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Top Themes from Simplify to Innovate in NYC

The Simplify to Innovate Forum in NYC stressed the important role SAP S4HANA will play in simplifying business and user experience. The event covered the Internet of Things and the Digital Economy and how SAP is helping businesses stay ahead of the their competition. Read the recap of the customer panel discussion in which Deloitte, TE Connectivity, and OpsVeda share how they plan to leverage SAP S4HANA to simplify business and maximize results.

Last week I attended the Simplify to Innovate Forumin NYC to hear how SAP is changing the way organizations execute business internally, with customers, and with each other.

The event echoed a reoccurring theme throughout all topic discussions, one that resonated with me as a millennial. The event stressed the importance of a simple user experience, and with SAP S/4HANA, Dave Spencer of SAP explained, "Organizations have a huge opportunity to outpace competition by providing a simplified user experience."

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This simplified user experience is something I live each day. The morning of the Simplify to Innovate Forum, I took an Uber to the train station. I used an e-ticket on my mobile device to board the train. After arriving in Penn Station, I navigated my short walk to the forum location using my mobile Waze app.

When I returned after the event, I didn't feel very well. I needed fluids and soup stat, so I opened the Instacart app on my mobile and from the convenience of my couch, I ordered and paid for the groceries I needed. Within an hour, orange juice, cough drops, and a quart of chicken noodle soup were at my door step.

This is the world of today. We want simple. We want easy. And we want it fast.

The Experts on the Customer Panel Agree

During the customer panel portion of the day, the concept of a simple user experience pervaded through all five panelists. "Currently there is a huge demand on the IT population to provide information to customers instantaneously," explained ASUG CEO, Geoff Scott.

Deloitte is a longtime SAP partner and customer. The company has run SAP ERP since 1992, and recently Deloitte executes their finances with SAP HANA. Wanting an ERP solution that could fully integrate into its other solutions, Deloitte plans to begin an SAP S/4HANA with SAP Simple Finance project this month. Deloitte Principal, John Steele, explained that by working so closely with SAP S/4HANA as an implementation partner, the company quickly realized the value that this solution could offer its own business. By leveraging the real-time information provided through the S/4HANA system, Deloitte will be able to derive business benefits, predictions, and future trends.

SAP also runs SAP S/4HANA with SAP Simple Finance and since removed seven days from its quarterly reporting time, shortening the time to report on business outcomes from 12 days to five. The fast turnaround enables SAP to set the tone for the market each quarter as it is the first company to release earnings reports to the public.

TE Connectivity was in attendance on the panel. CIO and Vice President, Earl Newsome addressed TE's huge focus on the Digital Economy and the Internet of Things (IoT). Sanjiv Gupta, President and CEO of OpsVeda explained how IoT innovation is enabling new business processes, keeping organizations one step ahead of the customer need. Gupta shared a story about a printer business that is working to connect its ink cartridges to sensors connected via the IoT. The sensors will be used to alert the user when the cartridge is low and needs to be changed.

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Disrupting Business Disruption

The second theme of the day focused on disrupting disruption. The event explained that breakthrough products disrupt current lines of business because disruption, when done effectively, can lead to new business outcomes and untapped markets. However, if technology disrupts business before an organization is ready for it, the organization may lose business.

One example explained onstage described a home appliance company. Today, with new technology like YouTube and mobile devices, when customers have trouble with a home appliance, they quickly search online and find a "do-it-yourself" video to correct the issue on their own. This disrupts the home appliance company business because it loses the revenue gained from machine maintenance servicing.

However, by connecting its appliances to IoT sensors, the home appliance company can track the health of all machines. When a customer's washer starts to deteriorate, the sensor will alert a representative to contact the customer directly and explain the machine issue (before breakage occurs). The representative then can ask to dispatch a technician to fix the device properly for a small fee, never allowing the customer to experience an issue with the machine nor resort to DIY videos.

Change at the Speed of Business

The Simplify to Innovate Forum urged customers to break from their complex and legacy processes and move forward with the innovative business trends and technology of today. Through the Internet of Things and the Digital Economy, as well as SAP innovation, businesses have a huge opportunity to simplify user experience and provide customers with the best service possible. Will you join the revolution?

For more information about how SAP S/4HANA can impact your business, click here.

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This blog originally appeared on SCN in SAP Business Trends.

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