Solidifying a true partnership with the new "IBM Innovation Center for SAP? Solutions" in Walldorf, Germany

It’s a rare thing…a business partnership that works. One where both parties combine to offer unparalleled solutions to their clients.?Especially one as long-lasting as the partnership between IBM and SAP.

So, it’s with great excitement that IBM and SAP celebrate the opening of the new IBM Innovation Center for SAP? Solutions in Walldorf, where customers can kick-off their digital innovation journey with the help of Enterprise Design Thinking based on hybrid cloud and AI technologies for SAP applications. This marks a milestone in our near 50-year relationship with SAP as we continue to make strategic investments in our Evolution partnership.

And that relationship runs deep: “In close collaboration with IBM, our teams design and deliver intelligent end-to-end industry solutions.?This collaboration results in better data insights based on predictive capabilities and automation from both SAP and IBM.?We at SAP appreciate the investments IBM has made in our partnership over many decades, and especially the local investment in the Innovation Center, which will accelerate the digital transformation efforts of our customers.” Peter Maier, President SAP Industries and Customer Advisory.

What Is It?

The IBM Innovation Center for SAP? Solutions is the main point of contact for digital inspiration and transformation, both as a physical entry point for customers and partners on site in Walldorf, and as part of virtual workshops. The central location of the center, on-site with SAP headquarters in Walldorf, helps facilitate a close exchange with SAP experts onsite and the partner ecosystem.

Innovations such as the Cognitive Replenishment Advisor with IBM Watson can be demonstrated on-site showcasing how AI and machine learning can support smarter inventory decisions ensuring products arrive at the right time and place.

As COVID-19 has laid bare inefficiencies in global supply chains, the IBM Sterling Supply Chain Insights solution enables flexible reactions to unforeseen changes. Other events such as strikes, unfavorable traffic, weather conditions, or geopolitical influences can lead to changes in the planned transport routes, modes and logistical decisions in the SAP system. By combining SAP S/4HANA with IBM's Sterling Supply Chain Insights, supply chain control is visualized and improved as critical problems are identified and resolved in real time using AI.

"In our IBM Innovation Center for SAP? Solutions, we advise customers and partners on how they can modernize SAP business processes with the help of IBM Cloud and Artificial Intelligence in order to react both faster and better to market opportunities.?We founded our first IBM SAP International Competence Center in Walldorf in 1993 and are now taking the next step in our collaboration on-site. From on premise infrastructure to private, public and multi-cloud solutions and related consulting services, our experts are available to answer all of our client’s questions about SAP transformation." Tanja Scheller, Director of the IBM Innovation Centers for SAP? Solutions.

New IBM Cloud Offerings

Located within the IBM Innovation Center for SAP? Solutions is the IBM Rapid Move Studio, a competence center in which customers experience a hybrid migration approach for the introduction of SAP S/4HANA based on their existing SAP investments.?In order to further simplify and accelerate the migration of SAP applications to the cloud, IBM has now announced an offer based on "IBM Rapid Move for SAP" services in the IBM cloud. With this offer, customers can selectively provide their historical SAP data on the IBM Cloud platform and benefit from standardization on SAP S/4HANA business processes with optimized provisioning speed. With the help of IBM partner SNP’s CrystalBridge? application, the user is guided through a series of questions in order to derive the corresponding SAP-certified server configuration in the IBM Cloud.

“As part of the IBM Innovation Center for SAP??Solutions, the ‘IBM Rapid Move Studio’ offers our customers a central point of contact. Built on a foundation of close collaboration and trust, a team of experts there works to market our unique platform for data transformation, CrystalBridge?. By sharing and supplementing our knowledge, we are able to serve both current and future customer requirements. Today, together with IBM, we can move SAP customers to SAP S/4HANA and the cloud quickly and securely.?In this way, we pave the way for our customers to become intelligent and connected enterprises.?Our CrystalBridge??enables data to be migrated quickly, flexibly and without risk.” ?Michael Eberhardt, CEO of SNP.

Red Hat Integration for SAP

In addition, the new center will serve as an integration laboratory for experts from IBM and Red Hat who support the modernization of SAP systems creating a basis for digital transformation and future innovations.

"Red Hat and SAP have been working together for 20 years and have built a strong partnership during this time. Our open, hybrid infrastructure solutions are certified for SAP and offer added value that goes far beyond migration and is clearly presented in the innovation center in Walldorf." Jochen Glaser, who is globally responsible for SAP collaboration at Red Hat.

In Closing

?I started this blog by exclaiming how rare it is to have a long-lasting, beneficial business partnership.?It’s rare because it’s hard.?A partnership can’t just be an exercise in superficial press releases, joint offerings or events.?Each party must invest the time, energy, and capital associated with any true relationship.?And that’s precisely what the IBM/SAP partnership is…deep, long-lasting and a true value differentiator for our clients.?So, it is with pride and excitement that we welcome the new IBM Innovation Center for SAP? Solutions!