Being future ready has never been more important in business. Dynamic market conditions brought on by the pace of technological transformation and rapid economic change, require organisations to adapt quickly to retain existing customers and/or convert new business opportunities, as Stuart Dickinson writes.
For SAP customers being future-ready is fundamentally about transforming monolithic, on-premise ERP systems to responsive, digital cloud solutions. By using a digital core to overcome complexity and linking it to peripheral applications that service end users, organisations are well on the way to building the ‘intelligent enterprise’. This is SAP’s name for a modern organisation that leverages emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT and analytics to create smarter business processes, enable deeper insights and improve decision-making.
But, as a customer, knowing exactly what must be done to reach a future-ready state is critical. For most organisations undertaking a digital transformation is a fundamental step in the right direction but knowing exactly what that digital journey entails and what its ultimate destination is, needs clarification.
The attributes of a future-ready organisation are compelling. Improved visibility through connected data, greater focus to direct resources into areas for maximum impact and better agility to respond faster to marketplace changes. These are key capabilities that define successful business in our current economy.
The philosophy driving these objectives relies on two elements – human and machine – working together. Self-running systems with machine intelligence provide the overall organising structures for the modern business ecosystem, but they are informed by human ingenuity driving the creation of new markets and new business models. Organisations that can utilise a combination of machines and humans will reap greater rewards than those that rely solely on either one alone.
However, right now, as SAP CEO Bill McDermott said in his keynote presentation at the recent SAPPHIRE NOW conference, we have “great brains and great computers but a lousy process for integrating them”. In a nutshell that is what DXC Oxygen is helping customers to fix.
At a simplistic level this means taking systems of record, where data is stored, and turning them into systems of analysis and engagement that perform more advanced processing. But for that to work properly the whole organisation, and not just one department or operational area, must be connected.
The key to building the intelligent enterprise is bringing the entire IT landscape together in the cloud. Combining SAP’s S/4 HANA digital core with cutting edge AI technologies and powerful analytics creates a potent solution vision and gives organisations the capability to leverage the data treasure trove they are sitting on but unable to unlock. SAP’s Cloud Platform lies at the heart of making that happen. It is a platform-as-a-service offering that enables the collection, connection and orchestration of data, and facilitates the extension of application processes. ensuring your suite of core ERP applications and specialist line of business applications talk to each other.
CRM provides a good example. To succeed in today’s economy, businesses need a single view of the customer, seamless front and back office integration and the ability to actively build customer trust through the acquisition and proper guardian of customer data.
Deploying a standalone CRM application, such as Salesforce for example, will offer some insights, but by itself it won’t provide in-depth understandings. As a manufacturer for instance, it won’t add real value until it is connected to shop floor processes. Only then will the organisation know if what was promised from a selling perspective was delivered in the production and delivery areas of its business. Building interconnections so that every part of a business executes and interoperates smoothly is the secret to attracting and retaining customers over the long-term.
That’s where we come in. DXC Oxygen’s role as a specialist SAP system integrator remains unchanged. We are an SAP specialist that customers rely on for our breadth and depth of expertise across the SAP portfolio, but more importantly, we know how to connect everything on offer together. We are at the front-line of building future ready enterprises, because we are specialists in line-of-business offerings, mobility apps, and core business applications. But we also have hard won experience of how to build solutions that break down organisational silos – connecting and integrating software, technologies and platforms is our meat and drink.
With our broader DXC Technology family, we now have the expertise to extend those connections out into the field to IoT and edge-based endpoints, outside the immediate SAP environment, and across different infrastructure landscapes to whatever systems or environments our customers might be running.
Helping customers navigate the challenges encountered on the journey to future-readiness, such as platform migrations, data security and the management of supplier eco-systems – to mention a few – are core to our offering. Eliminating the roadblocks, implementing sophisticated technologies and ensuring they are connected in such a way that provides a transformative effect on the way business is executed are the types of challenges we relish.
About the author
Stuart Dickinson is director and general manager at DXC Oxygen, the leading SAP solutions company in Australia and New Zealand that specialise in delivering SAP solutions that liberate customers from the complexity of their IT systems, so they can do business in a way that is streamlined, optimised and focused.
Backed by the global strength of DXC Technology, the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, DXC Oxygen deliver tangible benefits to customers that focus on driving out value, and maximising return on their SAP investment.
This article is sponsored by DXC Oxygen. Learn more at dxc.technology/au/oxygen
