The SAP UK and Ireland hackathon was participated by SAP partners tasked to design and build innovative solutions leveraging SAP applications including SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) for the smart cities of the future.
Teams representing long-standing SAP partners Atos, Deloitte, and IBM were among the winners of the recently concluded UK&I Innovation Labs’ SAP Hackathon 2022. Working around the theme “Feeding the Smart Cities of the Future 2032”, the winning groups pitched and showcased their innovative concepts for a fictitious smart city of the future Sci-Valley, tackling anticipated challenges of a populated metropolis.
The hackathon kicked off virtually via Zoom on the 13th of January leading to 4-week learning and ideation for the participating teams comprised of three to five members. Between the kickoff and the culmination of the 48-hour Hackathon held 10th and 11th of February, competitors were afforded the opportunity to learn and experience building solutions powered by SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). SAP BTP is dubbed as the foundation of the Intelligent Enterprise because of its integration, extension, and data-to-value capabilities across all SAP and third-party application and data assets.
SAP UK & Ireland Hackathon Winners
Fast-forward to 2032, participants were given the same scenario of the smart city Sci-Valley and were challenged to design solutions for major issues that may arise from an increasingly growing population such as city planning, sustainable food supply, and distribution and waste management. The two-day hackathon allowed the participants to immerse themselves in the fictional smart city that has its own news channel. Key citizen leaders like the Head of Waste Management were also introduced to the teams for a more life-like experience.
Judges including Paul Esherwood of ERP Today, BorgWarner, and Transport for London (TfL) evaluated the competing teams’ proposals based on design ideas, business feasibility, and technical execution across several categories.
SAP BTP Prodigy Category
One of the lauded winners, the team from Deloitte won for their concept for an optimised transport supply chain, which the judges found as the best -use case for the technology. Bangalore, Karnataka-headquartered Incture’s vision of an end-to-end SCM and waste management solution came in second from Deloitte.
Boundary Breakers Category
Atos’ ‘Intelliwaste’ idea won this category for demonstrating a solution that has the most potential impact. The team from NTT Data Business Solutions came in second for designing a pilot for a new app called Sci-tizen, which offers citizen-centric solutions based on the inhabitants’ preferences including transport and dietary requirements.
“It was fantastic to work with the rest of the team at the hackathon,” said Simon Rotherham, Technology Manager at NTT DATA Business Solutions UK&I. “We brought together our skills in low-code cloud development, advanced analytics, and our experience of working with the very latest SAP technologies provided by SAP BTP to create an innovative application that could enhance the life experiences of citizens in the future.”
Vision Masters Category
Team IBM’s vertical farming idea emerged as the most innovative solution under this category. Second placer Delaware was also recognised for its on-demand drone food delivery service concept.
SAP UK & Ireland Head of Alliances Nadine Elsham explained that one of the ways that support SAP’s drive to increase market share and strengthen the SAP ecosystem is focussing on partner enablement, capacity and capability, and innovation leveraging SAP BTP and channel-led IP development. She highlighted:
“The Hackathons are just one of the many ways that we are fostering more partner-to-partner collaboration and innovation by investing in our developer community, giving them access to our latest technologies, where they can learn, innovate and harness the power of our solutions, whilst being supported by our SAP experts.”
