SAP SuccessFactors in collaboration with SAP.iO Foundry Singapore launched a new accelerator program that will centre on human resources technology and the future of work solutions. Selected by a jury of SAP experts and partners, the six international tech startups will take part in the 13-week virtual program that will conclude with the SAP.iO Cohort Demo Day in December 2021.

Accelerating Adoption of Technology for HR

A study by Oxford Economics, the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), and SAP SuccessFactors highlighted that the familiar issues to leaders in HR and across the business, such as health and safety, reskilling, and new ways of working, have now reached next-level complexities and urgency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The research suggests that the global crisis has magnified the need for organisations to accelerate technology adoption to tackle the future of work. 

The majority of the respondents, including those from the APJ region, said that their company has effectively handled new ways of working and that most employees have adjusted well to the new processes. Respondents in Australia (79{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), China (83{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), and India (86{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) said that their company has the technology it needs to navigate the changing work environment.

Aaron Green, Head of SuccessFactors, SAP Asia Pacific & Japan, said that every industry has been undergoing some form of transformation to keep pace with today’s disruptions. He explained:

“People are at the core of this transformation and the heartbeat of the business. We see a continuing trend of leaders looking for innovative ways to empower people with the information and capabilities they need to succeed in a digitised world. By partnering with SAP, these startups are joining an innovative ecosystem, and we look forward to working together to accelerate digital transformation for our customers in the world of Human Experience Management.”

The Singapore Cohort

Here are the six selected startups to participate in the SAP.iO Foundry Singapore program to focus on developing solutions on recruiting, talent and team management, and wellbeing:

• Accredify. The Singapore-based Information Technology & Services company supports organisations in their document lifecycle management and ensures their documents are easily verifiable– from creating tamper-proof certified true copies of digital documents to providing end-to-end COVID-19 employee health screening and verification system. In August, Accredify announced that its app now integrates with SAP SuccessFactors to assist companies in employee COVID-19 health verification, a big step in revolutionising the future of work.

• Boldly. The startup offers personalised career pathways, assessment, and learning content. Boldly is the world’s largest marketplace of screened, qualified professional coaches and enables hyper-personalised staff development. The platform leverages coaching bots and advanced analytics for reporting. Aside from Singapore, the company has operations in Auckland, Hong Kong, and Sydney.

• Tagvance. The IoT Tech Startup provides industrial operators with ready-to-operate asset tracking solutions and environmental monitoring sensors. Focused on the mining industry, Tagvance offers solutions for occupational health and safety as well as for enterprise resource planning for productivity.

• Talent Games. An HR Technology company that leverages AI-driven gamified virtual hiring solutions, Talent Games helps organisations attract, engage, and assess top millennial talent based on gamified candidate assessments. By digitising and gamifying HR talent processes, leaders can accurately evaluate each candidate’s personality, cognitive ability, aptitude, and behavior. Talent Games is headquartered in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

• Wagely. Headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wagely is a leading financial wellbeing app for a future-ready workforce. The financial wellness platform enables orgnaisations to provide employees with affordable and sustainable financial services, including access to earned wage access (EWA).

• Springday. Based in NSW, Australia, Springday is a B2B software-as-a-service platform that helps organisations measure and improves the wellbeing of their people with technology, evidence-based wellbeing tools, and data collection. The startup offers solutions based on the five pillars of wellbeing: Career, Emotional, Financial, Physical, and Social.

Through the SAP.iO program, SAP will accelerate these early-stage startups by providing them access to curated mentorship from SAP executives, exposure to SAP technology and application programming interfaces (APIs), and opportunities to collaborate with SAP customers worldwide.

The post SAP.iO Foundry Singapore Centres on Technology for HR appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

One year into the pandemic, ASEAN enterprises have shown resiliency and swift adaptability to uncharted territory, leveraging technology. As an example, a commendable roster of finalists in the 2021 SAP Concur Innovation Awards came from the Asia Pacific region, proving that despite unprecedented challenges, businesses in the region continue to champion innovation to help them survive and thrive in the post-pandemic world.

As organisations progress in navigating the new world of work while tackling the evolving challenges of COVID-19, SAP and Oxford Economics survey offers actionable information that enterprises in Southeast Asia can take into account as they strategise for growth. Titled “Digital, resilient, and experience-driven: How enterprises in Southeast Asia can prepare for the new economy”, the regional study revealed significant challenges and growth opportunities in key business areas of enterprises, both large and SMEs.

Succeeding in the New Economy

SAP Southeast Asia President and Managing Director Verena Siow, who was appointed at the height of the fight against the coronavirus in September 2020, shared that Southeast Asian businesses are now at a crucial transformative point to achieve long-term competitive growth. She said:

“Regardless of industry, businesses must embrace true business transformation into intelligent enterprises while keeping in mind that customers are the lifeline to survival and sustainable growth.” 

“In an ever-increasing digital economy, the enterprises that thrive are those that adapt the quickest. There is a strong need to shift mindsets while constantly seeking new ways of working and redesigning processes,” Siow added.

Growth Drivers

• Customer Experience. The SAP study revealed that 35{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of participants agreed that customer experience, specifically service excellence, is now their primary source of value and differentiation. Personalisation (59{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), high-quality products and/or services (55{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), data protection and privacy (53{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) and competitive pricing (51{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) are the key factors in creating positive customer experiences that are crucial for business growth and success.

• Automation and Digital Technologies. Respondents said that automation and digital technologies help companies achieve business objectives such as increasing process efficiency and reducing error, risk, and cost (56{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), reducing overhead costs (45{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), allowing employees to focus on higher-level business tasks (39{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), and increasing productivity through transformation and intelligent process automation (37{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}).

• Skilled workforce. Many enterprises in the region recognise the importance of engaging the workforce to be successful in a fast-growing digital economy. Businesses expect moderate growth in employee productivity (74{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), customer loyalty and satisfaction (71{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), market share (71{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) over the next three years.

Internal and External Challenges

• Changing Marketplace. 40{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of SMEs and 29{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of larger enterprises surveyed stated that adapting to a rapidly changing marketplace remains a challenge.

• Evolving Customer Behaviors. 38{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of SMEs and 43{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the larger enterprise said that they find it difficult to keep up with changing customer wants and needs as well as retain customers or drive repeat business (34{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} vs. 30{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}).

• Competing and Scaling for Growth. 50{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said they have difficulty competing with larger organisations and scaling for growth (33{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), especially with the lack of a capable and motivated workforce (40{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22})

• Upskilling Talent. 1 in 3 enterprises surveyed shared that upskilling internal talent is their top internal challenge with 29{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} facing an inability to gain insights into the employee.

• Lack of Visibility. Concerning technology, 43{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} said they lack an analytics solution and 38{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} stated lack of data that hinders their visibility over operations.

ASEAN enterprises’ flexibility and agility, as proven in the recent past, will be paramount to their success in the new digital economy. SAP continues to support organisations as they equip and compete in an environment that continues to be impacted by the pandemic.

“Flexibility is a crucial ingredient of success today and through our new RISE with SAP initiative, we are confident customers will get the flexibility required to accelerate the speed of digital transformation and excel in the diverse environment they operate in – wherever they are on the digitalisation spectrum.” Siow highlighted.

The post SAP Studies ASEAN Enterprises’ Success in the New Economy appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

The small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Asia Pacific comprise over 90{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of all businesses, employing about 60-80{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the workforce. Through the years, the SMEs have shown unprecedented growth and contribution in the region’s healthy macro-economic environment. However, the recent economic climate due to the coronavirus has challenged the sector’s capability to adapt to the rapid market changes and seek new opportunities to remain resilient and sustainable. 

The recently published Oxford Economics global research in collaboration with SAP centres on the SMEs’ digital maturity and their response to the pandemic, including remote work arrangements, technology adoption, supply chain management, and new product development and service offerings. 

Research Methodology

The SAP and Oxford Economics survey covered 19 countries across various industries with 42{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} respondents from APAC, 30{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} from Europe, and 28{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} from the Americas. 

The 2,000 senior executives surveyed are from across functions such as operations (18{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), management (17{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), finance (13{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), technology (11{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), sales (10{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), human resources (9{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), marketing (8{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), legal/risk (7{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), and customer service (7{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}). The survey reported organisations under $1 billion in revenue and countries, except for India, with employees fewer than 1,000. Companies surveyed in India have between 1,000 and 2,000.

The study was conducted between 27th February and 30th April 2020 and researchers added a section on the COVID-19 impact mid-fieldwork, which garnered responses from 240 SMEs in APAC, 174 from Europe, and 92 from the Americas.

In this article, we highlight the responses and data gathered from the surveyed countries in the APAC region– Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines Singapore, and South Korea.

Digital Adoption

39{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the 832 respondents from APAC have made moderate progress towards digital transformation. 21{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of small and midsized organizations have made substantial progress or completely transformed while 19{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} expect to have completely transformed within three years.

Claus Andresen, Senior Vice-President and Head of General Business (SME) and Emerging Markets Growth for APAC and Japan at SAP said:

“Today’s new normal requires businesses to pivot and adapt with speed. SMEs in the region seem to understand that the sense of urgency to digitally transform their businesses will give them an advantage through the pandemic and beyond.”

“With the adoption of an intelligent enterprise strategy, SMEs can establish a digital core that will power the entire organisation, embedding data-driven insights and decision-making processes across the business,” he further explained.

SMEs in APAC have made the most progress in technology adoption in the field of HR and talent management at 66{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}, governance and cybersecurity at 63{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}, and finance and risk management at 59{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}.

69{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of APAC respondents shared that their organisations have made IT investments, almost at par with the Americas and Europe’s at 72{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} and 68{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}, respectively. In Singapore, 73{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the respondents reported that IT and collaboration solutions, including investments on remote access and/or online learning, are their organisations’ top priorities.

Remote Work Adjustment

77{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of APAC SMEs said they have adjusted remote work arrangements for employees in response to COVID-19 as compared to Europe and Americas’ numbers, which are at 75{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} and 71{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}, respectively.

The Philippines garnered the highest adoption of remote working at 89{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}. India and Singapore reported that 73{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of businesses have adjusted to such arrangements, falling behind South Korea, Japan, and China.

Customer Management and Service Offerings

66{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of APAC SMEs are exploring new ways to reach customers, a little bit higher than in the Americas (65{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) and in Europe (59{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}). In Singapore, 68{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of SMEs are also expanding their customer reach.

In terms of new product development and offerings, APAC (46{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) SMEs are ahead of the Americas (40{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}) but a bit behind Europe (49{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}).

Edward Cone, editorial director of thought leadership and technology practice lead at Oxford Economics shared:

“SMEs across the region – like their counterparts around the world – have certain advantages over larger competitors in terms of agility and closeness to the customer.”

SMEs’ Challenges

The Oxford Economics study also shared the internal challenges of APAC SMEs such as upskilling and reskilling their current workforce (30{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), lack of coordination between departments (29{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), and inability to gain insights from data (29{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}).

As for the external factors, the survey reported companies’ concerns on changing customer wants and needs (40{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), competition from larger organisations (39{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), and adapting to a rapidly changing marketplace (27{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}).

The SAP and Oxford Economics study has concluded that small, medium-sized enterprises in the Americas, APAC, and Europe are balancing short-term problem-solving with longer-term, more strategic initiatives. These initiatives include sustained customer and employee satisfaction as well as investment in innovative technology to accelerate digital transformation. 

The post SAP, Oxford Economics Study Digital Maturity of Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.