According to the press release, the newly appointed SAP executives bring with them a wealth of industry experience and expertise, which will help solidify the tech giant’s position in APJ as a leader in enterprise software solutions. In particular, these appointments are expected to support innovation and collaboration between SAP customers and partners throughout the region. Additionally, they will provide strategic direction for sales operations and customer engagement initiatives designed to increase revenue opportunities throughout APJ.

Peter Moore will be taking on the role of Head of Enterprise Cloud at SAP APJ; Sushant Jain is assuming responsibility as Head of Spend Management at SAP APJ; and Liher Urbizu has been named Chief Operating Officer for the same region. This trio brings an abundance of experience and knowledge to bolster SAP’s presence in the Asia Pacific and Japan area.

Accelerating Growth with SAP Executives

For the past decade, Moore has held multiple positions within SAP and is now at the helm of Enterprise Cloud APJ. This newly-constructed organization encompasses RISE with SAP S/4 HANA Cloud, SAP Business Technology Platform, and SAP Customer Experience companies. This amalgamation will allow customers and partners to reap greater value from their engagement with the German tech giant as it continues to rapidly progress its cloud transformation journey.

Meanwhile, Jain also has an extensive career at SAP, having served in a variety of positions over the last 11 years. Now, as Head of Spend Management APJ (Asia Pacific and Japan), Jain is looking to combine the Intelligent Spend Business Network (ISBN) and SAP Concur organizations to provide customers with a more reliable, resilient, and sustainable cloud-first networked enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. This integration will allow customers to benefit from increased transparency when it comes to their business operations.

Reporting to SAP APJ President Paul Marriott, Moore and Jain have recently joined Angela Colantuono who was appointed Head of Human Experience Management APJ in July last year. They will be leading an integrated organization that spans across SAP’s most successful lines of business. Together they are tasked with driving the growth of the company while providing a human-centric focus on customer experience throughout the entire region.

Expanding the SAP Business in APJ

On the other hand, Urbizu has been appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer for APJ, based in Singapore. He brings a wealth of experience to this role, having previously served as Global Head of Partner Success Services for SAP. In this capacity, he will oversee all aspects of operations in the Asia-Pacific region and support the organization’s strategic objectives. With his expertise and knowledge, Liher is well-placed to help guide APJ towards success in the future.

For more than two decades, Urbizu has been an integral part of the SAP landscape. During his career, he has held a variety of positions in places such as India, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore. His experience with SAP solutions has enabled him to gain insights into how they can be applied in various contexts and geographic locations. As Chief Operating Officer, Urbizu will assume the responsibility of leading a regional team with the intention to successfully carry out strategy across APJ, while keeping an uncompromising emphasis on giving customers and partners a lasting benefit.

Commenting on the significant milestone for SAP APJ, Marriott stated that customers seek for high-value, streamlined, and simplified engagement and that it is crucial that the company continues to transform to fulfill this requirement. He further added:

“The expertise and absolute commitment to customer success that Peter, Sushant, Angela, and Liher bring to their leadership positions is extraordinary. This strategic focus advances SAP’s commitment to empowering Asia’s sustainable future, driving our customers’ business agility, flexibility, and innovation to support growth in a highly competitive market.”

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The IT services industry in India continues to lead the way in delivering global business transformations enabled by innovation and technology. India’s digital transformation market is predicted to hit $710.0 billion by 2024, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 74{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}. The adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), mobility, big data and analytics, and social media are all projected to be key growth drivers in the industry. Additionally, innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics are also considered significant factors in accelerating digital transformation and driving business growth.

As one of the major players in India’s IT services sector, SAP strengthens its commitment to helping organisations modernise their operations in order to become sustainable, intelligent enterprises. In 2021, the German enterprise software multinational’s business in the country increased by triple figures in three quarters during the year — demonstrating the tremendous demand for cloud-based products and services. As of 2020, SAP announced that it was shifting its focus to a cloud-based business model, with an end goal of achieving 22 billion euros from the cloud market segment by 2025.

According to SAP Indian Subcontinent Managing Director Kulmeet Bawa, India was one of the regions with the highest number of global clients for the company’s Business Transformation as a Service (BTaaS) offering RISE with SAP. Indian enterprises from across different industries have already embraced the solution to support them in adapting and thriving in today’s ever-evolving market conditions. 

“2021 was the best year in our history, and we’ve contributed globally very holistically,” Bawa highlighted.

Advancing India’s Contribution to SAP Market Segments

Moreover, Bawa indicated that SAP India’s business growth was driven by large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have begun to invest more heavily in cloud-based technologies in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic. In February, SAP announced the new Cloud Success Services organisation which focuses on customer lifecycle management by integrating its services and customer experience (CX) units. Over 22,000 staff are part of the organisation to help ensure the success of every customer’s cloud transformation journey by providing SAP’s most advanced capabilities and services.

With this, Bawa said that he also intends to establish India as a global talent hub for the tech company as it currently expands in other fields such as cybersecurity, machine learning (ML), and data science, among other things. At the moment, SAP India has around 14,000 people spread across business operations and technology facilities, with more than 1,500 new employees hired in the last year.

Furthermore, Bawa stated that the company plans to strengthen its connection with the Indian startup ecosystem in the future. An accelerator program for startups has been developed by SAP Labs India in an effort to promote entrepreneurship and technological development in the country. The SAP Startup Studio and the SAP Labs campus in Bengaluru were established to assist in the development of new startups in the fields of big data and IoT.

“One aspect is working with them as a technology enabler, and the second is to co-innovate with them, and that is very big for us. We have an advantage in India because of the massive talent pool across the organisation,” he emphasised.

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The recent report from the United Nations titled “The Impact of COVID19 on the MSME Sector in Sri Lanka” highlighted the critical role of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the socio-economic development of the country. Close to the global numbers, Sri Lanka’s GDP is mostly supported by MSMEs (52{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}), which also represents 90{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of total enterprises and delivers 45{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of total employment. 

Acknowledging the need to support Sri Lankan MSMEs’ growth during these unprecedented times, information technology and services provider ZILLIONe has announced its latest partnership with German enterprise software giant SAP. Having a market footprint in seven countries, including Australia, Cambodia, and India serving over 400 customers across various industries worldwide, the Colombo-headquarteted company will now be leveraging SAP’s industry-leading solutions for midmarket enterprises.

“We were enthusiastic to partner with No. 1 global ERP provider, SAP, to offer a fully Software as a Service (SaaS) ERP solution in Sri Lanka. This solution provides a higher Return on Investment (ROI) and savings. Businesses can now cut expenses incurred on legacy infrastructure, maintenance, and tech professionals. Moreover, businesses do not have to worry about new releases or technology shifts as it will be taken care of by the software vendor,” Luxshumyraj Sivarajah, Director – Enterprise Business Solutions at ZILLIONe, exclaimed during the launch.

SAP has been supporting the transformation of organisations in the country into intelligent enterprises as demonstrated in the software enterprise company’s partnership with Sri Lanka SAP User Group (SLSUG) in 2019.

SAP Business ByDesign to Advance Transformation of Sri Lanka Enterprises

A trusted digital transformation partner with over 40 years of implementation experience, ZILLIONe further strengthens its position as one of the leading enterprise technology solutions providers with the SAP Business ByDesign rollout. The strategic partnership with SAP is anchored on three core objectives to back the thriving SMEs in Sri Lanka– harness the power of digital technology for the post-pandemic era; adapt to the new ways of working, and design strategies for market expansion and growth.  

Explaining about adding SAP Business ByDesign in the company’s portfolio of enterprise business solutions, Chairman and CEO of ZILLIONe Tharmarajah Suresh said.

“In today’s corporate world, ERP solutions are moving away from legacy infrastructure and adapting to cloud solutions to achieve better scalability, accessibility, and functionality.”

“For instance, Forrester research says cloud-based ERP systems are at 20.7{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} enterprise application growth rate in the public cloud in 2018. So, we needed to have a fully cloud-based ERP solution in our portfolio,” he detailed.

Sivarajah added that ZILLIONe is passionate about the rollout of the cloud-based ERP from SAP in Sri Lanka, which complements the company’s four decades of extensive experience supporting businesses in their successful ERP transformation.

SAP Business ByDesign is a single, unified solution that delivers pre-built processes for core business functions including Finance, Customer Relationship Management, Human Resources, Project Management, Procurement, and Supply Chain. In addition, it offers industry-specific functionalities for professional services, manufacturing, and wholesale distribution. For businesses operating in multiple countries, especially in Europe, SAP Business ByDesign has localisation capabilities with specific features delivered for the respective pre-localised category.

This year, SAP Business ByDesign re-entered the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud Core Financial Management Suites for Midsize, Large and Global Enterprises as Niche Player– a remarkable feat for an ERP solution mainly focussed on midmarket. The customers rated the SAP solutions not only  as best in class for ease of use and value for money but also for its global reach as well as flexibility and extensibility.

The post ZILLIONe Debuts SAP Business ByDesign in Sri Lanka appeared first on InsideSAP Asia.

Annual cloud spends have been at an all-time high in the last several years, according to a Deloitte report, with India experiencing a tremendous increase of 45{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} in compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past five years. The article by Financial Express also stated that business executives realise the significant benefits of adopting a cloud-first strategy as a growing number of companies are now leveraging cloud capabilities to strengthen their operations. Additionally, the study has found that around 80{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of organisations are better prepared to address future needs and challenges by taking their business processes to the cloud.

Aligned with the overall call to action for Atmanirbhar Bharat which translates to “a self-reliant India”, German enterprise software giant SAP has put in place several initiatives to support cloud adoption in the country. Earlier this year, the company pledged an investment of INR 500 crore (€55 million) centred around delivering transformation in the cloud. Aside from being projected to bolster demand for cloud services, it was also expected to amplify domestic companies’ confidence in venturing into businesses in the mid-market segment.

In an interview with YourStory on the sidelines of TechSparks 2021 online conference, SAP Indian Subcontinent Managing Director and President Kulmeet Bawa described SAP as a “true blue cloud company.” He shared:

“At SAP, we have transformed ourselves into a cloud company from an on-premise solution provider to one of the largest cloud companies in the enterprise application space today in the world. We understand how to adapt to new market conditions and how to build or create new business models.”

Cloud Adoption Drives Momentum for SAP Business in India

In addition to its solid market presence across 25 industries, SAP’s strong base of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) — which accounts for around 9,000 of the company’s 12,000 customers in India — fuels most of the growth performance. Bawa noted that digital adoption has gone up exponentially with a greater focus on customer experience, adding that smaller businesses are coming back to SAP to expand their global reach.

“India is growing like no other market. BFSI has not been our forte, but we have started going deeper now with banks and fintech companies. We are also expanding the footprint to digital natives and other new age internet-led businesses that are mushrooming in the country,” he further explained.

SAP India also sees demand for its Business Transformation as a Service (BTaaS) offering RISE with SAP as a rising number of local companies opt to run enterprise computing in the cloud now that digital transformation has become more important than ever. First introduced in January, the all-in-one digital cloud services package also includes taking the German tech giant’s flagship product SAP S/4HANA to clients. Bawa maintained:

“RISE with SAP is where we are moving the digital core onto the cloud. It is not a technology upgrade but a business transformation. Here, we are offering subscription services along with bundled offerings, some directly by us, some with the partners and it has been amazing to see the trajectory in the last six months.”

Moreover, the company recently raised its revenue forecast for the full year as a result of such demand, both in India and across the world. Some of the Indian enterprises that have already embarked on their journey to the cloud through RISE with SAP are Vikran Engineering & Exim Pvt. Ltd., a fast-growing engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company in the power sector, and RA Chem Pharma Ltd, a vertically integrated pharmaceutical firm.

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Continuing SAP’s success in the Vietnamese market, the homegrown talent Nguyen Hong Viet has been appointed as the new Managing Director of SAP Vietnam directly reporting to Verena Siow, President and Managing Director of SAP Southeast Asia.

SAP SeA MD Siow expressed:

“As an employer of choice, SAP makes every effort to support our employees to reach their full potential, and Viet’s promotion is testament to the rising local leader that we have in the talent bench. His appointment comes at a very exciting time as Vietnam is powering its way to claim its place in the new digital economy – supported by a young population, high growth rate, and a location in the heart of high-growth Asian economies. Viet is a proven leader who embodies what it means to be customer-centric and employee-focused. I am confident that he will lead the Vietnam business to greater heights”.

Homegrown SAP Leader

Starting as an SAP Account Executive in 2012, Viet progressively rose from the ranks and was most recently the General Business Sales Manager for SAP Vietnam. The sales team that he led contributed to the achievement of company revenue while delivering customer value and innovation through cloud transformation with strategic and key clients.  

Viet’s strong work ethics and excellent long-term planning and execution abilities have been welded with the Vietnamese business culture that is based on fundamental trust. Several SAP customer success stories in the public sector, financial services, and manufacturing industries can be credited to the hard work and expertise of Viet coupled with his 19 years of experience in the technology industry across software, hardware, and cloud.

Continuing SAP’s Legacy

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the Economist Intelligence Unit predicts that Vietnam will experience stable growth and continue to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the region between 2019 and 2023. The government’s commitment to Industry 4.0, recognising the private enterprise as the core engine of the economy, makes it the most opportune time for SAP to grow and expand in Vietnam.

Coming in at an extremely challenging time, the new SAP Vietnam MD sheds light and hope to SAP customers and partners in the country. He said:

“COVID-19 has adversely impacted Vietnam’s economy. In the past months, SAP has been supporting our Vietnamese customers and partners to tackle disruptions caused by COVID-19, leveraging intelligent technologies to support remote working, digital supply chains, and manage customer and employee experiences. SAP will continue to help our customers accelerating their digital transformation journey towards becoming Intelligent Enterprises.” 

Focusing on Gen Z

In 2018, the Nielsen published an article titled ‘How to engage with Generation Z in Vietnam’ reported the Gen Z will comprise 25{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the labour workforce in the country by 2025. With a relatively young population of nearly 100 million people, of which 60{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} are under the age of 35, Vietnam focuses on developing HR for a digital economy.  

Sharing some of SAP Vietnam’s initiative in equipping the youth, MD Viet said:

“SAP Vietnam will also focus on equipping youth with knowledge and skills ready for the digital future through programs such as the ASEAN Data Science Explorers and SAP University Alliances. Our recently announced collaboration with UNICEF Vietnam to provide quality education and essential digital skills training to adolescents in disadvantaged communities in Viet Nam will further accelerate our continuous efforts to help improve people’s lives in Vietnam. No one should be left behind in this digital race.”

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