Recap: SAPPHIRE Now 2021

2021 again saw SAP's SAPPHIRE Now annual conference be fully remote and digital. SAP tried to make the most of the virtual format by learning from 2020's virtual conference and making some changes. Most noteworthy was that the SAPPHIRE was broken out into different geographic regional conferences, allowing for more localization and convenience.??

The online event included live presentations, digital showcases, and networking opportunities by industry, technology, geographic region, etc. There was a vast array of content presented this year. Here are a few of the noteworthy highlights.

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RISE with SAP

The RISE program was officially launched in winter 2021, but it was a focal point of SAPPHIRE Now 2021.?

Not so much the announcement of the program, but rather customers and attendees were treated to more insight into what the RISE program entails. This is big because for months after its announcement, all parts of the SAP ecosystem had questions and confusion. SAPPHIRE provided some answers.??

Most notably was introducing five new?Industry packages (Automotive, Consumer Products, Industrial Machinery, Retail, and Utilities). Think of these as Best Practice solutions that encompass what SAP has learned and developed to address each industry's specific needs.

Another question/concern answered was "How does RISE work with other SAP solutions and integrate to other technologies." Finally, we started to get some answers in the form of?HXM. HXM is the introduction of SuccessFactors and Qualtrics joining the RISE solution.??

More exciting and more realistic to SAP customers was the introduction?of RISE with SAP for Modular Cloud ERP. The concept is to allow customers to pick and choose the modules on their RISE contract. They are creating a more of a true -aaS model where customers only pay for what they use. There are still a lot of details to be uncovered with this one, but on the surface, this can be a game-changer for SAP to balance old and new customer landscapes simultaneously.??

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SAP Business Network

A center of CEO Christian Klein's keynote focused on the launch of SAP Business Network, which is the integration of SAP Ariba Network, SAP Logistics Business Network, and SAP Asset Intelligence Network. Klein calls these business communities for the modern world.??

"Our new vision will build the world's largest business community, enabling the customer to easily connect with companies across supply chains and creating networked economies across industries."

SAP envisions that these communities can improve business outcomes, navigate changing economic and geopolitical conditions, and enhance sustainability contributions. In theory, this sounds great, but if you've seen enough keynotes, you'll know the actual proof is in execution and adoption.?

We'll have to see if the rubber meets the road on this one.

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SAP Upscale Commerce

SAP Launched is a no-code online commerce solution called Upscale Commerce. Upscale Commerce allows retailers to quickly create omnichannel shopping experiences with minimal effort or technical expertise. It also promises to leverage AI to provide personalized customer experiences and offerings like one would expect from an eCommerce solution today but targeted to the mid-market customers where Hybris was often too cumbersome and expensive to implement.

For my money, the most interesting part about Upscale Commerce is that it promises integration with SAP S/4HANA and uses a headless API architecture, which signals easy and universal integration capabilities.?

A welcoming sight to see from SAP.

This is also our first taste of SAP's acquisition AppGyver, the no-code development platform.??

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SAP Process Insights

The Launch of Process Insights promises to give real-time visibility into your existing as-is processes/landscapes and then design and look at different models. This is potentially impactful not just for S/4HANA migrations but continuous process improvements. If you get the chance, it's worth listening to Hasso Plattner talk about this. It also is the first time we see the impact of SAP's acquisition of Signavio and how SAP plans to leverage Signavio.

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Verify

SAP Concur was a focus at SAPPHIRE this year with a new feature called Verify. Verify leverages AI and machine learning to automatically identify issues and anomalies in your expense reports.

Verify can approve expense reports that have no issues, which flagging anomalies for auditors to review.?

Thus continuing SAP's commitment of their technology to reduce manual intervention and allowing users to only focus on the items that need attention.??

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SAP Analytics Cloud

SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) rolled out a few new noteworthy features. One being operational workforce analytics and planning capabilities.?

SAP also now integrates with SAP Success Factors, thus linking operational, financial, and people data to give organizations more comprehensive insights into their workforce.

Sustainability

Sustainability has been a big focus of SAP for months. During SAPPHIRE SAP reiterated its commitment to help businesses transform into sustainable enterprises by using the power of SAP tools like SAP Business Technology Platform and SAP Analytics Cloud around Green Tokens.??

There are also tools like SAP Product Footprint Management that will provide customers with product footprint transparency. SAP Responsible Design and Production to help organizations prevent waste and pollution by tracking and designing products and materials for more prolonged use, applying circular principles, etc. It will also have embedded sustainability parameters for an organization based on the UN, SDG, and WEF quantifiables.??

These product suites plan to be available later this year. It's all a big push for SAP to move towards zero; Zero Emissions, and Zero Waste, as global focus shifts towards organizations' sustainability.