to provide additional support for those who were ready to start learning online and looked to openSAP.”

The post ASEAN SME Academy: Learning Online Courses from openSAP appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

On an article published by Computer Weekly, Eugene Ho, SAP Southeast Asia’s head of corporate affairs, pointed out that to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) workforce to be ready for the digital economy, businesses, educators and the governments itself should co-invest in education and skills. Additionally, the individuals themselves should also be willing to be a part of the digital revolution and be ready to capitalise on it.

Based on a Deloitte survey result, only 20{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of youths feel that being part of the digital revolution is part of their responsibility. Ho noted that this kind of mindset is harmful and quoted that “one can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”

At the 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits held in Thailand, Ho shared his views on the skills that will be needed to support the ASEAN digital economy. In the session, he talked about data intelligence and its role in the current era. He also shared what SAP has been doing so far to help the region in its upskilling efforts.

Eugene Ho emphasises increasing demand for data skills

Ho noted that the fourth industrial revolution, or IR4.0, is expected to bring about many opportunities and that the individuals and companies that will thrive during this era are those with advanced and adaptive data skills. He was quoted saying:

“By 2030, McKinsey estimates that as many as 375 million workers may need to change their occupational categories and learn new skills to adapt to automation and digital transformation.”

During the session, Ho also shared that 60{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the expected population in the ASEAN region will comprise of individuals under 35 years old. Meanwhile, China and India lead the statistics for having the most significant number of millennials; however, he also pointed out that the lack of actual skills to succeed in the workplace could be a big concern. He noted that up to 27{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of millennials and Gen Z in the workforce would eventually leave their jobs because of the lack of learning and development opportunities.

As for companies, Ho noted that they can expect an enterprise value of 3{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} to 5{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} for industries with a higher corporate data literacy rate. The challenge now is getting CEOs to prepare their current workforce with data skills.

SAP’s role in learning and development

Eugene Ho praised SAP for putting its focus on the learning and development aspect. Their efforts have helped SAP establish a reputation as one of the most innovative companies in the world. In a statement, he said:

“Our focus on learning and development has made us an employer of choice in many of the countries that we operate in and enable us to have a thriving ecosystem of customers and partners in ASEAN.”

He also noted that 91{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the top 100 ASEAN companies and 88{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the ASEAN companies listed on the Forbes Global 2000 list were SAP customers. When it comes to digital learning and development, SAP is the leader in delivering massive online open courses (MOOCs).

Ho highlighted that SAP’s MOOC platform, openSAP, has more than 28,000 learners coming from 10 ASEAN member states. It is open to anyone for free. The openSAP platform has been helping individuals learn new skills through courses for various disciplines such as data science, machine learning, and robotic process automation.

During the session, he also highlighted some of SAP’s prominent initiatives, particularly with the ASEAN Foundation for the ASEAN Data Science Explorers training programme. They have also collaborated with Skills Future Singapore and other polytechnics for the SAP Skills University Singapore initiative.

Lastly, Eugene Ho emphasised the two things that need to be worked on to enable a digital ASEAN to unlock growth: an individual culture of learning for a lifetime and a collective culture that allows the growth of learning and development of the digital workforce.

The post Eugene Ho Talks About SAP in ASEAN Digital Economy appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.