'IT Will Lend Holistic Visibility To Business Decision Making'

In his keynote address to CEOs, IT executives and users from customer and partner organisations at SAPPHIRE 2009, SAP AG’s international customer event, SAP Co-CEO Leo Apotheker called on businesses worldwide to ‘see clearly, think clearly and act clearly’ in order to thrive in the current global economic crisis.

To better navigate this crisis, Apotheker encouraged executives to focus on making their organisations more efficient, flexible and transparent and to open silos of information and processes for evaluation and transformation. He stressed that emerging technologies will facilitate this process and will change the way enterprises operate in the future.

At later keynote sessions, SAP Executive Board members Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe outlined steps organisations can take to increase responsiveness to business disruption and opportunity.

SAP co-CEO Apotheker Says Companies Must Pursue Insight and Transparency

During his keynote, Apotheker observed that the increasing connectivity of business networks has helped companies to increase profitability, fill gaps in the supply chain and more strategically allocate resources. However, network interdependency has also made companies more vulnerable to risk and volatility.

“What we are seeing is a growing and lasting need for clarity and insight,” said Apotheker. “Doing business within global networks has brought greater complexity and risk into the game. For example, recent incidents involving contaminated consumer products – such as toys, baby formula, spinach and peanuts – show us how difficult it is to protect a brand when suppliers two or three steps deep in a business network fail to meet acceptable safety standards. Executives must have visibility into every aspect of their business and network to act decisively.”

Apotheker noted that IT will provide executives with a clear view and greater insight into their businesses. For example, in-memory databases and analytical applications will help companies navigate mountains of data, giving them insight into businesses and networks to make more informed business decisions. Smart devices and services that can access and share information in real time will change and benefit the decision-making process, helping executives cross the chasm from “I think this is a good idea” to “I know this is a good idea” with insight and confidence.

Snabe and McDermott Urge Executives to Cultivate High-Value Areas of the Business

SAP Executive Board members Jim Hagemann Snabe and Bill McDermott made an effort to give organisations practical measures to respond competitively to market conditions.

“Companies are currently rethinking their business,” said Snabe. He continued to state that defining business strategies with better insight is a good first step, but it is not enough to be a best-run organisation. Once the strategy is defined, the next step is to implement best practices, which are business processes that span organisational units and even entire business networks.
McDermott stressed the importance of aligning IT with business strategy, finding a common language to address performance gaps, identifying best practices and setting a unified course of action to attain a business outcome.

“Companies need to ensure that their products and services are delivered not only on time and on budget but on value,” said McDermott. “Economic cycles come and go every seven to 10 years, but today’s environment is driving a deeper level of structural change in every industry and market. In order to lead, companies must align business strategy, enablement of IT and delivery of business outcomes with a persistent focus on value discovery and delivery and continuous innovation.”