Thoughts on #SAPTechEd and Why HANA & Cloud are Better Together
Day 1: Björn Goerke Goes Back to the Future
The #SAPTechEd executive keynote opens with video and radio chatter alluding to some kind of an alternate universe mission, then brings us back to reality as a windshield view displays the Las Vegas skyline and the dashboard console reads Sept. 19, 2036…scratch that, 2016. Through a thick cloud of smoke and lights, a tricked out DeLorean drives onto the stage as if arriving from space. Channeling his inner Christopher Lloyd, Björn Goerke, Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer, Head of Technology in Products and Innovation, SAP, appears from the smoking car talking to himself about malfunctioning time machines. We soon learn he’s arrived from 2036, now stranded in 2016 as he asks the audience, “What are you all doing here? Waiting on the SAP TechEd Keynote? What’s TechEd anyway? Some kind of algorithmic celebration ritual for software geeks?” Well played.
Enter the keynote theme of prepping yourself for the future – getting ready for the digital age – in order to survive. We’re reminded we all need to get ready for the digital age and transform our businesses, and we need S/4 HANA to do so – S/4 HANA is the new digital core of SAP.
Doc – I mean Björn – continues to discuss the future of SAP’s move to HANA via S/4 HANA and the Cloud Connector. Other key topics included:
- How to migrate a traditional SAP system to HANA using new tools like Maintenance Planner
- Extending your SAP ERP system into the cloud via the new SAP Core Services and Cloud Connector
- Building mobile apps using the HANA Cloud Platform Cockpit (HCP Cockpit)
- Announcing SAP HANA, express edition that will run on machines as small as a 32 Gb laptop and is free to download
- Demonstrating real-time data acquisition and visualization using an app distributed to attendees (we’re all trying to provide more energy via our connected devices to power the flux capacitor to send him back to the future, after all!)
While going back to the future may be a little farfetched – going successfully forward into the future means changing. For many companies that means digitally transforming the way we run our business. Change starts with us, the people. We have to bring these innovations into our companies to help them be successful in the future.
“Innovations don’t happen by crazy scientists in white suits anymore. They happen collaboratively by working together.” – Björn Goerke
Day 2: The Future of SAP and Virtualization
TechEd is celebrating its 20th year and SAPs vision of the future has never been clearer.
The morning of Day 2 I attended a session that was a comprehensive review of HANA: SAP HANA Cloud Platform Now – and the Road Ahead with Jenny Lundberg, Sr. Director of Product Management at SAP Labs. The in-memory database is a throwback to the days of mainframe computing in its approach to data warehousing. SAP has created a system that removes the artificial boundaries between systems and data sets. HANA releases the power of being able to leverage all of your organization’s data from one system in real time. This allows for better and more precise decision making based on current data.
In the afternoon I spent time with Dominic Uliano, SAP Global Technical Alliance Manager – VMware. We discussed the benefits of running SAP S/4 HANA in a virtualized deployment: flexibility, automation and management via VMware. Navisite and VMware are working together to deliver the perfect approach to delivering SAP ERP in the new virtualized future.
Just like Vegas, the show had consistent energy and buzz throughout the week with crowds high on what their business can do in the future with new technologies and the ability to work directly with the SAP experts to solve problems and learn about HANA and the future of SAP S/4.
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