The Best-Run Businesses Run SAP

Earlier this month experts gathered at The Plaza hotel in New York City to discuss a sustainable future for cities through the viewpoints of policymakers, city planners, energy companies and others. Organised by SAP the discussions focused on challenges, models and success stories which cities are facing when considering economic and physical growth. One of the keymessages was kept short by Scott Bolick, VP sustainability solution management at SAP “It only works if it’s economically viable.” For more key messages and highlights read ”In conversation – sustainabiliity and the city“.

Real-time data analysis, collaboration à la Facebook, and forecasts thanks to BI features – SAP Business Suite has received a number of interesting new functions. We’ll show you what Innovations 2010 offers to SAP users. Read the full SAP.info article.

Solar-paneled roofs, smart electricity meters, switch-happy customers: Today’s utility companies are having to find new ways to secure their user bases. Luckily, SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) is here to help. Looking ahead, it’s clear that the energy industry is facing a more intelligent future: smart grids, smart homes and smart metering are already on the rise, and renewable energies such as wind, hydroelectric and solar power are replacing conventional sources. Read the full article at SAP.info.

Having read the recent article on new business for transformed telcos by my colleague Fergus O’Reilly, chief  solution expert, Consume to Cash, SAP, I was interested in hearing more. So I sat down with him to learn more about consume to cash solutions and why telcos can be exemplary of business transformation across many different industries. I also learned why product-based businesses are increasingly moving to become service businesses, and the importance of direct customer relationships, flexible pricing models and running multi-sided markets. (more…)

For many IT groups, “sustainability” means nothing more than making their data centers more energy efficient. As important as that is, a growing number of companies have realized that the effective use of IT is the key to running their entire business in a sustainable fashion, providing a clear view into energy use and costs; driving insights, action, and savings; and simplifying stakeholder reporting.

(more…)

In an earlier post, I talked about SAP’s sustainability focus at SAPPHIRE NOW this year, noting that the topic has continued its maturation within SAP and is now insinuated in the SAPPHIRE NOW program across multiple areas and sessions. With 25 sustainability sessions on Monday alone, as a physical or virtual attendee, you have a lot of options (check out the agenda builder here and search on “sustainability”). Even better, in an interview with Marty Etzel from SAP’s sustainability team, I learned that fully 80 percent of the sustainability sessions this year will feature SAP customers and partners sharing how they are seeing real-world business impact today through sustainable business practices.

(more…)

Everyone wants to save money, and many are also interested in protecting the environment. Together, SAP and Rheinenergie are realizing both goals by installing 30,000 smart meters controlled by SAP Advanced Metering Infrastructure. Read the article, “Down for the Count: Electricity Meters,” on SAP.info.

In the energy sector, regulations demand that grid operation and energy sales be kept separate. This is what motivated prego to enhance how SAP’s account balance display manages receivables with an add-on from DSC Software. Read the full article, “Directing the Flow of Invoices,” on SAP.info.

To learn more about how SAP supports utilities and energy providers to either remain or become competitive players in the energy market, listen to Tom Raftery’s video interview with Klaus Heimann, senior vice president of Service Industries at SAP AG: “SAP announces two new energy management products.”

To learn more about how SAP supports utilities and energy providers to either remain or become competitive players in the energy market, listen to Tom Raftery’s video interview with Klaus Heimann, senior vice president of Service Industries at SAP AG: “SAP announces two new energy management products.”