This is especially true when it comes to implementing the solution in Africa.

, solution adviser: cloud ERP at 麻豆原创, believes African organisations are hesitant to make the move because of a number of factors.

Although financial constraints loom large, companies are also adopting a wait-and-see approach as the technology and business environments mature.

There is an element of 鈥渋f If it ain鈥檛 broke don鈥檛 fix it鈥� towards on-premise systems that are working well, and a degree of what Banks calls 鈥渟trategic procrastinating鈥� as customers wait out licence or data centre terms.

The complexity of a migration, along with customisation that鈥檚 been done to existing systems, also acts as a brake on new investments.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 see this in Europe and the US,鈥� Banks says. 鈥淚n Africa we tend to sweat assets a lot more.鈥�

However, companies should take a few things into consideration, starting with the cost of standing still as opportunities are lost and competitors race ahead.

Banks urges organisations to adopt an innovation mindset, but to innovate where it matters.

鈥淒on鈥檛 be left stranded,鈥� he says.

, CIO and digital protagonist at CEDA in Botswana, says the first step is to convince the board to invest.

鈥淭here is a perception that IT projects just consume funds without yielding business value,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o you can鈥檛 sell 麻豆原创 to the board as a grudge purchase 鈥� they have heard all that before.

鈥淵ou need to convince them there is a business case and show that the value of the migration will outperform the cost of the implementation.鈥�

This is easier said than done, Greyling adds, so he offers some advice on how to realise value.

鈥淚 say, look at the big bucket items, the ones very close to the essence of the organisation, that are a big item on the income statement. You need to show where the business value is.鈥�

This would vary depending on the company. For instance, for a bank it could be non-performing loans; for a retailer it could be inventory churn; for a miner it could be the cost of capital.

鈥淓ven then, just implementing 麻豆原创 is not going to do the trick: you still need to equip the front office people,鈥� Greyling adds. 鈥淏ut 麻豆原创 is the receptacle that pulls it all together and gives it the value.鈥�

Having identified the project, the next step would be to identify the value of the transformation, and Greyling recommends using a tool like 麻豆原创 Value Lifecycle Manager to do this.

African companies face a particular set of challenges, says , 麻豆原创 product manager: finance at Liberty Life Group.

鈥淒o not assume that if something worked in South Africa or the core entities, it will work in Africa,鈥� she warns.

鈥淵ou need to ensure that the implementation team gets a clear understanding of each African entities鈥� business before embarking on an implementation.鈥�

She recommends that the IT organisation obtains clear availability of in-country Africa finance teams members, bearing in mind that the teams could be smaller, with each member handling many different tasks 鈥� and working to different holidays and schedules.

鈥淒on鈥檛 underestimate the co-ordination and pre-planning required,鈥� Bird urges.

During the transformation, she stresses that the 麻豆原创 S/4 HANA implementation should be prioritised 鈥� particularly if vendor partners are involved. 鈥淪o make sure you solve for source system challenges rather than integration issues.鈥�

Data quality and uniformity to core entities requires substantial validation, checks, and controls which can be time-consuming even for small entities, so teams must plan for this accordingly.

It鈥檚 also important to ensure there is a comprehensive understanding of the group finance ledger and chart of accounts to ensure uniformity and minimal customisation, Bird adds.

鈥淎nd ensure that African entities are heard, and the project isn鈥檛 just one-directional.鈥�

, project director at Deloitte, believes one of the biggest decisions to be made in a 麻豆原创 S/4 HANA transformation is whether to go for a greenfield or brownfield transition of selective data 鈥� or whether a combination of the two is more relevant.

A number of issues need to be considered when making these decisions.

Companies must ask if they want to keep their existing solution enhancements and transaction history, start with a clean slate, or keep some while doing others from scratch.

Before making those choices, they need to check if the system fulfils all the conversion prerequisites.

Does the company need a phased business rollout? And does it need a renewal of its complete ERP solution?

鈥淗ow do you perceive your current system?鈥� Panday asks. 鈥淚s it an innovation enabler or key asset?鈥�

, enterprise architect at PwC, adds that there are a number of data elements that need to be considered when deciding on a greenfield or brownfield implementation.

For instance, the company needs to decide if it can change its data structures, which is hard to do in a brownfield transformation. Do they want all data to be archived, or converted?

Consider the impact of downtime as well, because this will help to inform how data is handled.

Data cleansing is an issue that can鈥檛 be ignored. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e doing a brownfield transformation, you don鈥檛 want to bring bad data across so you need to cleanse it first. For a greenfield implementation, you don鈥檛 need to do that.鈥�

Other decisions include what to do with the data history, and how to analyse current versus historical data.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot to consider,鈥� Bronze says. 鈥淎nd there are many options. But we see that a lot of customers haven鈥檛 gone into this deep analysis, although they need to base key design decisions on the right information.

鈥淚t is critical that all these elements are considered.鈥�

, MD of Stratfore Tech, says upfront planning is key to the data transition.

鈥淲e have seen situations where data is corrupted or fixed in production; and we鈥檝e seen situations where people start changing the transport sequence right before the finish line.

鈥淭o understand why this is happening, you need to look at the release strategy, and how did you do your testing? How did you organise the building of the solution and link that back to the requirement?鈥�

Because different companies have different needs, he says different tools are going to be relevant 鈥� or an integration of various tools.

鈥淏ut processes are the backbone of the implementation,鈥� Chabeli says. 鈥淒ocumentation needs to be in the context of the business processes; and transports need to be logically linked to the processes.鈥�

At the same time, testing must include migrated data, he adds.

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, head of global customer engagement and services, and member of the extended board at 麻豆原创, believes that we are in the midst of an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.

Not only has AI been incredibly disruptive, it is also changing quickly. 鈥淔or instance, two years ago we wondered if we should be building our own large language models (LLMs). Today they are a commodity. Two years ago, the most needed skill was prompt engineer. Today, that is dead.

鈥淪o what is new today will be a commodity tomorrow,鈥� he says.

Pfiester says that 麻豆原创 has a number of tools and services that can help customers become future-ready.

The 麻豆原创 technology capabilities create a cycle of AI, cloud, and data. Business AI is embedded everywhere, Business Data Cloud takes realtime decisions based on 麻豆原创 and non-麻豆原创 data; and the business applications in use that data to run the business and generate new data with AI that feeds back into the cycle.

麻豆原创 delivers its methodologies, tools, and architectures through the and programmes.

鈥淩ISE is represented in 40% of the global economy,鈥� Pfiester says. 鈥淭here are currently 8听500 customers live on RISE with 麻豆原创.

鈥淎nd it won鈥檛 stop there.鈥�

麻豆原创 is constantly updating its technology and services.

鈥淲hen it comes to technology, we have introduced that capability to do transformation into the cloud and to leverage AI.

鈥淏ut transformation is a journey: it is more than technology, but includes methodology, competencies, and tools. We decided two years ago to double down on our technology and capabilities, also the methodology, competencies, and tools.

鈥淪o the RISE with 麻豆原创 methodology helps companies to drive transformation into the cloud, building an environment that can constantly innovate.鈥�

To help customers on the journey, 麻豆原创 has invested in enterprise architects to provide expertise and competencies.

鈥淎n IDC study shows that business transformation is top of mind for CEOs,鈥� Pfiester says. 鈥淎nd it is a constant process that lives in the organisation. So we integrated all our tools into a digital process innovation tool base.鈥�

This lets customer modify business processes using a tool provided, and the system will then update other parts of the ecosystem and even generate user testing. A majority 鈥� 78% of RISE customers use this tool base.

The toolset also includes brownfield migration and selective migration as well. 鈥淭he idea is to help customers to get from where they are today to where they need to be tomorrow.鈥�

AI is embedded in the tools with the Joule for RISE with 麻豆原创 methodology.

Clean Core is vital on the digital transformation journey, which is where 麻豆原创鈥檚 enterprise architects come into their own.

, global head of business transformation and architecture at 麻豆原创, says the role of the enterprise architect is to help with significant onboarding progress and simplify the engagement model for more value-based deliverables. They are interlinked in the engagement model with the toolchain, and ensure that customers get the right architecture early on in their transformation journey.

鈥淲e help you achieve a Clean Core, and also think about AI and data considerations.鈥�

A year after it announced this service, 麻豆原创 enterprise architects are serving more than 1听000 customers.

鈥淲e believe transformation itself has become a capability for customers, and you need to be adaptable,鈥� Langguth says. 鈥淲e want to help you to train the transformation muscle so you will be future-ready.

鈥淲e help you to create transparency and see the pitfalls you need to take care of as you design a path forward using our portfolio of agentic AI applications.

鈥淲e believe this will help you to replace guessing with knowing,鈥� he adds. 鈥淎nd, because you know where to go, you can take decisions driven by clear facts.鈥�

Use integrated toolchain includes solutions for business process (麻豆原创 Signavio), enterprise architecture (麻豆原创 LeanIX), validation, adoption and enablement (Tricentis, WalkMe and 麻豆原创 Enable Now), building and monitoring (麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (BTP) and 麻豆原创 Build) and digital Backbone (麻豆原创 Cloud ALM).

鈥淭he real power comes from the integration,鈥� Langguth says.

He adds that the results speak for themselves, with up to 30% reduced cost of transformation, up to 35% faster time to business value, up to 70% increased business agility, and up to 40% faster continuous innovation.

This article first appeared in .

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With more than

Celebrating community and connection

AFSUG CEO Amanda Gibbs opened the conference with a heartfelt message about the power of community. 麻豆原创HILA, she noted, is not simply a conference but a movement 鈥� a living, breathing platform designed to enable knowledge-sharing and drive transformation across industries. Her words set the tone for a gathering built on purpose and progress.

Duke Mathebula, technology leader and AFSUG chairman, joined Gibbs in opening 麻豆原创HILA 2025 with a resonant message: 鈥淲e are Africans.鈥� That sentiment echoed throughout the event, capturing the essence of a proud, purposeful and visionary community committed to transcending the present and reimagining the future.

A special tribute was made to the late Reg Barry, a foundational figure in the 麻豆原创 ecosystem and former 麻豆原创HILA chair. Barry鈥檚 enduring legacy was respectfully acknowledged throughout the event 鈥� a reminder of the power of collaboration and community that continues to shape AFSUG and its members.

A sporting start and an immersive experience

麻豆原创HILA 2025 began with a relaxed networking day on Sunday, offering attendees the chance to connect over golf, Padel championships and other sporting activities. It set a friendly, collegial tone ahead of the more structured insight sessions on 2 and 3 June.

Morning plenary sessions were followed by dynamic workshops and demonstrations, while the expansive Expo Centre served as a major highlight, featuring 53 sponsors with visually impressive and engaging stands. The exhibition floor created invaluable opportunities for delegates to explore technologies, engage with vendors and experience first-hand the innovation driving 麻豆原创鈥檚 ecosystem forward.

The call for visionary leadership

Nazia Pillay, MD at 麻豆原创 Southern Africa, delivered a powerful keynote exploring 麻豆原创鈥檚 34-year journey with AFSUG. She highlighted the importance of togetherness as a unique strength within the African context.

鈥淚n Africa, success travels at the speed of connection,鈥� Pillay stated. She called on leaders not to fall back during times of uncertainty but instead to embrace bold, visionary thinking. Reflecting on 麻豆原创鈥檚 recent Sapphire events in Madrid and Orlando, she emphasised the company鈥檚 AI-first and Business Suite strategies.

Pillay also introduced attendees to the evolution of Joule, 麻豆原创鈥檚 AI assistant, noting the roll-out of new Joule agents capable of orchestrating real-time business data across functions to drive autonomous, intelligent decision-making.

NTT DATA 鈥� building momentum through collaboration

Lauren Wortmann, vice president of applications and cloud at NTT DATA Middle East and Africa, praised 麻豆原创HILA 2025 as a critical platform for collaboration and insight.

鈥淎s Diamond Sponsor, we valued the opportunity to engage with clients, partners and industry leaders,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he event created opportunities to strengthen both new and longstanding relationships. We鈥檙e excited about the momentum coming out of 麻豆原创HILA and look forward to continuing the conversations.鈥�

NTT DATA used the platform to explore enterprise transformation and share its strategic vision for the future, cementing its leadership role in 麻豆原创-managed services.

Deloitte 鈥� aligning purpose with technology

As Executive Suite and C-suite Sponsor, Deloitte Africa demonstrated how purpose-driven innovation can accelerate real business outcomes. Koosh Panday, senior manager and 麻豆原创 project director at Deloitte and chair of 麻豆原创HILA 2025, reinforced the event鈥檚 role in shaping Africa鈥檚 technology journey.

鈥淒igital transformation is not just about technology; it鈥檚 about people, collaboration and purpose,鈥� said Panday. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why 麻豆原创HILA is so impactful.鈥�

Deloitte鈥檚 Executive Lounge offered an immersive space for attendees to explore solutions including 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, Rise with 麻豆原创 and the Business Technology Platform. Guests connected with Deloitte subject matter experts to explore the latest ERP trends and discuss shared challenges in a relaxed, focused setting.

From legacy to leadership: the City of Johannesburg journey

A standout session focused on the City of Johannesburg鈥檚 transformation journey, where public-private collaboration was explored in depth. Featuring a discussion between CoJ group CTO Aubrey Mochela and Sergio Maccotta, senior vice president for 麻豆原创 Middle East and Africa (South), the panel detailed how the CoJ migrated from 麻豆原创 4.7 to S/4HANA in a bold, 21-day full shutdown.

The CoJ has been an 麻豆原创 customer since 2007 and recently embraced AI and cloud innovation to modernise systems and improve service delivery. National treasury has expressed support for the CoJ鈥檚 transformation, validating the project鈥檚 strategic importance.

Maccotta reflected on the urgency and complexity of the shift, citing three priorities: urgency, vision and financial clarity. The team had to implement rapid change, agree on governance principles with 麻豆原创 and innovate in a tightly bound timeframe.

Emerging insights and conversations

Across the event, recurring themes included legacy system modernisation, the growing importance of enterprise architecture and the power of AI to drive smarter decision-making. Joule was presented as a key enabler, reinforcing 麻豆原创鈥檚 position as a leader in contextual, embedded intelligence.

Delegates heard thought-provoking commentary about the future of smart cities, the importance of OEM relationships, and how technology can reshape revenue collection and operational resilience. As one speaker aptly said, 鈥淣ew Gen is conversations with the systems.鈥�

A shared future

麻豆原创HILA 2025 was more than a gathering; it was a collective commitment to Africa鈥檚 digital future. With support from the likes of Google, AWS, Microsoft and a strong 麻豆原创 delegation from Germany, the event highlighted the depth of expertise and investment in the region.

That sentiment shared by Duke Mathebula in the opening session. 鈥淲e are Africans鈥� continued to resonate long after the final session, reminding all in attendance of the unique opportunity the continent holds to lead, collaborate and transcend.

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Speaking at Saphila Transcend, Elliott likened AI to previous tech waves like the PC and Internet, warning that without preparation, 鈥渢he wave can come crashing down.鈥� The biggest challenge? It鈥檚 not the tech鈥攊t鈥檚 the ecosystem and adoption.

鈥淒ropping AI into current systems is like parachuting a Formula 1 car into a medieval village,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven if AI stopped evolving today, it would take 10 years for the ecosystem to catch up.鈥�

To accelerate adoption, Elliott says we must treat AI as more than artificial intelligence. It should also stand for:

• Accelerated Innovation听鈥� AI should help build AI faster. 麻豆原创鈥檚 Business Technology Platform (BTP) and 麻豆原创 Build provide tools for rapid development and customisation.
• Automated Integration听鈥� 麻豆原创 Integration Suite uses AI to simplify connecting systems.
• Accurate Information听鈥� AI is only as good as the data it uses. 麻豆原创鈥檚 Business Data Cloud and Knowledge Graph address quality and integration issues.
• Analytics Improved听鈥� 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud now includes GenAI tools like 鈥淛ust Ask鈥� to surface insights naturally.
• Agents Incoming听鈥� The future lies in AI agents capable of reasoning and adapting in real time, not just following fixed processes.
• Automatic Innovation & Implementation听鈥� 麻豆原创 envisions systems that suggest next steps and automate setup using best practices.

Ultimately, Elliott says successful AI adoption is more about people than technology. 鈥淓ven if you鈥檝e already invested in culture and change management 鈥� invest more,鈥� he urged. 鈥淎I is a staircase now, but it鈥檚 becoming an escalator.鈥�

The post 麻豆原创鈥檚 Timo Elliott: AI Must Stand for More Than Artificial Intelligence appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

This is according to , executive vice-president: customer support and cloud lifecycle management at 麻豆原创, who points out that heavily customised, outdated systems impede innovation.

鈥淏ut many companies find themselves in this place,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey have customised systems with a mix of models 鈥� a bit of best of breed, a bit of cloud, maybe some isolated AI scenarios.鈥�

As a result, IT organisations spend a lot of time integrating systems and trying to make sense of disconnected data. 鈥溾�滲ut what they need to be doing is providing good outcomes for the business.鈥�

What鈥檚 needed, says Steinle, is a transformation that brings together all the platforms and data.

麻豆原创 helps its customers make this transformation through its programme for existing customers, and for new customers.

Importantly, while these programmes aim to let customers embrace , they also integrate non-麻豆原创 solutions.

鈥淎nd they are not simply products, but include a methodology, services, and guided implementation,鈥� Steinle adds.

鈥淲e want customers to reach the stage where they are able to overcome challenges, and to embrace the benefits of continuous innovation, agility, and flexibility.鈥�

Any 麻豆原创 solution begins with the 麻豆原创 Business Suite, he explains. 鈥淔rom an 麻豆原创 perspective we believe there is a lot of sense in running end to end processes on a fully integrated and harmonised stack in the cloud. We think it鈥檚 better than picking and choosing best of breed solutions 鈥� and it means customers don鈥檛 have to manage the integration and getting sense from the data.鈥�

This is important, he adds, because IT organisations today spend about 80% of their time just on maintaining their current landscape, keeping it compliant, and integrating systems.

鈥淵ou probably want to spend more than 20% of your time providing value to business users.鈥�

(BDC) is a harmonised suite of applications that allows customers to import data from 麻豆原创 applications and integrate it with data from other applications.

鈥淵ou can bring together data from 麻豆原创, a non-麻豆原创 source, and unstructured data. And, with the help of BDC, you can make sense of that data and generate value.鈥�

Steinle says this can be useful in operational processes, to expand reporting, and for integrated planning. 鈥淎nd you can use it for AI.鈥�

Which brings him to the third pillar of the : . 鈥淭his system can make sense of all the data and enable customers to build automated processes to enable new business scenarios. And AI can be embedded in your business processes.鈥�

is 麻豆原创鈥檚 AI-powered digital assistant that also orchestrates user experiences end-to-end across 麻豆原创 and non-麻豆原创 processes.

鈥淚t is also a platform for customer AI,鈥� Steinle says. 鈥淣ot every scenario can be provided out of the box, but Joule gives users a responsible and resilient way of building their own AI applications with the help of our platform.鈥�

Many of these features are a reality today, and 麻豆原创 developers are focused on making AI-first a reality, Steinle adds.

But software on its own doesn鈥檛 deliver value, which is why 麻豆原创 offers a range of services in RISE and Grow that include an entire integrated tool chain to help customers on their transformation journey.

鈥淲e aim to provide a fast, rich, seamless experience, with prescriptive guidance. And it鈥檚 not just reactive support, but support for customer strategy,鈥� Steinle says. 鈥淲e use a lot of AI capabilities to respond better, or give self-service options. And we use a lot of the 麻豆原创 products to improve our customers鈥� experiences.鈥�

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The most powerful decisions inside modern enterprises may well arise beyond boardrooms. They can now emerge from听systems听that learn, adapt, and act before anyone issues a command. In other words, intelligence no longer needs to wait for permission.

That compelling scenario was painted at Saphila 2025, the biannual conference of the African 麻豆原创 User Group (AFSUG), held at Sun City this week. The event drew together technology leaders and enterprise architects from across the continent, focused on the impact of AI, cloud, and digital transformation on African business. In keynote sessions and breakout talks, a unifying theme emerged: the听systems听that drive operations are beginning to think for themselves.

In one of the most compelling sessions of the event, , chief strategy and innovation officer for 麻豆原创 EMEA North, described the concept as 鈥渁uto-sapiens听systems鈥�. Such enterprise technologies act with purpose, interpret context, and make decisions inside live business processes.

鈥淭hese听systems听follow purpose and context by design,鈥� said Schleimann in his talk. 鈥淭hey act because the logic, the purpose, and the data already exist inside them.鈥�

They handle invoice reconciliation, adjust logistics, dispatch field service teams, and optimise supply chains, all in real time. Tasks once dependent on manual triggers or lengthy approvals can now be executed automatically, with speed and precision.

鈥淭hese听systems听operate with embedded awareness,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey apply intelligence where it matters most: inside the flow of work.鈥�

It sounds like the concept of agentic AI that giants like Google, Salesforce and Microsoft regard as the next big thing, but it is more like the next next big thing.

鈥淚ntelligence lives inside the process,鈥� he told Gadget on the sidelines of Saphila. 鈥淚t aligns with context and delivers relevance. That creates real transformation.

鈥淭he process creates data, the data provides context, the context feeds intelligence, and the intelligence improves the process. That鈥檚 the flywheel. Each turn makes the system more effective.鈥�

This dynamic feedback loop enables continuous refinement without waiting for external intervention. AI could not be separated from the action or bolted on.

鈥淭his has to be at the heart of the vehicle. It has to be embedded from the beginning. When you open up an application, you鈥檙e not just seeing a blank sheet. It will immediately have a level of insight that supersedes your own. That鈥檚 really the big thing: bringing the ontologies of data together with your own business and AI.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not about putting a brain on top. It鈥檚 about making the system itself intelligent.鈥�

But it is also not about doing away with human beings. Schleimann believes this issue is deeply relevant to South Africa.

鈥淵ou have a great tradition for mining. You have great natural resources. Now we鈥檝e got to mine our people and our data.鈥�

In his vision, the raw material of the future is not underground, but embedded in enterprise听systems, processes, and minds. This shift, 鈥渇rom mine to mind鈥�, as he puts it, redefines value creation. It is now about extracting insight from operational truth, refining it through AI, and using it to unlock human potential.

鈥淭hat really is your moat long-term as an enterprise. Bringing people together with that data and unlocking their minds.鈥�

This, he suggested, requires more than dashboards and data lakes. It calls for a transformation in how intelligence is designed, applied, and trusted, by every layer of the organisation.

Schleimann鈥檚 outlook extends beyond automation. 鈥淎I can make me better. It can bring out the best in me and help coach me. As we see AI increasing the productivity of people, the demand for people will go up. From an enterprise viewpoint, upskilling, reskilling, and change management will be the new competitive advantage.鈥�

This human-centred view stands in sharp contrast to fear-based narratives around AI job displacement. Schleimann sees an urgent imperative for organisations to elevate their people alongside their听systems, or risk being outpaced by competitors that do.

麻豆原创鈥檚 latest S/4HANA enterprise resource platform reflects this mindset. It includes generative agents, embedded analytics, and intelligent workflows. These are defaults rather than add-ons.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 treat AI as a feature. It has to be part of the foundation from day one.鈥�

Across industries, the results are tangible. Healthcare workflows accelerate. Educational content adapts. Procurement uncovers anomalies before they cascade. Each result builds from live intelligence, acting at the speed of need.

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of听, and author of The Hitchhiker鈥檚 Guide to AI.

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鈥淯ncertainty is not going away,鈥� says , BTP product management at 麻豆原创. 鈥淵ou need to think about how you can transform your business for the years to come.鈥�

At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising decision-making, redefining efficiency, and helping make it easier to run the business, he adds.

鈥淭he pace of change is accelerating, and businesses are asking how they can stay ahead of the change; how they can build business that don鈥檛 just keep up with change, but thrive on it.

鈥淭he ability to adapt, to innovate, to seize opportunities is no longer an advantage, but a necessity,鈥� Winkler says.

He believes that, to be resilient and navigate uncertainty, companies need to embrace entrepreneurial skills.

鈥淲e believe that in this time of change and technology disruption, entrepreneurial skills are more relevant than ever in small or corporate organisations.

鈥淭he first key skill is courage,鈥� Winkler says. 鈥淭his is about being adaptable, having no fear, and moving forward in a focused and lean way.鈥�

The second is resourcefulness. 鈥淓nsure you have the right resources in place, to accomplish a lot with few resources, and to execute on anything.鈥�

The third key skill needed in this fast-changing world is self-discipline. 鈥淏e self-driven,鈥� Winkler says. 鈥淭hink about transformation from a technology point of view, but prioritise what is important for the business.鈥�

At the same time, organisations need to be very clear about the way they want to go forward, Winkler adds. 鈥淐larity is needed now more than ever 鈥� not as a choice, but a necessity. Be clear about your transformation and about what you want to achieve.鈥�

Winkler explains that is the foundation on which the company has built its technology and transformation ecosystem.

As the foundation that underpins Business Suite, Business Data Cloud, and Business AI, BTP allows organisations to integrate and extend business applications faster; create business-relevant apps; and innovate and accelerate with AI.

Winkler points out that it is a unified platform available as public cloud or multi-cloud that harmonises 麻豆原创 and non-麻豆原创 applications, empowering customers and partners to innovate.

BTP is powered by more than 90 applications and services.

There are currently 33听000 customers on 麻豆原创 BTP, including 66% of the largest companies in the market.

New on 麻豆原创 BTP is better integration between 麻豆原创 Build and 麻豆原创 S/4 HANA. The company has also introduced additional AI features with Joule for Developers.

In addition, 麻豆原创 is continuously adding BTP to new data centres and regions. It has already built out to seven new regions this year, with more on the cards.

There is more functionality for users and more AI available for 麻豆原创 S/4 HANA Cloud.

More features are available in 麻豆原创 Business Data Cloud (BDC), and 麻豆原创鈥檚 Integration Suite makes it easier for customers to bring their ecosystem together.

The new releases are especially relevant for developers.

麻豆原创 Build now offers the ability to create Joule Skills and AI Agents 鈥� Joule Skills where the process path is known, and AI Agents where it isn鈥檛.

鈥淣ow, developers are able to enhance Joule鈥檚 out-of-the-box capabilities to support organisation-specific workflows,鈥� Winkler says. 鈥淭hey can deploy, monitor and manage their own Joule Skills in 麻豆原创 Build. 鈥淎nd, with the agent builder in Joule Studio they can build their own customised AI Agents.鈥�

There are also new features to help ABAP developers 听improve their efficiency. 鈥淚n the ABAP cloud environment, we have released intelligent features that help developerss with testing, and Joule will even offer recommendation to improve code.鈥�

Further enhancements improve developer efficiency in 听麻豆原创 HANA Cloud, helping them to make smart decisions while handling large amounts of interconnected data to achieve meaningful outcome.

鈥淏TP addresses the challenges of digital transformation and helps to accelerate customers鈥� move to the cloud,鈥� Winkler says. 鈥淚t helps customers to optimise and integrate processes so they can innovate while keeping the core clean.

鈥淭his empowers them to unlock the power of business data and AI.鈥�

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The city, which serves around 4-million citizens, had to come up with revenue strategies against a backdrop of numerous challenges.

, chief solutions architect at , explains that Tshwane recognised that there were a few ways it could improve revenue collection.

The first of these strategies was the Tshwane yaTina campaign that focused on disconnecting non-paying users.

It also realised that installing prepaid meters for indebted consumers could help to lower non-payment, along with other interventions such as implementing debit orders or negotiating payment plans.

Large power users (LPUs) like factories or malls are the biggest consumers, so connecting them to a pre-payment platform would make a big difference.

Simplifying payment platforms for all users would go hand-in-hand with outreach programmes to engage with customers who might not be able to reach the city with queries or payments.

Meter reading was identified as a key step in completing the meter to cash lifecycle.

Electricity makes up a big portion of the city鈥檚 service charges, which include water and sanitation. For a few years, revenue was growing well, then fell off by almost R5-billion in the 2022/2023 financial year 鈥� probably as the effects from Covid-19 came through the system.

In the 2023/2024 period, the revenue collected rose again, by almost R5-billion.

To reverse the negative trend and get revenue moving in the right direction, Molefe explains that the City of Tshwane leveraged a number of digital technologies to enhance service delivery and increase payments.

PhD, group head: shared services at the City of Tshwane, points out that revenue and customer engagement both suffered during the Covid period.

鈥淏ut revenue management is one of the biggest causes of financial distress for local governments, and it affects the social sustainability of municipalities.鈥�

Revenue collection was experiencing a number of challenges associated with delays in manual meter reading, as well as theft, tampering, and faulty meters.

This resulted in revenue leakages 鈥� 听while under-collection became a problem due to longer meter reading and billing cycles, and inaccurate meter readings and estimation.

Compounding the challenges were fragmented and non-integrated systems coupled with inaccurate customer information and insufficient customer channels.

鈥淭he range of challenges extended beyond these,鈥� Khumalo adds. 鈥淏ut the biggest challenge was in billing 鈥� if you can鈥檛 do this correctly, you have a problem. And you can鈥檛 do credit control on wrong billing, because the customer will simply reject any action.

鈥淭he second part of the problem was collections. Now that you have billed, you have to collect.

鈥淎nd, finally, we needed a way to interact with customers receiving the service and recognising that there are different types of customers: those that pay happily, those that pay grudgingly, those that battle to pay or pay late 鈥� possibly because they are distressed 鈥� and those who simply never pay.鈥�

The city turned to a public-private partnership (PPP) engagement model to help solve its many issues.

Khumalo explains that in 2019 Tshwane transitioned away from a single 麻豆原创 support partner by enabling a panel of service providers to provide support, enhancement,听 and implementation of 麻豆原创-related solutions. This led to the appointment of three service providers, with Zimele responsible for 麻豆原创 Utilities and CRM.

鈥淭hey were mandated to assess and understand the current setup, and identify a digital transformation roadmap.鈥�

Zimele proposed a solution in three phases.

Short-term wins would empower meter readers, giving them the tools to be effective. This phase would see the implementation of an advanced metering infrastructure with MDMS for LPUs, and the implementation of 麻豆原创-based meter reading applications.

The medium-term is about empowering users, with wins enabled by the implementation of 麻豆原创-based financial management with a credit control application, and the implementation of the (wallet) solution for LPUs.

In the long-term, the plan is to implement the Sinch Contact Centre with omnichannel and extensions, and the implementation of the RPS solution for debt management.

鈥淭he long-term wins aim to build long-term relationships with our customers,鈥� Khumalo says. 鈥淪o, we will be able to tailor the message to the customer.

鈥淧art of the what the roadmap looked at was to not simply throw technology and tools at the problems,鈥� says Khumalo. 鈥淭his is what usually happens: people panic and think about what they can buy.鈥�

But the City of Tshwane was also in the middle of a move to so it needed to think holistically about people, technology, tools, and processes.

The city鈥檚 implementation strategy started with understanding the environment, while also looking to the future.

Khumalo explains that this involved also understanding the audit environment, including assessment and due diligence. A surprising initial finding was that 200 large users were not actually being billed at all.

The project roadmap involved implementing smart meter integration components in the first phases, digital mobile applications in the second phase, and customer engagement in the third phase.

Among the benefits that the city has already seen are seamless and direct integration to the core billing systems and a faster revenue collection cycle.

In addition, reporting is now in one system, a lot of manual work has been automated, and the city is getting an omnichannel and 360-degree view of the customer.

鈥淲e have solved not just finance problems, but also financial management,鈥� Khumalo says.

Molefe explains that when Zimele got involved, Tshwane鈥檚 meter reading accuracy was just 27%. The new solutions were able to quickly move this to over 80%, and not long after, well into the 90% and above range.

Initially, the city was running an 麻豆原创 system for billing, but the meters were not integrated. They had been sourced from a number of different vendors, with some being prepaid, some smart, and some traditional meters.

鈥淲e had to identify where the savings were to be had,鈥� Molefe says. 鈥淲e realised that 80% of the revenue sits with LPUs and that showed us where our focus needed to be.鈥�

Zimele quickly realised that Tshwane had AMI licences that were not being used, so these were quickly activated.

鈥淲e converted the PI to PO, and now we had an integrated platform.鈥�

The next step was to install the MDMS, which had to be meter agnostic because of the wide range of meter types out in the field.

The city already had a communication network which was activated so smart meters can talk seamlessly into the ISU. This also allows meters to be managed from the system.

鈥淪o we were live on AMI and MDMS, but some customers still had communication issues,鈥� Khumalo explains. 鈥淪o we brought in a meter-reading app that also integrates seamlessly into ISU.

鈥淭he ISU can now send instructions to readers about where they must read meters, and those readings are synched immediately. This means the back-office can start doing validations.鈥�

Traditionally, the meter reading cycle is five days, which means there is no time to resolve issues. And the importation of flat files means the city can鈥檛 identify issues as they occur.

鈥淏y synching reading automatically, you can pick up issues and send people out to resolve them,鈥� Molefe says. 鈥淵ou can also measure the performance of the reader, check they went to the right properties, and that they did the readings.鈥�

Field service management used to be an issue. When meters are replaced, there is a process within ISU to create a new meter in 麻豆原创. This can take about 15 minutes per meter.

鈥淪o we wrote a meter replacement program that captures details of what鈥檚 happening in realtime; and an engine in the system does the replacement within seconds.鈥�

A similar system takes care of disconnections.

One of the biggest benefits of the new system is in converting LPUs from post-paid to prepaid.

鈥淥nce AMI was stabilised, we activated prepayment,鈥� Molefe says. 鈥淎 typical cycle would have been to receive payment 60 to 90 days after the power was consumed. Now, they pay before they consume. This has had a positive spin-off for the city.鈥�

When thinking about customer engagement, Tshwane had to recognise that not every citizen has a smartphone. 鈥淏ut people may want to pay their accounts or submit readings, so we instituted a USSD solution. Now users don鈥檛 need a fancy phone to engage 鈥� and as many consumers as possible are included.鈥�

Looking ahead, the City of Tshwane aims to expand its smart services and increase citizen engagement. It will improve financial transparency, increase revenue channels, and start enjoying AI-driven efficiency.

All services will be available in a municipal digital marketplace.

Finally, the city is engaged in ensuring that its people are empowered. 鈥淵ou can build the best system, but if people do not understand how to use it, you end up with a white elephant,鈥� says Molefe.

鈥淧eople need to be enabled, so change management and training are key.鈥�

This article first appeared in .

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When thinking of enterprise technology, expensive rollouts and complex processes often come to mind. But, as 麻豆原创 global innovation evangelist said in a keynote at听the Saphila 2025 conference at Sun City, the future lies just as much with the individual as with the enterprise.

Saphila is a biennial conference for the 麻豆原创 user group community, hosted by the African 麻豆原创 User Group (AFSUG) in partnership with 麻豆原创, a global tech giant specialising in enterprise software.

Elliott pointed to a quiet revolution in which small organisations and everyday users are taking innovation into their own hands, often without the need for formal IT departments. He said that , a unified low-code and pro-code application development platform, can play a key role in this shift by enabling users to create business apps, automate processes, and build digital workspaces with the help of AI and pre-built components.

鈥淭his is not just for big companies and big problems,鈥� he said. 鈥溌槎乖� Build is a fusion environment. Here鈥檚 a lovely example from the 麻豆原创 Innovation awards for 2024: a not-for-profit organisation in Switzerland called (). It was founded during the COVID era by a Syrian refugee in Switzerland. He noticed that restaurants were all closed and having this excess food while other people were going hungry.鈥�

Elliott said the organisation now distributes 18 tons of food every weekend to those in need. Using 麻豆原创 Build Apps, the team was able to quickly create a small application in a no-code, low-code drag-and-drop environment to handle tasks like volunteer scheduling.

The app created by the company includes document automation, making it easy to scan IDs for both volunteers and recipients. He said that these technologies help organisations move faster, especially when it comes to integration 鈥� often one of the biggest hurdles in transformation projects. The allows users to link systems with minimal effort, handling most of the complexity automatically.

In an exclusive interview, Elliott told Gadget: 鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in innovation that is much closer to the individual business person. Companies have always done innovation, but for individuals it鈥檚 harder to innovate 鈥� or has been. Now, with the latest technologies, you can vibe code yourself even if you know nothing about coding. All of that adds up to a new opportunity.鈥�

That shift is being powered by a new wave of accessible tools 鈥� cloud services and embedded AI assistants 鈥� that allow non-technical users to build and deploy solutions quickly. Elliott said this as one of the most important developments shaping enterprise technology today.

鈥淓ssen f眉r Alle has gone forward. It鈥檚 just a handful of people, lots of volunteers, but they needed a little bit of application, a little bit of technology to help them.鈥�

This kind of solution has become a tangible reality. As barriers to entry continue to fall, even small, volunteer-led organisations are building tools that make a real operational difference.

鈥淚t was so much easier and quicker and more available to a tiny organisation that it just would have been done by hand, and nobody would ever thought about trying to use technology to do it.鈥�

Elliott said this marks a new phase in digital transformation, driven by individuals who know their needs and now have the means to build what they require.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an organisation like that where every cent otherwise goes to helping people. This is a micro example of something that I believe that individuals everywhere will be able to vastly accelerate innovation because individual people who know the business, and know what鈥檚 possible, will be able to innovate 鈥� without IT and technology being a bottleneck.鈥�

Elliott said that innovation was no longer a sporadic initiative or the domain of a select few within an organisation. Instead, it is becoming a structured, repeatable discipline with defined methodologies, measurable outcomes, and continuous refinement built into how companies function. This was听much like finance or operations.

鈥淭he end result is that innovation and digital transformation should be a business process itself that increasingly can be optimised.鈥�

What makes this feasible now is a shift in how business systems work. Rather than requiring manual analysis and lengthy decision-making cycles, systems are becoming more proactive, intelligent, and suggestive.

He said 麻豆原创鈥檚 approach to driving innovation can be broken down into four key steps: assessing where a business stands today, identifying the most impactful areas for improvement, defining a future state using best practices, and implementing those changes with the help of intelligent tools 鈥� all while supporting the human side of transformation through training and adoption. This leads into best practices, implementation via the cloud, and finally, the crucial phase of change management.

鈥淭echnology is never enough, so you need to actually do something in the business to take advantage of that 鈥� there鈥檚 all of the technology adoption side, and the people side of things.鈥�

麻豆原创 has recently invested in , a tool designed to help employees understand and effectively use new systems in their daily work. By providing guidance and support, WalkMe facilitates smoother adoption of technology, ensuring that staff can confidently navigate and utilise the tools necessary for their roles.

Yet, Elliott said that tools alone weren鈥檛 enough. This is where AI can make a significant difference in the human side of transformation. He pointed to studies showing AI outperforming humans in emotional intelligence tests, and highlighted a practical benefit: the ability to scale personalised communication and reassurance during times of change.

鈥淭he essence of transformation is helping people understand how they fit in the strategy and help them feel like they鈥檙e being part of the transformation and excited about it, rather than resisting it because they鈥檙e worried about their jobs and functions. At scale, it鈥檚 really hard to go to every single person that鈥檚 affected and sit down with them and spend all of the time to understand any questions and reassure them, whereas with AI you can actually do that at scale.鈥�

He said this brings the process full circle, with innovation and digital transformation becoming structured business functions that can be continuously refined and improved.

鈥淢y favourite quote is from Picasso: 鈥楥omputers are useless. They can only answer questions.鈥� Thankfully, asking the right questions, having the context to understand what鈥檚 going on and what is possible, is something that remains very human.鈥�

To cultivate that creativity, business leaders must rethink how they support employees in using new tools. Elliott suggests a three-part model: leadership, a dedicated lab team to experiment and track best practices, and a decentralised crowd of early adopters.

Looking ahead, Elliott said 麻豆原创鈥檚 boldest move had听already been made: committing fully to the cloud. The real challenge now was bringing customers along 鈥� even when it demanded difficult conversations. Empowering organisations remained central to the strategy, but individuals shaping outcomes on the ground may drive the next wave of enterprise innovation.

*Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and writer for听. Follow him on听.

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