The Power of a Tribe – Business Communities as Competitive Advantage for Companies and People

In a social and digital economy it takes a crowd to win! SAP has one of the most active business communities in the world, with over 24M unique visitors online and a network of top contributors, the SAP Mentors, who thrive on sharing their expertise with others. Fredrik Ohlsson is one of them. He works for TetraPak as Director of Enterprise IT Architecture, ensuring the organization has a scalable, supportable IT landscape, and a technology roadmap that supports the business roadmap. I had a chance to sit down with him and talk about why business communities matter, now more than ever before.

First of all, knowledge is value. In communities, this is combined with a passion for sharing, adding up to a goldmine of knowledge for individuals, companies and entire ecosystems. This is how Fredrik describes the community he is part of:

"The collective knowledge of the SAP Mentors must add up to thousands of years’ experience with SAP and implementing IT, that is available to customers, partners, and SAP itself. "

This value can be very tangible for businesses that know how to take advantage of it. "Imagine a company that is evaluating an enterprise BI solution versus ad hoc, local solutions or making an investment decision in Internet of Things with an open source solution versus a package. These are big decisions and very expensive to get wrong. Tapping in to user community expertise allows you to evaluate options in a very thorough way."

When I asked Fredrik about his personal motivation to participate, one word came very quickly: Curiosity. He joined the SAP Mentors out of interest in connecting with very diverse companies from multiple industries. To see what challenges they face, how they approach them, and ideally be part of developing the solutions.

"There′s of course a social aspect of being part of a global group of people who share similar interests. But joining a network of top experts is also an amazing learning opportunity. The SAP Mentor Program connects me to professionals from companies all over the world, across industries. Hearing their stories, both of success and mistakes, learning how they address challenges I may not face in my industry or role is both enriching and educational."

He describes being an SAP Mentor as an experience similar to spending time as a management consultant, exposing you to situations that give you a lot of credibility when you talk to other business leaders in your own company.

Read the full story in this interview blog with Fredrik. And if you want to join the tribe, find more information here!