Nazia Pillay Archives - 麻豆原创 Africa News Center News & Information About 麻豆原创 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 06:36:39 +0000 en-ZA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 Agentic AI Takes Centre Stage in 麻豆原创’s Autonomous Enterprise Push /africa/2026/07/agentic-ai-takes-centre-stage-in-saps-autonomous-enterprise-push/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 06:36:38 +0000 /africa/?p=148817 麻豆原创’s vision for the autonomous enterprise centres on growing its partner ecosystem and deploying聽AI-enabled tools, including its generative AI copilot Joule, Business AI Platform and...

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麻豆原创’s vision for the centres on growing its partner ecosystem and deploying聽AI-enabled tools, including its generative AI copilot , and .

The company outlined its strategy at 麻豆原创 Connect Day 2026, held this week in Kyalami, Johannesburg.

, MD for southern Africa at 麻豆原创, said the company’s role is to support organisations in implementing and scaling agentic AI across end-to-end systems as they transition towards .

Addressing the complexity and cost that continue to challenge organisations migrating systems and platforms, , VP of customer advisory for EMEA at 麻豆原创, said the company’s new agent-led transformation approach could reduce the effort required for multi-year ERP migrations by 35%.

Agentic AI assistants

麻豆原创 has introduced several migration and modernisation AI assistants, including data management, custom code, configuration, test management and change management assistants. According to the company, these are governed by Joule for both developers and consultants and are designed to execute complex business scenarios by reasoning iteratively and interacting with their environment to achieve defined goals.

Nolla cited 麻豆原创 research indicating that the highest-ranked strategy for maximising ROI from AI is aligning initiatives with clear business goals.

麻豆原创 said AI currently supports about 30% of tasks in the average business, with that figure projected to reach 48% within two years.

, head of solution advisory at 麻豆原创, said a major challenge in AI-driven digital transformation is what the company describes as the “enterprise paradox” 鈥 the expectation of instant enterprise AI clashing with the operational reality of complexity, manual processes and human behaviour.

Standard Bank’s transformation journey

, executive group CIO for corporate functions at Standard Bank, outlined the bank’s use of 麻豆原创 technology to address operational challenges, including end-of-life systems, expiring vendor support and the need for a modern cloud ERP platform to support future innovation.

The bank completed a large-scale ERP migration and implementation programme. Modernising core enterprise systems required careful planning, strong governance and close collaboration between business and technology teams. The programme established a platform capable of supporting growth, operational resilience and ongoing innovation.

Padiachee said one of the biggest challenges was the pace of technological change.

“Organisations are required to continuously adapt while maintaining stability across critical business operations. Change management is just as important as the technology implementation itself,” she said.

Modernisation, she added, should improve agility without creating unnecessary disruption to business operations.

She also highlighted the human factor. “It’s really about keeping people calm during turbulence,” she said, adding that AI is fundamentally changing how businesses operate. “The focus should move beyond experimentation towards delivering measurable value.”

According to Padiachee, AI initiatives should align with clear business outcomes rather than be driven by the technology’s popularity.

She said one of the most significant lessons from the transformation programme was the complexity of Unicode conversion.

“In hindsight, this work should have started much earlier in the programme. Unicode conversion proved more complex than anticipated and became a critical dependency for implementation. Investing time in foundational technical readiness significantly reduces downstream project risk.”

Padiachee also stressed the importance of high-quality enterprise data that is accurate, trusted, well-governed and accessible.

She advised organisations planning system and platform migrations, as well as AI integration, to begin with a clearly defined use case, establish strong partnerships and maintain robust governance and guardrails.

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麻豆原创 Outlines Autonomous Enterprise Vision /africa/2026/07/sap-outlines-autonomous-enterprise-vision/ Thu, 23 Jul 2026 07:19:13 +0000 /africa/?p=148809 Kathy Gibson reports from 麻豆原创 Connect 鈥 Word on the street is that agentic artificial intelligence (AI) heralds the end of the ERP era. Not...

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reports from 鈥 Word on the street is that agentic artificial intelligence (AI) heralds the end of the ERP era.

Not so, says , MD: Southern Africa at 麻豆原创.

鈥淓RP is no longer just a system of record,鈥 she tells delegates to 麻豆原创 Connect taking place today in Kyalami.

鈥淲ith agentic AI, we can ensure it runs end-to-end business processes, creating autonomous ERP.鈥

Today, AI supports 30% of tasks in the average business, according to an Oxford Economics study. And this is projected to rise to 48% in the next two years.

vice-president: customer advisory for EMEA at 麻豆原创, points out that around 40 000 of 麻豆原创鈥檚 customers have already adopted 麻豆原创 Business AI in their productive systems.

鈥淎nd we are learning from that,鈥 he says.

Nolla believes 麻豆原创 is well placed to help customers adopt AI, through its 麻豆原创 Autonomous Enterprise vision.

The key components of this vision are three-fold

鈥淵ou have the capability to bring teams long with one engagement layer 鈥 Joule.

鈥淭eams connect with embedded agents and AI in 麻豆原创 Autonomous Suite, using best practices and processes.

鈥淎nd customers have the ability to extend agents, maintaining context and reasoning, and ensuring governance with .鈥

Nolla explains that is the engagement layer that connects experts in the business with the AI processes.

It has been available for some time and has been widely used to unify the AI experience. It has also been updated along the way, for instance with Joule Consultants that have more than 100 certifications.

A few weeks ago, 麻豆原创 announced additional evolutions. leveraging Harness-powered Joule and Joule Work to create spaces for specific tasks.

鈥淛oule is the engagement layer to bring the people along,鈥 Nolla summarises.

Adding the processes and best practices, 麻豆原创 Autonomous Suite embeds AI scenarios throughout the portfolio, from HR, customer service, supply chain, finance and industry solutions.

With hundreds of agents available, Joule Assistants help workers by bringing together the relevant agents to perform specific tasks.

鈥淭hink of it as a new team member helping staff accomplish their goals,鈥 Nolla says.

In addition, 麻豆原创 Industry AI is AI that already knows how specific industries operate, so the system can work with context.

鈥淏ut does AI have a true understanding of your business? Is it aligned to your KPIs, and does it have the governance in place?鈥 Nolla asks.

鈥溌槎乖 Business AI Platform brings these capabilities to the business.鈥

With Joule Studio giving workers the ability to create new agents on the fly, the possibility of hundreds 鈥 even thousands 鈥 of agents within the business could become unwieldly.

鈥淪o governance is more important than ever,鈥 Nolla says. 鈥淭he AI Agent Hub gives IT the ability to connect and understand these agents. They can discover, manage and govern all the agents in one place.

鈥淭his gives the business power, control and trust.鈥

Within the next few months, 麻豆原创 will also release enriched agentic AI tools and assistants to help with data management, configuration, development and testing to improve migration projects.

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Companies RISE to the Cloud as AI Moves into Core Business Operations /africa/2026/06/companies-rise-to-the-cloud-as-ai-moves-into-core-business-operations/ Wed, 24 Jun 2026 06:36:32 +0000 /africa/?p=148776 Organisations across industries are using cloud modernisation to build stronger digital foundations, unlock greater agility and embed artificial intelligence directly into business processes. Companies across...

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Organisations across industries are using cloud modernisation to build stronger digital foundations, unlock greater agility and embed artificial intelligence directly into business processes.

Companies across Europe are demonstrating how cloud transformation is creating the foundation for more intelligent, resilient and efficient business operations, with several organisations showcasing recent implementation progress at 麻豆原创 麻豆原创PHIRE, held in Madrid between 19 and 21 May.

, Managing Director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创, says: 鈥淐loud transformation has become the foundation for the next phase of business innovation. By modernising core systems and moving to more scalable, secure and intelligent platforms, organisations can simplify complexity, strengthen resilience and create the conditions for AI to deliver measurable business value.鈥

Companies RISE to the cloud

is emerging as a leading force in AI-driven retail transformation, combining large-scale cloud adoption with hands-on co-innovation to shape the future of the industry together with 麻豆原创. Following its successful go-live in 2025, Salling Group now operates what is widely regarded as the largest private cloud deployment of globally.

This transformation has laid the digital foundation for embedding AI directly into core retail processes鈥攖urning ERP from a transactional backbone into an intelligent, real-time decision engine.

For Salling Group, technologies such as and 麻豆原创 Business AI are not incremental improvements, but a fundamental change in how the business operates. From forecasting and replenishment to store operations and reporting, AI is enabling faster decisions, reducing manual workloads, and helping employees focus on higher-value tasks.

Agents automate time-consuming procurement task

The Danish wholesaler has deployed artificial intelligence to automate one of the most time-consuming tasks in procurement: processing supplier order confirmations. The solution consists of multiple AI agents, each responsible for a clearly defined task, orchestrated into a single automated workflow built on 麻豆原创鈥檚 Business AI framework. The outcome is faster processing, improved data quality, and more accurate delivery information for customers.

With the coordinated AI agents in place, the company can now automatically identify delays, quantity changes, and price discrepancies 鈥 and respond significantly faster.

鈥淲e have previously tried both robotic process automation (RPA) and traditional automation approaches without really achieving the desired effect. The key difference this time is that we broke the task down into multiple independent AI agents, each responsible for a specific part of the process. Together, they now handle what previously required manual review,鈥 says , IT Director at 尝别尘惫颈驳丑-惭眉濒濒别谤.

The solution was implemented in close collaboration with , which was responsible for making the solution production-ready and fully integrated into 尝别尘惫颈驳丑-惭眉濒濒别谤鈥檚 麻豆原创 landscape.

鈥淏y distributing responsibilities across multiple AI agents, 尝别尘惫颈驳丑-惭眉濒濒别谤 has been able to automate a complex process without losing transparency or control. This has enabled a fast and secure transition from pilot to production and ensures a more robust solution that can easily be expanded as new requirements emerge,鈥 says , 麻豆原创 UX Manager at NTT DATA Business Solutions.

鈥淭his is the first AI agent solution we have put into production. The experience has given us the confidence to consider similar approaches across other areas, including invoice processing and order management,鈥 Frederik Aakerlund concludes.

Pillay adds: 鈥淭hese examples show how cloud modernisation and AI adoption are becoming inseparable. When organisations have a strong digital core, trusted data and scalable cloud infrastructure, they can move beyond experimentation and start embedding intelligence into the processes that matter most. That is where transformation begins to translate into real business impact.鈥

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Strong Data Foundations and Cloud-based Platforms Critical for AI, says 麻豆原创 /africa/2026/06/strong-data-foundations-and-cloud-based-platforms-critical-for-ai-says-sap/ Fri, 12 Jun 2026 06:48:09 +0000 /africa/?p=148766 Businesses cross Botswana are focused on AI, data and cloud transformation to improve efficiency, decision-making and competitiveness. 麻豆原创 recently hosted a Connect Day during which...

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Businesses cross Botswana are focused on AI, data and cloud transformation to improve efficiency, decision-making and competitiveness.

麻豆原创 recently hosted a Connect Day during which business leaders discussed how these technologies can be used to drive real results through the firm鈥檚 newly launched Autonomous Enterprise solution. 

Unveiled last month during the 麻豆原创 Sapphire 2026, the solution is positioned to support AI agents, grounded in real business data and governance, to execute core processes end-to-end.

麻豆原创 believes this will result in measurable value across several functions including finance, supply chain, and human capital management.

Nazia Pillay, managing director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创, said the timing is apt.

鈥淥rganisations are no longer asking whether AI, data, and cloud will shape the future of business. They are asking how to apply these technologies in ways that deliver measurable outcomes, strengthen decision-making and build trust.鈥

鈥溌槎乖 Connect Day Botswana is an important platform for local leaders to explore how global innovation can be translated into practical strategies that support growth, resilience and sustainable transformation in the region,鈥 she added.

According to 麻豆原创, the value of enterprise AI depends on the strength of the business foundation beneath it.

鈥淎I can only deliver meaningful value when it is connected to trusted data, embedded into business processes and governed responsibly. This is where enterprises need to focus their attention. The goal is not AI for its own sake, but AI that helps people make better decisions, automate routine work, unlock new efficiencies and create stronger organisations,鈥 said Pillay.

She said organisations that establish strong data foundations and move to cloud-based platforms will be best positioned to deploy autonomous capabilities as they mature, while also building enterprises that are more efficient, more resilient, and more competitive.

鈥淏y combining trusted data, cloud-enabled processes, responsible AI and strong partnerships, businesses can become more agile, more resilient and better positioned to serve their customers, employees and communities,鈥 Pillay concluded.

This article first appeared on . 

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Flagship 麻豆原创 Event Highlights Impact of Modernisation Efforts at Leading Organisations /africa/2026/06/flagship-sap-event-highlights-impact-of-modernisation-efforts-at-leading-organisations/ Thu, 11 Jun 2026 06:52:19 +0000 /africa/?p=148763 Organisations show how enterprise modernisation strengthens operational resilience, improves decision-making and creates the foundation for more intelligent, data-driven services. Prysmian and the City of Madrid...

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Organisations show how enterprise modernisation strengthens operational resilience, improves decision-making and creates the foundation for more intelligent, data-driven services.

and the are showcasing how modernisation programmes built on 麻豆原创 technologies are helping organisations move beyond fragmented systems and legacy processes toward more unified, scalable and intelligent operating models.

At this year鈥檚 flagship 麻豆原创 麻豆原创PHIRE event held in Madrid between 19 and 21 May, both organisations shared insights into their modernisation efforts and the impact of initiatives such as RISE with 麻豆原创 to fast-track digital transformation and unlock business outcomes.

, Managing Director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创, says: 鈥淢odernisation is no longer only about replacing legacy systems. It is about building the digital foundations that allow organisations to simplify complexity, improve efficiency and unlock new value from cloud, data and AI. Whether in the public sector or global industry, 麻豆原创 is helping customers create more agile, intelligent and future-ready organisations.鈥

City of Madrid advances digital public administration

The Madrid City Council is collaborating with 麻豆原创 Spain on the comprehensive modernisation of its internal management through 麻豆原创 software. The objective is to digitalise procedures, improve efficiency and deliver better services to municipal employees and citizens in finance, revenue management and human resources.

The City Council has worked with 麻豆原创 software for two decades, beginning in 2004 with solutions in finance and HR. In 2020, it launched its public administration modernisation project with the migration to the private cloud. This process is now advancing with the adoption of and .

The challenge was to move beyond traditional models based on fragmented systems, paper-based procedures and isolated developments. In public administration, this fragmentation can slow processes, duplicate data, limit visibility and make it harder to manage revenues, budgets and human resources in an integrated way.

The solution has been to consolidate a new public management model based on unified management, real-time information and digitalised processes. RISE with 麻豆原创 provides the foundation for the move to the private cloud, while 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform provides the platform for integration, extension and application development.

The transformation has had a significant impact in the tax domain, where 麻豆原创 tax and revenue management solutions are being integrated into the city鈥檚 financial platform. This enables municipal revenues to be managed as a natural extension of the financial system, supporting an end-to-end view of the full cycle from taxpayer registration and assessment to collection and inspection.

Currently, two-thirds of the City Council鈥檚 tax revenues are already managed within this environment, including Property Tax, the Urban Waste Tax for Business Activities, Capital Gains Tax and the Terrace Tax. The next step will be to incorporate the Motor Vehicle Tax and the Economic Activities Tax.

The project has also focused on data quality. During the first year, the City Council carried out a cleansing and harmonisation of master data from previous management systems, generating taxpayer 鈥淕olden Records鈥 and enabling an efficiency rate of 98.02% for Property Tax in 2024.

, IT Manager of Madrid City Council, says: 鈥淭his project marks a paradigm shift: we are moving from managing paper files and isolated systems to managing information and processes in an integrated and intelligent way, with a 360-degree view.鈥

The impact is being felt across internal management and citizen services. The project supports end-to-end process digitalisation and a 鈥減aperless鈥 administration model, while automation, AI capabilities and robotic process automation are helping reduce manual workloads, minimise errors and improve decision-making through real-time analytics.

Prysmian builds an AI-ready global platform

Prysmian, a global leader in cable solutions for energy and telecommunications, is demonstrating how modernisation can create the foundation for broader business transformation.

The challenge for Prysmian was to strengthen its digital core as it evolved from a cable manufacturer to a global provider of solutions supporting the energy transition and digital transformation. With 鈧20 billion in revenue, 34 000 employees across more than 50 countries, 109 manufacturing plants and 30 R&D centres, the company needed a unified, resilient and AI-ready platform to support its next phase of business evolution.

Prysmian completed the evolution of its digital infrastructure through RISE with 麻豆原创 in just four months, creating a unified, resilient and AI-ready cloud platform. Through the integration of , , and 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform, the company built an intelligent platform designed to improve operational efficiency, accelerate decision-making and enhance predictive capabilities.

, Group CIO and Digital Officer at Prysmian, says: 鈥淩ISE with 麻豆原创 provided us with a global ERP foundation, 麻豆原创 BTP connected engineering and business, while embedded AI transformed the way our employees interact with data, redefining how Prysmian operates at scale.鈥

The impact has been significant. Prysmian has achieved 70% automation of repetitive activities through embedded AI, an 80% reduction in the implementation time of new innovative solutions, and a 50% acceleration in time-to-market for new products.

The company has also introduced concrete AI use cases across business processes, including intelligent customer order automation, automated payment reconciliation and smart expense management. At the same time, Prysmian is using 麻豆原创 BTP to build an advanced cable design platform connecting engineering and business functions, standardising rules, processes and bills of materials to accelerate product development and increase competitiveness.

Pillay adds: 鈥淭he City of Madrid and Prysmian show how modernisation creates measurable value when it is connected to clear organisational priorities. By integrating processes, improving data quality and building intelligent cloud platforms, organisations can improve how they operate today while preparing for the next wave of innovation.鈥

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Sanlam Advances People Transformation with Cloud, Data and AI /africa/2026/06/sanlam-advances-people-transformation-with-cloud-data-and-ai/ Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:03:38 +0000 /africa/?p=148759 For large, diversified financial services organisations, transforming human capital functions is no longer only about digitising HR processes. Increasingly, it is about creating an integrated,...

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For large, diversified financial services organisations, transforming human capital functions is no longer only about digitising HR processes. Increasingly, it is about creating an integrated, data-driven foundation that enables better workforce planning, stronger employee experiences, and more agile business operations.

For ,聽a leading pan-African financial services group focused on emerging markets headquartered in South Africa, with a strong presence in 31聽countries,聽this transformation journey has accelerated over the past 18 months as the organisation expanded its focus beyond HR modernisation toward a broader cloud, data and AI-enabled human capital strategy.

, Group Human Capital: Chief Operating Officer at Sanlam, says the organisation鈥檚 approach balances immediate operational requirements with longer-term transformation objectives. 鈥淲e have adopted an ambidextrous strategy for our digital and data transformation journey, simultaneously exploiting operational excellence, proficiency and efficiency in our current landscape while exploring incremental innovation that enhances and elevates the user experience and driving our longer-term transformation journey 鈥 focused on leveraging intelligent, transformative technology to unlock business value.鈥

A central focus throughout the implementation has been ensuring that transformation delivers tangible business value while also enabling the teams responsible for sustaining change. Sanlam is supported by a dedicated support structure for the programme that includes a technical centre of excellence team, programme management, change management, and business analysis capabilities.

鈥淭ransformation required us to approach change from multiple perspectives simultaneously. We always look at transformation through the lens of people, process and technology. One of the realities organisations face is that many people are not ready to embrace the pace of technological change, which makes change adoption and leadership sponsorship critically important.鈥 

According to Bandyopadhyay, Sanlam鈥檚 broader transformation strategy spans several interconnected focus areas. 鈥淎 key priority being rebuilding our job architecture for relevance to the current and future workforce and more importantly to transition to a skills-based organisation. This will then unlock the opportunity for us to leverage 麻豆原创鈥檚 AI-enabled Talent Intelligence Hub which is the golden thread that links all talent practices to a skills currency.鈥

The organisation has also prioritised the implementation of a cloud data solution, master data management and platform scalability as part of its effort to establish a more unified data core across the business. With multiple business entities operating across the group, standardising and scaling trusted workforce and operational data remains a significant strategic focus area.

, Group: Head of HC Tech and Talent Intelligence at Sanlam, says cloud adoption will continue to accelerate over the next two years. 鈥淲e are moving aggressively towards a cloud-first strategy, including payroll migration, data platform evolution, and broader business integration initiatives. Our focus is on how we build scalable platforms and data capabilities that position us for the future.鈥

As part of this strategy, Sanlam is piloting -related capabilities and is progressing towards broader business data cloud initiatives planned over the coming years. The organisation is also exploring how 麻豆原创 Business Data Cloud, 麻豆原创 agents, and Joule capabilities can support orchestration, analytics, and employee-related workflows across the employee life cycle.

Alongside its platform modernisation efforts, Sanlam is re-evaluating core HR services and processes, including employee experience, employee relations, and document management, while strengthening its talent intelligence and people analytics capabilities to support better workforce planning and predictive decision-making. The Talent Intelligence function has matured significantly from reports and dashboards to trends, insights and predictive analytics. A key achievement has been the development of a solution to measure productivity across the various Sanlam business entities.

Intelligent automation is also playing an increasing role across areas such as service management, payments, compliance, and administrative HR functions, alongside the digitisation of compliance related scorecards like skills development to improve planning, monitoring and achievement of compliance targets. This has allowed Sanlam to service an increased customer base with a greater service offering at reduced costs.

Govindsamy says the transformation journey remains ongoing rather than a once-off implementation project. 鈥淭he next phase of our journey is focused on accelerating cloud propagation, strengthening analytics and data capabilities, and embedding intelligent automation more deeply into the business. Success depends not only on technology, but on sustained leadership sponsorship, adoption, and preparing the workforce for the future.鈥 

, Managing Director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创, says: 鈥淎s organisations modernise their workforce strategies, there is growing recognition that human capital transformation depends on more than digitising HR processes. It requires an integrated foundation that combines cloud, data, analytics and intelligent technologies to support better decision-making, stronger employee experiences, and greater organisational agility. Sanlam鈥檚 ongoing transformation journey reflects how forward-looking organisations are building scalable, future-ready HR environments that can evolve alongside changing business and workforce requirements.鈥

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AI has Fundamentally Changed Enterprise Support /africa/2026/06/ai-has-fundamentally-changed-enterprise-support/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:46:03 +0000 /africa/?p=148751 AI is reshaping enterprise support and changing how solution providers think and operate, says Stefan Steinle, executive VP and head of global聽customer聽support at 麻豆原创, who...

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AI is reshaping enterprise support and changing how solution providers think and operate, says Stefan Steinle, executive VP and head of global聽customer聽support at 麻豆原创, who adds that support has evolved into a strategic driver of business value.

Support in this context refers to services, management and resource allocation used to troubleshoot, address issues and optimise infrastructure within an organisation.

鈥淭he focus is on value generation and customer health,鈥 says Steinle. 鈥淪upport is central to driving business outcomes with AI-integrated platforms. Support teams are becoming more embedded in business strategy. They provide visibility into system performance, user behaviour and operational trends.鈥

According to Steinle, AI-assisted toolchains and intelligent automation allow organisations to anticipate issues before they arise, streamline performance and improve long-term agility and resilience.

This is an entirely different approach to traditional support execution and application.

鈥淭raditionally, support operated on a break-fix model 鈥 issues were addressed when disruption occurred. AI changes this dynamic entirely. Through machine learning, pattern recognition and real-time data analysis, AI can continuously monitor systems, detect anomalies and predict potential failures before they impact operations. This enables preventive intervention rather than reactive troubleshooting.鈥

AI is also improving decision-making, adds Steinle. 鈥淚t surfaces insights from vast datasets, identifies optimisation opportunities and recommends actions that improve performance, reduce costs and enhance user experience. In this way, enterprise support evolves from a technical necessity into a value-generating function that actively contributes to business strategy.鈥

Shift from break-fix significant

AI expert and founder of AIforBusiness.net Johan Steyn says the shift from break-fix to strategic value driver is one of the most significant 鈥 and under-appreciated 鈥 transformations AI has enabled in organisations.

鈥淔or years, IT support was seen as a cost centre: reactive, ticket-driven and measured by how quickly problems were resolved. AI has fundamentally changed that equation. Predictive diagnostics, intelligent triage and automated resolution are not just making support faster 鈥 they are making it anticipatory. The best organisations are no longer waiting for things to break; they are using AI to understand system behaviour patterns and intervene before users are even aware of a problem,鈥 says Steyn.

The current status is one of rapid but uneven adoption, he adds.

Rise of autonomous enterprise

AI-assisted toolchains and intelligent automation are transforming ERP systems from static platforms into adaptive, self-improving environments.

According to Steinle, the shift is being driven by predictive maintenance capabilities, where AI analyses historical and real-time data to forecast failures and enable pre-emptive repairs. AI is also accelerating automated root cause analysis by identifying issues across complex system landscapes more quickly and accurately.

In addition, self-healing capabilities are enabling some system problems to be resolved automatically without human intervention, while AI-driven process optimisation tools continue to identify operational inefficiencies and recommend improvements.

The result is ERP systems that become more intelligent over time, enabling organisations to respond more rapidly to change, scale operations more effectively and strengthen operational resilience.

鈥淭he integrated toolchain breaks silos and drives collaboration between business and IT. You can confidently modernise your ERP landscapes while staying agile in today鈥檚 competitive climate,鈥 says Steinle.

鈥淎I plays a key role in enhancing capabilities by reducing errors and speeding up transitions. Take AI-powered change point detection as an example, where fundamental shifts in system downtimes can be found reliably and hence resolved faster. At the same time, AI-generated requirements reduce manual effort and accelerate the implementation process.鈥

People and culture

However, Steinle warns that technology alone is not enough.

鈥淲hile technology is at the core of transformation, you can still fall short when it comes to outcomes if your people are not on board. When you continue to operate in old ways, the AI copilots or the automations are pointless. You get the same issues, but with more dashboards.鈥

He adds that culture and leadership are critical to successful AI adoption. 鈥淎s they say, culture is what people do when no one is watching. Establishing this culture is what leadership is ultimately about. How motivated are your people? Are they as excited as you are about new innovations?鈥

Diverse teams are also essential in solving problems within complex ERP environments.

Nazia Pillay, MD for 麻豆原创 southern Africa, adds: 鈥淭he next phase of AI adoption is about execution. Organisations are looking for trusted data foundations, strong governance and practical business use cases that can deliver measurable value.鈥

Early stages

According to Steyn, larger, more mature organisations are already seeing measurable gains 鈥 reduced mean time to resolution, lower support costs and IT teams freed up for higher-value work.

鈥淏ut many organisations, particularly in markets like South Africa, are still in early stages, often constrained by legacy infrastructure and skills gaps. The outlook, however, is clear: AI-augmented support will become the baseline expectation, not a competitive differentiator,鈥 he continues.

Organisations that invest in this transition thoughtfully 鈥 with the right human capability alongside the technology 鈥 will build a genuine and lasting operational advantage, adds Steyn.

This article first appeared in .

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AI Unleashed as Companies Showcase Business Impact at Flagship 麻豆原创 Event /africa/2026/05/ai-unleashed-as-companies-showcase-business-impact-at-flagship-sap-event/ Fri, 22 May 2026 07:14:23 +0000 /africa/?p=148735 Leading global companies reveal how artificial intelligence is moving beyond experimentation and into core business operations to improve decision-making, increase productivity and deliver measurable operational...

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Leading global companies reveal how artificial intelligence is moving beyond experimentation and into core business operations to improve decision-making, increase productivity and deliver measurable operational impact

Leading organisations throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa are revealing how business AI has shifted from experimentation to realised business value at this year鈥檚 麻豆原创 麻豆原创PHIRE, held in Madrid between 19 and 21 May.

The event included demonstrations of two different but connected approaches to AI adoption by and . Ericsson is building the governed data foundation needed to scale AI across the enterprise, while Martur Fompak International is embedding AI directly into physical manufacturing operations to transform execution on the shop floor.

Nazia Pillay, Managing Director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创, says: 鈥淭he next phase of AI adoption is about execution. Organisations are looking for trusted data foundations, strong governance and practical business use cases that can deliver measurable value. By embedding AI into the systems and workflows companies already use, 麻豆原创 is helping customers scale AI responsibly and turn ambition into real-world impact.鈥

Nazia Pillay

Ericsson builds the foundation for trusted AI at scale

Ericsson is moving from AI experimentation to enterprise-wide execution by building a unified business data fabric with . The approach enables the company to scale AI use cases across the business, accelerate decision-making and deliver measurable operational impact.

Ericsson, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, provides mobile network infrastructure across 180 countries, with more than 40% of the world鈥檚 mobile traffic passing through its networks. As AI becomes central to both its technology roadmap and how it runs the business, Ericsson has prioritised building a strong, governed data foundation to support scalable and trusted AI.

鈥淥nce you scale AI, it stops being an AI problem鈥攁nd becomes a data problem,鈥 says , Vice President, Customer Experience, Enterprise IT at Ericsson. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we invested early in a business data fabric. With 麻豆原创 Business Data Cloud, we can define what data means once鈥攆rom revenue to market structures and access rules鈥攁nd apply it consistently across the enterprise. That鈥檚 what allows us to scale AI in a way that is trusted, repeatable and delivers real business value.鈥

At the core of Ericsson鈥檚 approach is a federated data architecture that allows data to remain in place while centrally managing business semantics, governance and lifecycle policies. By focusing on high-impact use cases and organising around end-to-end business processes rather than isolated solutions, Ericsson has moved beyond pilots to scaled deployment. Today, more than 85 000 users are live on unified Joule, supported by strong executive sponsorship and governance.

麻豆原创 and Ericsson are also collaborating on AI co-innovation initiatives, including an intelligent goal recommendation capability developed within 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors. The solution generates contextual, business-aligned goals for employees, improving execution and reducing administrative effort.

Martur Fompak brings AI into physical manufacturing operations

Martur Fompak International, a global leader in automotive seating and interior systems, has deployed an autonomous intralogistics model enabled by and embodied AI capabilities from 麻豆原创, marking a significant milestone in its journey toward intelligent, AI-driven manufacturing operations.

In an industry rapidly shifting toward AI-powered operations, Martur Fompak International saw an opportunity to reimagine its material flow. Building on efficient, people-driven processes already in place, the company partnered with 麻豆原创 and , a UK-based robotics and AI company, to explore how embodied AI-powered robotics could redefine material flow across its automotive manufacturing environment.

Using Joule and embodied AI capabilities from 麻豆原创, Martur Fompak International now connects production signals and business context directly to autonomous execution, creating a context-aware automation system that prioritises, picks and delivers materials while adapting in real time to changing business conditions.

Built on and enabled by , the solution enriches humanoid robots with real-time knowledge of tasks, attributes and exception handling. Guided by material data, storage locations, sequencing and production priorities, humanoid robots execute material flows across a live automotive manufacturing environment, identifying, transporting and delivering materials to the line while continuously confirming back into 麻豆原创 solutions.

Together with autonomous mobile robots, the company has created a fully automated, scalable material flow that boosts throughput, improves accuracy and reduces reliance on manual coordination. By assigning repetitive, non-value-adding and physically demanding tasks to robots, Martur Fompak International is enabling its people to focus on safer, more meaningful and higher-value work.

鈥淥ur humanoid robot collaborates with digital production systems to ensure seamless coordination across order management, logistics and production, enabling scalable AI adoption and improving efficiency, consistency and operational resilience,鈥 says , Group Intelligent Technologies Director at Martur Fompak International.

Early results show increased throughput, fewer errors and a scalable, AI-driven intralogistics model. With 400 daily production line feeds and 100% 麻豆原创 software-driven decision-making already in place, Martur Fompak International is advancing beyond traditional automation and pioneering a scalable, intelligent factory model.

Pillay adds: 鈥淓ricsson and Martur Fompak International show that AI delivers the greatest value when it is grounded in business context and embedded into core processes. From enterprise data foundations to intelligent robotics on the factory floor, these examples demonstrate how organisations can scale AI responsibly, improve productivity and create measurable business impact.鈥

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What鈥檚 Next 鈥 麻豆原创 South Africa Managing Director Nazia Pillay on her Leadership Journey /africa/2026/05/whats-next-sap-south-africa-managing-director-nazia-pillay-on-her-leadership-journey/ Fri, 08 May 2026 12:59:51 +0000 /africa/?p=148722 In this What鈥檚 Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Nazia Pillay unpacks her 23-year career at 麻豆原创.

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In this What鈥檚 Next with Aki Anastasiou interview, Nazia Pillay unpacks her 23-year career at 麻豆原创.

Pillay is the Managing Director for 麻豆原创 Southern Africa.

She joined 麻豆原创 as a graduate in 2003 and has worked across many areas of the business, including consulting, support, customer success, and partner relations.

In her current role, she is focused on three core areas: strengthening existing partnerships, cultivating new partnerships, and helping clients prepare for a digital-first and cloud-first world.

Pillay also believes 麻豆原创 must play a key role in helping Africa鈥檚 public and private sector companies achieve their AI and innovation ambitions.

Pillay has a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Information Systems and Management from Rhodes University.

The interview

In this What鈥檚 Next interview, Pillay discusses her journey to becoming the Managing Director for 麻豆原创 Southern Africa.

She explains why she studied Information Systems, and why she has stuck with 麻豆原创 ever since joining the company back in 2003.

Pillay unpacks the similarities and differences between when she first arrived at 麻豆原创, and the current state of the business.

She then talks about the biggest challenges and opportunities she has tackled over the course of her career 鈥 including learning how to fail and meeting her failures with resilience.

Pillay also reveals the core values of 麻豆原创, which have remained steadfast 鈥 even as technology and the sector at large has evolved.

She concludes the discussion by sharing one piece of advice she would give to her younger self if she had the opportunity.

Watch the full interview with Nazia Pillay, below.

Click the button below to load the content from YouTube.

What鈥檚 Next - Nazia Pillay on how business AI is transforming enterprise in Southern Africa

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麻豆原创 Unleashes Digital Potential in Botswana /africa/2026/04/sap-unleashes-digital-potential-in-botswana/ Thu, 30 Apr 2026 06:52:49 +0000 /africa/?p=148715 "By equipping young professionals with both technical and business capabilities, we are helping to build a future-ready workforce that can support innovation and transformation across Africa." - Nazia Pillay

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麻豆原创 has seen the graduation of its first local Young Professionals Programme (YPP) cohort in Botswana.聽

The initiative is intended to create a pipeline of certified talent to support business transformation across the country and the wider region, says the company.

The inaugural Botswana edition adopted a regional approach, bringing together participants from Botswana, Ghana, and SA. After completing the two-month programme, 33 young professionals graduated as associate consultants.

The World Economic Forum predicts that 39% of core job skills will change by 2030, increasing the need for organisations to access talent with both technical expertise and business acumen. 

The sponsored YPP connects unemployed and underemployed graduates with opportunities across the customer and partner network of the enterprise software firm.

The cohort received certifications in End-to-End Business Processes for 麻豆原创 Business Suite and Generative AI Development. Graduates also completed sessions in 麻豆原创 Business AI, Clean Core Framework, and general workplace readiness, says 麻豆原创.

The Botswana graduation aligns with wider investment in talent development across the continent, including the Educate to Employ initiative held in partnership with UNICEF.

Graduates are transitioning into roles across the ecosystem, with some joining regional partners such as Debswana. These graduates will support the enterprise resource planning (ERP) transformation at the diamond mining firm, including the migration to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA.

The programme underscores a commitment to developing the skills that organisations need for their technology investments, says Nazia Pillay, managing director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创.

She adds: “By equipping young professionals with both technical and business capabilities, we are helping to build a future-ready workforce that can support innovation and transformation across Africa,” says Pillay. As demand for digital skills rises, the YPP is creating a pipeline of talent for customers and partners.


Nazia Pillay, managing director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创.

Nazia Pillay, Managing Director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创.


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