SAP Customer Success Day for Business Technology Platform: Generating Value with Data & Analytics

28. + 29. February 2024 at SAP Prague, Metronom Business Center

We did it again! We organized an incredible SAP Customer Success Day for our customers - to learn, share, and engage! This time, we focused on how our customers can generate value with Data & Analytics.

After Carsten Kress and Kay Patzwald welcomed the audience, we handed over the stage to our sponsoring partners to introduce themselves. Throughout the event, our customers had the opportunity to engage with our partners at their booth and, on Day 2, learn first-hand from them during their breakout sessions.

First, Dr. Tommi Kramer represented sovanta AG. They "optimize SAP applications and get everything out of the established standard: reduced design, AI-supported processes, and optimized solutions. You've never seen SAP like this before."

Next, Andreas Kramer shared, that "as highly reputated technology consultancy, Exxeta supports clients during all phases of their digital transformation journey. Exxeta is a leading SAP BTP consultancy in Germany with strong focus on data & analytics, integration as well as automation and application development."

NDC Group was represented by Vladislav ?tefaňák, who talked about their "unique expertise with the Enterprise Performance Management solutions in the SAP environment with the focus on planning, simulation, reporting, financial consolidation, and sales operation - and more than 80 completed SAP Analytics Cloud Planning / Business Intelligence and SAP Datasphere projects."

Rounded up by Loren Heilig from IBsolution - "a long-standing SAP partner with more than 20 years of experience in business transformation projects, they are leading experts in all aspects of the Business Technology Platform, SAP S/4HANA, Data & Analytics, and Identity & Access Management.?The company offers a holistic consulting portfolio ranging from strategy and process consulting to technology consulting."

Curious about how retail companies apply SAP Analytics Cloud, we welcomed on stage Robby Finke, Lead SAP Business Intelligence & Analytics at Zalando Payments GmbH. During his keynote "Planning and Predictive Analytics - Zalando Payments' path to becoming an Intelligent Company" he introduced us to a Machine Learning use case that involves SAP Datasphere, Data Intelligence, and SAP Analytics Cloud. Robby Finke described the project approach, challenges, and learnings - and gave an outlook on further use cases, planned and successfully implemented ones.?

?Sergio López Nu?ez, SAP Expert Business Intelligence Engineering at bonprix Handelsgesellschaft mbH, shared during his keynote with the audience "Unleashing the Power of Data in SAP Business Intelligence: A Transformational Journey". Sergio López Nu?ez shared his insights, lessons learned, and best practices from bonprix Handelsgesellschaft mbH's data transformation journey.?Our audience could discover how unleashing the power of data in SAP Business Intelligence can drive organizational growth, foster innovation, and unlock new opportunities in today's data-driven business landscape.

Our third customer keynote was held by Thomas Günther, Lead of Expert Hub SAP Basics, KWS SAAT SE & CO. KGaA and covered "The implementation of SAP Datasphere at KWS - A journey through challenges and successes". He showed us how KWS SAAT SE & CO. KGaA has made the transition from a very traditional IT-managed reporting system to a user-oriented reporting system and analytical self-service. Thomas Günther knows, that there is a simple way to separate the responsibilities for source systems, IT, Basis and operations from an AMS and user areas.?

Our networking lunch was well perceived to mingle, with intense demand for exchange with our customer speakers as well as to get together in small groups to discuss. Also, it was a good opportunity to engage with our sponsoring partners at their booths and learn more about their offerings.

Next on stage was Torsten Ammon, Senior Vice President SAP HANA Database & Analytics – Data Warehouse at SAP SE, with his SAP keynote "SAP Datasphere and Business Data Fabric – Strategy, Components, Roadmap, Partners." Combining SAP and non-SAP data, leveraging existing investments or simplifying external data integration are goals of organizations. Now, accomplishing these goals is much easier. Torsten Ammon shared and discussed the end-to-end strategy and unification of SAP’s data warehousing portfolio. Our audience got insights into latest developments and learned how to leverage their investments to join the data warehousing journey with SAP.

After such intense customer and product insights, our customers could gain first-hand experience during SAP-hosted break-out sessions.

AI in Data & Analytics?with Bronislaw Tultschin, Jens Oliver Dirnberger, and Nils Vieth

SAP Analytics Cloud Performance Optimization with Philipp Plazibat and Fabian Filsinger

Data Warehouse Modernization with Jens Braun

SAP Analytics Cloud Planning – Strategy and Roadmap with Anne-Marie Tripp and Dr. Holger Handel

SAP Analytics Cloud Story 2.0 Design?with Marc Zauritz and Felix Jonathan Müller

To give concrete insights, how "SAP runs SAP – SAP’s internal planning transformation", Daniel Lauer, Lead of Planning Engineering at IES Enterprise Analytics at SAP SE, shared SAP’s ambition for its own Enterprise Planning to be THE Intelligent Enterprise and role model of a best-in-class, AI-powered, and fully integrated enterprise planning platform in the cloud. In this presentation, Daniel Lauer shared with the audience not only insights into SAP’s internal planning processes and transformation strategy, as well as running projects.

The Wrap Up of Day 1 contained a big THANK YOU to our speakers: our appreciated reference customers, who shared their experience and valuable insights with the audience, and our SAP colleagues, who took the time to provide updates on SAP's strategy, roadmap, and latest developments as well as insights on "SAP runs SAP". It was great to hear, that first hand take aways from the session sticked with the audience as new potential ways to generate value with data & analytics.

The evening event provided a great opportunity to connect, exchange, and continue the great interactions from the day.

Day 2

After another warm welcome from our moderator Kay Patzwald, we kicked of the day with a Partner Keynote by Dr. Tommi Kramer, Member of the Management Team and Head of AI & Data at sovanta AG. In this keynote "How to apply SAP Data & Analytics in machine learning scenarios", Dr. Tommi Kramer showed how companies are already successfully using Artificial Intelligence on SAP BTP. He also presented exciting AI customer projects from the sovanta Innovation Factory and showed how companies can find suitable GenAI use cases with their proven Discovery Workshop format.

Next up was another round of break-out sessions with a lot of hands-on activities for our customers:

Optimizing Environmental Data Management: SAP Datasphere & Sustainability Control Tower

During the break-out session with sovanta AG, our customers could discover the potential of SAP Datasphere for consolidating environmental data and complying with regulations. They could learn from a real-life example of monitoring CO2 emissions from a fleet and detecting anomalies using an AI model.

Start Now with SAP Datasphere: Unlock Potentials by Making the Move to a Cloudbased Data Fabric?

Exxeta explained how to unlock the potential of SAP Datasphere with insights into Datasphere concepts and initial use cases - and outlined project approaches to facilitate the transition to a cloud-based data platform. They shared how to transition to a cloud-based platform and the integration of SAP Datasphere with SAP Analytics Cloud for comprehensive analytics and planning.

Eight Years of Planning with SAC: Insights & Lessons Learned

NDC Group provided invaluable insights which they gained over 8 years of SAP Analytics Cloud implementation projects. They would uncover lessons learned and forward-looking perspectives for our customers' SAP Analytics Cloud journey with actionable takeaways and practical wisdom to enhance their planning & analytics.

A Journey towards Becoming a Data-Driven Company

The break-out session by SAP included a demo of features like "Just Ask" within SAP Analytics Cloud and the planned AI features based upon the roadmap. Also, they shared about the importance to focus on how AI results drive organizational decision process. During a Design Thinking session "AI is data driven", customers can ask themselves "Did I make sure that all relevant data can be used? How are AI results being evaluated? Who can use AI in my organization?" - with Bronislaw Tultschin, Jens Oliver Dirnberger, Dr. Mara Jekosch, and Jens Braun

We closed this SAP Customer Success Day with an overview of all the key lessons learned during the break-out session.

Did you miss the event or do you want to join us again? Susanne Vollhardt announced the next upcoming Customer Success Day! We will focus on Integration & AI in Switzerland on 26. + 27. June 2024. We are looking forward to meet you there!

Not to miss out on the various interactions, that this event enabled. From customer references over industry talks to hands-on issues to be solved with the help of Product Experts in dedicated “meet the expert” sessions.

I had the great opportunity to engage with customers, too! It was a pleasure to meet with Jan Lang and Markus Lill from FC Bayern München. FC Bayern München is a great reference customer who oftentimes share their use cases and how they benefit from running SAP Analytics Cloud - and other SAP Cloud Solutions!

Also, I much enjoyed getting together and discussing with Thomas Günther and Arson Nezovski from KWS SAAT the additional values and benefits they experience by running SAP! They do have a great story to tell!

All of this would not be possible without a great (core) and extended team that made such an extraordinary event become reality again. We applaud you!

Julius Seitz, Hendrik Raab, myself, Kay Patzwald, Maximilian Schimmer, Jenna Powell, Susanne Vollhardt, Neve Jackson, Tim Wagner, and Patrizia Catarraso (from left to right).

A big THANK YOU to our sponsoring partners sovanta AG, Exxeta, NDC Group, and IBsolution, who wonderfully enaged with our customers, presented on stage, prepared informative hands-on break-out sessions, and show-cased that learning can be fun!

It’s a Wrap – and we are looking forward to the many outcomes of this extraordinary get together.

In case you would like to deep-dive more into Planning and Analytics, sign up today for our upcoming SAP Analytics Cloud & SAP Planning Roundtable in Walldorf, Cloud 44, on 17. + 18. April 2024!