AI and ERP - Heaven and Hell?

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I am going to say something on LinkedIn that has never been said by anyone before:

I am not an AI expert.

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I understand AI the same way I understand the internal combustion engine. I know roughly how it works, but most importantly I know that if I put it in the right vehicle, it can take me to my desired destination.

There is a trend of late for many within the tech industry to self-proclaim their AI expertise. While many are truly experts, there are also several who are the AI equivalent of me with the hood/ bonnet of my car open telling the tow-truck driver that I think the problem is probably the alternator.

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I am a bona fide expert in two things: ERP and 1980s heavy metal.

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Now, I know that making this statement rarely gets me invited to dinner parties, but it is the truth. I am an expert in these areas because I am passionate about them and I have been involved in, and talked about, them for decades. If you want to know how best to leverage AI to help optimize or transform your business through Cloud ERP, or you want to discuss whether Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio were better than Randy Rhodes-era Ozzy, then I am the person you want to talk to. (Or avoid at all costs).

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For a number of years now I have said that ‘cloud is not the destination. It is the vehicle on your journey.’ AI is also not the destination, but potentially an improved engine, a remarkable GPS/Satnav, a personalized infotainment unit, an optimizer of routes, an improver of fuel efficiency and so on. But the destination and how you get there are up to you and without knowing where you are going and why, then the rest is like Van Halen with Gary Cherone - pointless.

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This is why at SAP we have focused so much on Rise with SAP and Grow with SAP – these are our offerings that help customers on their journey to grow, optimize and transform their businesses.

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My former colleagues at Gartner recently stated:

“By itself, AI is not transformational. Much of its potential lies in how it can strengthen or enable new business models in organizations.”

(Ten Digital Business Models Are Being Improved by Artificial Intelligence ID G00790257).

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You do not need to be an AI expert. You do, however, need to be an expert in your industry, in your business, in your market. You need to have expert insight into what your customers want and need. You always need to think ‘Business’ first and then ‘AI’.

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When it comes leveraging AI within your business, the fundamental questions remain the same:

·?????Why am I in business?

·?????What differentiates me to my customers?

·?????What will a day in the life of a customer, employee, partner and supplier look like 5 years from now?

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When you have clarity on the answers to these questions then, and only then, can you ask the question – how can AI help me transform, optimize, de-risk, and grow my business?

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At SAP I am very fortunate to work with in-depth AI experts, finance experts, supply chain experts, HCM experts, CX experts, industry experts and so on. It is the combination of these experts and those in our partner ecosystem that really differentiate SAP in how we help our customers.

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I recently spoke with my colleague Laura Marwood Ph.D. on the value of Business AI. This discussion focuses on how AI and in particular Machine Learning (ML) can help in both optimizing and differentiating your business. Not a single customer will come to your door because you use AI. They will however come to you over and over for what you deliver through the use of AI.

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SAP's AI experts can give you much more insight and I would recommend reading these wonderful posts by Juergen Mueller and Bharat Sandhu

https://news.sap.com/2023/05/sap-sapphire-business-ai/

https://news.sap.com/2023/07/power-of-business-ai-sap-btp/

You do not need to be an AI expert. Instead, be the expert that your customers need.

And to answer the most important question of all – Mob Rules is a better overall album than Blizzard of Ozz, but Diary of a Madman is superior to Heaven and Hell.