data management Archives - �鶹ԭ�� Australia & New Zealand News Center

Move to �鶹ԭ�� S/4HANA: Never Too Late to Start

Gerd Danner — Wed, 13 May 2020 01:06:29 +0000

When legendary professional cyclist and two time Tour Du France winner Fausto Coppi was asked the secret to his record-breaking success, his advice was simple: “Ride a bike, ride a bike, ride a bike.”

There’s no substitute for just getting on with the task at hand, whether training for the first leg of the Tour Du France or crossing the actual finish line. But getting on with it also requires preparation and planning, including the benefit of advice, insight, and experience. It is the same when plotting a digital transformation journey.

Like any multi-stage event, each of us will take our own route, change gears at our own pace, and make pit stops along the way based on our own specific circumstances and environments.

In the same way that there are multiple stages and routes to get each of us across our own finish line, the multi-stage journey to �鶹ԭ�� S/4HANA is unique to each company.

This is why �鶹ԭ�� has been running a comprehensive , outlining the step-by-step map for transitioning to the modern digital platform of �鶹ԭ�� S/4HANA at your own pace.

Leading authorities on making the move to �鶹ԭ�� S/4HANA came together to help ensure each transition is as straight-forward as possible, regardless of IT landscape or legacy overheads. This five-part series shows how to make the transition with less risk and at a higher speed, as well as the best ways to tackle common issues around data quality and data migration, carrying over custom code and business partner conversion — all within budget and timeline constraints.

The data transformation requirements that help get data clean — including data preparation, quality, and migration — before you go live with �鶹ԭ�� S/4HANA are explained in depth, as well as how to keep data clean in day-to-day activities and operations through master data management once live.

Protecting and moving customisation, integrating the landscape, and managing extensions and innovations in the cloud with low code development are all looked at. And the series shows how to modernise a data strategy and platform, factoring in the data lake, as well as reporting directly from within applications.

To grease the digital wheels of business automation, new ways of integrating enterprise data with disparate types of Big Data across different data stores are mapped out, while preserving data security, integrity, and consistency.

But �鶹ԭ�� knows there is no substitute for customer experience. So three customers — all at different stages of their own digital journey toward �鶹ԭ�� S/4 HANA — share their experiences, tips, and advice.

Tetra Pak outlined its successful data Transformation journey around mastering automation and data efficiencies, which is now the foundation for the next stage.
��ٱ��discussed how it is becoming an intelligent enterprise through real-time analytics and automated business processes.
Vinci Energies showed how it has embraced data-driven innovations in �鶹ԭ�� S/4HANA, such as robotic process automation, next-generation analytics, and mobile business processes.

The response from customers who have watched the webinars and implemented the advice has been hugely positive. If you did not catch the full series the first time, you can .

In addition to how-to steps from �鶹ԭ�� experts, partners, and customers, you can also see just how easy it is to create intelligent, mobile-ready applications to better serve customers, modernise business processes, and compete more effectively.

When the world is busy transforming around you, it’s never too late to start but it’s always too late to wait. Have a great journey!

This article first appeared on the Global �鶹ԭ�� News Centre.

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The post Move to �鶹ԭ�� S/4HANA: Never Too Late to Start appeared first on �鶹ԭ�� Australia & New Zealand News Center.

People and Technology Working Together in Crisis

Rushenka Perera — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 23:56:17 +0000

As the business world continues to adjust with COVID-19 it is important to understand technology’s role in adjusting people’s and businesses’ ways of working.

In our , I was fortunate to speak with �鶹ԭ�� Vice-President and Global Innovation Evangelist, . We discussed the ever-shifting world in the light of COVID-19 and the technology solutions that are helping business adjust, adapt, and evolve.

Due to the rapidly developing situations across international governments and businesses, Timo acknowledged that change is not optional for most organisations right now. “Around the globe, people are being forced into more digital transformation in a tighter timeframe than they had ever imagined,” he explained.

“Everybody is facing the same issues: how to embrace the changes with as much confidence as possible. How can companies minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities, to stay resilient now and reinvent themselves in the future.”

“What is important are the same things they’ve always been – how do companies define and focus on their core competency, how can they drive deeper customer relationships, the advantage of new business models, how can they streamline operations, and ultimately emerge stronger than ever before?”

Timo noted that the most critical element at times like this is transparency, which stems from good data. “To make decisions we need to take the data we have available and turn it into reliable insights,” he explained.

“We’ve been talking about the data value equation, in general, ‘amount times quality times usage equals value’. The more data you have, the better the quality, and the more people get to access and use it, the more value you’ll get. I think that’s a good basis for thinking about how organisations can move forward in this environment.”

According to Timo, cloud-based data orchestration allows business to connect that data to create a holistic view of business networks without physically moving it. “These data pipelines connect to business applications, or a data warehouse, or your suppliers’ data, a data lake, or some spreadsheets someone’s pooled together, and you can bring that information together to get a single view.”

At the heart of all this is the breakthrough technology of machine learning, Timo expressed. “Predictive analytics, advanced statistics, machine learning – these technologies have been around for decades, but really in the last few years they’ve made a breakthrough in terms of the computing power available and the quality of the algorithms and the amount of data available.”

“Machine learning technologies are more powerful when you’ve got lots of data to build the models. It’s basically sophisticated pattern matching – it’s not magic or anything like human intelligence. It really is automating complex and repetitive decisions in new ways. This is a huge opportunity for any kind of data leverage. It means, firstly, that we can automate applications.”

Timo noted that automation is not about eliminating roles rather freeing people from repetitive tasks and instead focus on core competencies. “People are the technology you should be maximising right now in your organisation,” he added. “There is nothing more intelligent than people, they’re the only ones that can understand what’s going on – the full context of the environment – and what needs to be fixed to move forward with solutions.”

For times of uncertainty, Timo said, the keys to success are agility and flexibility. “This is an era of constant change, so fast adaption and innovation has to become core competencies for all organisations. Technology is a huge advantage; the organisations that embrace the cloud are undoubtedly better off right now than the companies that still have to have people working on their on-premises data system.”

According to Timo, the biggest area of benefit is taking the power of cloud and integrating it with business processes. “The idea is that you can rapidly adapt and change your business processes without having to wait for new functionality in your core systems. Running your systems in the cloud, you just want to spin up a quick application where you can add new functionality on top of your core foundation quickly and easily.”

Timo said, “For example, you may need a lot of visibility in your supply chain, so you quickly create a mobile application that takes sensor data from your manufacturers, combines it with some core business master data, maybe some location data, and gives you visibility in the end-to-end supply chain.

“Using cloud platforms makes it easier to adopt agile development. Using things like Design Thinking, you can quickly create programs and tests and iterate, so you can learn as you go, based on the feedback of users.”

You can join Timo with other industry experts for a virtual event for businesses looking to build resilience and reinvent during this turbulent time.

“We’re trying to be as helpful, optimistic and forward thinking as possible, Timo explained. “We’re absolutely going to be talking about technology and how it’ll be helping them to the extent that’s possible. We’ll be investigating how the technologies can help people do their jobs better. And then we’re trying to be helpful, look forward to the future.”

To learn more about how this unlock the power of Business Technology Platform and data-driven insights – check out this , visit the , or today. Listen to the .

This article originally published on

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Instilling public trust and transparency in the experience economy

Hayley Devereux — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 22:38:52 +0000

�鶹ԭ�� commissioned a recent discussion in partnership with the �鶹ԭ�� Institute for Digital Government and the Public Sector Network to explore the opportunities, uncover the challenges, and provide best practice recommendations on taking the next steps to instil “trust through transparency”. We encourage you to explore the key insights and download the report.

The constant flow of data between users, organisations, and social-media platforms has increased public concerns around trust and transparency. People have naturally grown cautious about how their data is used and shared following massive breaches of trust by and alike.

With private enterprises spearheading the latest developments in online communication and services, governments must remain attuned to people’s changing expectations as both users and citizens.

The �鶹ԭ�� Institute for Digital Government recently explained as, “To build trust, citizens need to feel confident that the data they provide to government will be used to provide services they need, request and value, as well as empowered to communicate and deliver feedback. Government in turn must deliver on its promise”.

�鶹ԭ�� believes technology can be used to create a culture of transparency. One example of how �鶹ԭ�� is taking the next step on instilling trust in a data-driven society is through the Ethical AI initiative: �鶹ԭ�� was the first European technology company to establish an external AI ethics advisory panel with Luka Mucic, �鶹ԭ�� SE Chief Financial Officer, commenting: “�鶹ԭ�� considers the ethical use of data a core value…We want to create software that enables the intelligent enterprise and actually improves people’s lives.”

To better understand how the public sector can instil trust through transparency, . Representatives in attendance included the ACT Government (ACT), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Digital Transformation Agency (DTA), Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Social Services (DSS), Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Department of Defence (DOD), Department of Education (DOE) and the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA).

The Trust Challenge

A critical element of the discussion was the on which governments can create confidence and trust amongst its citizens.

Privacy: Agencies explored a ‘walled garden’ approach, which establishes a closed ecosystem where citizens feel safe to share data, similar to the community and brand loyalty built by Apple.
Security: Governments need to adopt a holistic approach to data security that incorporates national security, legal framework, and the support of specialised services and workers.
Transparency: Data must only be used for its intended and stated purpose. Government must explain how data is used, exchanged, and protected to demonstrate openness to its citizens.
Ethics: Data analysis and AI require strong ethical frameworks. The Public Interest Test is valuable in determining what data should be collected and how it might be used and shared.

Attendees noted that the primary challenges that governments face are:

concerns over legacy technologies and systems,
the establishment and enforcement of ethical AI guidelines, and
the lack of cross-departmental exchange in determining and maintaining best practice.

Leaving the challenge behind

The discussion moved to examples of both global and local government departments making moves to instil trust, to address some of the challenges they are facing. What’s clear is that governments know exactly what they need to do, and are beginning to make steps forward.

Internationally, using technology to power the city’s ‘voice of the resident’ program, ensuring that every member of the community has a clear and effective way to communicate feedback with city leaders. Gathering and acting on resident feedback is a core component of the city’s stated goal to increase trust in local government.

In Europe, �鶹ԭ��’s support of ethical data use can be seen in the Italian Alps through its partnership with the provincial government of . By implementing �鶹ԭ�� Leonardo and blockchain running on �鶹ԭ�� Cloud Platform, the government streamlined its service delivery with citizens only needing to enter information once before authorised government employees across agencies can access it.

created a chain of certification that authenticates and maintains people’s data consistently, eliminating redundancy, improving citizen experiences, and creating new models for citizen engagement to improve quality of life.

Discussions then led to , where numerous agencies are implementing a ‘tell-us-once’ approach, such as the myGov initiative where citizens’ existing data is carried over to pre-filled application forms.

The Australian Government’s Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) has successfully implemented a permissions-based system where citizens can opt-in/out to share data between applications. DTA is also piloting Digital ID, including the potential for Single or Multiple IDs, to identify providers for all financial and government services.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) is introducing Citizen Mapping to capture what services are used and which are no longer being accessed, while the ATO is modernising its Business Register to centralise its data storage and access.

The ACT Government is focused on delivering services based on citizens’ Life Events and working on a Wellbeing Indicator to ensure citizen confidence around data use. Similarly, the Department of Education (DOE) is improving customer satisfaction by making data use visible to citizens and traceable through outcomes.

Discussions noted how each of the listed examples demonstrate an awareness of public concern regarding data use and government transparency. Australia’s federal government is currently considering recommendations based on the Productivity Commission’s Data Availability and Use Inquiry. The country awaits the passing of the Data Availability and Transparency Act as Australia’s government works toward a consistent national data system and supporting framework that’s aligned with citizens’ expectations.

Summarising the key outtakes

Citizens expect services – both public and private – to be responsive, reliable, and easy to navigate. While governments are adopting the platforms and processes for accommodating these demands, more can be done to instil lasting trust amongst citizens while providing a secure and streamlined service.

Chris Peck, Executive, General Manager, �鶹ԭ�� Australia, shares that �鶹ԭ�� are working with many ambitious organisations and agencies on Trust as a key measure for ‘brand’ in government. “Our approach focuses on Transparency around government data management and use, Operational Excellence by providing the “right service, delivered to the right person at the right time”, and providing a Bi-directional view where the citizen can see what the government knows about them and the services on offer, and the government can see what the citizen expects and their interactions and engagements with government. �鶹ԭ�� is helping governments ‘Listen + Understand + Act’”.

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