Some info about the concept of the “Intelligent Enterprise”
SAP has already long been postulating with effective PR the concept of the Intelligent Enterprise. When you come across this term for the first time, you might well ask whether companies were less intelligent previously, or even not intelligent at all. Of course not – what is meant when the software makers of Walldorf speak of an “Intelligent Enterprise?”
Why do we need intelligent enterprises?
The starting idea is that the competition and the situation in the market has become drastically more severe for all companies and across all sectors. Correspondingly, what is needed are new solutions to enable everyone to deal with the situation as best they can. According to SAP, the answer is a comprehensive and well thought out digitization strategy. Companies can only remain successful and generate more turnover on a long-term basis if they work on this basic premise
But what is the digital situation today? In many companies there is a whole hodgepodge of software solutions in use. Often the technical departments work with their own programs, the sales section has a specific sales program, the financial section is still very rustic with its use of MS Excel, and the marketing department uses two dozen different tools to be able to shoot in all directions. The result: any number of island solutions, just as many data silos, and a completely fragmented IT landscape. Being intelligent is something different!
What characterizes an Intelligent Enterprise?
The Intelligent Company would like to overcome all its weak points. Uniform data pools and a software landscape that has been networked throughout should be created for this purpose. Data should not only be collected, but also supply valuable findings through user-friendly analyses partially automated reporting that allows soundly based business decisions to be made on such a basis.
SAP is not just thinking of software regarding the transformation to the Intelligent Enterprise. The overriding goal is to put all the business processes on the test bench and to optimize them overall. Unused processes can be dropped, a number of new ones come in, and all the others can be revised to give better performance.
In the best case this produces a system that is in a position to learn how to be able to deliver ever more valuable findings in future. Artificial intelligence; machine learning and other automated solutions are therefore a very important part of IT landscapes from this perspective, This is the only way that companies can adapt to dynamic and volatile environments.
Building blocks of an Intelligent Enterprise
What then are the modules of an Intelligent Enterprise in SAP? At the core there are four levels that you can play tunes on: In addition to the above-mentioned business processes that are to be optimized, there are the applications in particular. This does not involve solutions that are separated from one another but instead integrated Apps from SAP or SAP partner to support the business processes – the SAP S/4HANA ERP system is at the heart of all this. Many of these software solutions are based on sector-specific best practices and thus combine innovation with sector know-how.
In addition, it is primarily the technology and the infrastructure that characterize an Intelligent Enterprise. Companies get in the form of the SAP Business Technology Platform a previously unknown degree of flexibility to create, manage and provide Apps and to link data and business processes with one another. In terms of infrastructure it concerns the type of provision of the software, whereby Cloud solutions are very much the trend at the moment. The reasons are clear: scalability, Capex instead of Opex, mobility and regular upgrades.
So let’s go for the Intelligent Enterprise!
The Intelligent Enterprise is thus an integrated technological architecture that provides more agility and flexibility and better findings for the company. Success-oriented solutions and new possibilities can be developed on this basis under the prevailing changing conditions. People benefit more than ever from the machine while simultaneously gaining more time to handle core tasks.
There is often a certain timidity about comprehensive digitization projects, especially the transformation to SAP S/4HANA, and the associated technological challenges. However, companies should focus on the processes they want to digitize, and not dwell on technical hurdles. There is a corresponding solution for each requirement – but finding it is the task of the consulting partner. Companies should focus on content instead.
SAP has developed the RISE with SAP service package to make the path to the Intelligent Enterprise accessible to as many companies as possible. Thus many decision makers are getting an implementable opportunity to achieve more growth, more turnover and more sustainability within a short time.