Business in the clouds
Marcin Połulich, Manager Digital Software Services at Hicron
Cloud solutions bring about a number of benefits, such as flexibility and mobility, enhancing security and enabling access to the cloud from anywhere on Earth. What is more, cloud products are redundant, i.e. if a company or user is from the United States, the global cloud is able to transfer data to American servers based on redundancy. These improvements shorten the time required for data access.
There are a number of directions in which cloud solutions should be developed and improved. Machine Learning products still leave a lot to be desired. Another area associated with the cloud is Deep Learning, i.e. neural networks and their multi-layered learning. Data Science is also growing rapidly – more and more companies are aware that since they gather huge amounts of data about their users with various tools, they should know how to use it, for instance, to create specific solutions.
All these mechanisms can lead to solutions straight from sci-fi movies. Imagine, for example, a car that first takes its owner to the office, then searches for a place to park, and goes there on its own. The car learns its owner’s behavior, the structure of paring areas and the most optimal roads, draws maps, and forecasts traffic. These solutions may sometimes seem very abstract, but the truth is that we have no idea what Google, Microsoft, Amazon, or Uber are currently working on. Maybe 2020 will surprise us more than we think?
Conversion is getting closer
Kinga Moska, Service Delivery Executive, Senior Business Intelligence Consultant at Hicron
The trend of developing cloud solutions has been present for several years and will continue in the future. There is demand for the secure storage of increasing amounts data. The trust of enterprises in this type of solutions is also growing – more and more companies are deciding to store their data in the cloud. Until recently, the fear of leaks limited the use of the cloud, but now I cannot really see such anxiety among clients, especially since hybrid solutions are also available. The cloud has become an area of development for SAP products as well.
With the dizzying amount of data we produce and the huge historical data collections gathered by enterprises, it is necessary to use various types of algorithms to support their analysis. This is where SAP Analytics Cloud comes in, utilizing elements of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. With the use of machine learning, based on historical data, we can recognize various types of patterns and then introduce specific improvements and enhancements. I believe that this direction will certainly continue developing.
The second trend of 2020 is the conversion of enterprises to S/4HANA. This is a fairly common phenomenon among our western neighbors, and, according to our experience, whenever technological changes occur in Germany, it is very likely they will reach us very soon as well.
Well-trodden path to innovation
Filip Stankowski, Automotive Solution Architect, Senior Technology Consultant at Hicron
My vision of the near future is quite pragmatic. In order to be affective, solutions based on broadly understood artificial intelligence must be fed large amounts of easily available data. The amount of information available in SAP ERP solutions concerning the basic and supporting processes of an organization is enormous. However, the previous versions of the system were associated with certain challenges in terms of their performance and scalability, which inhibited the development of initiatives in the field of artificial intelligence or machine learning. Access to data was inconvenient, slow, and consumed the resources needed for ongoing business support. S/4HANA removes this technological barrier. Once a client undergoes the conversion process to the new version of the system – theoretically, nothing will prevent AI class products from dominating also the world of SAP.
It is worth remembering that on the “SAP road map” clients are the ones treading the paths. Products that do not enjoy sufficient interest are forgotten. Most likely SAP Leonardo, which was the hope of intelligent technologies only a dozen or so months ago, found itself on such an “overgrowing” path. Currently, according to SAP, clients want to use artificial intelligence for tasks they previously carried out using data warehouses. They want to achieve the same goals faster, cheaper, more conveniently, and by operating on larger data pools. Most likely this is why SAP is currently focusing on a tool that uses AI technologies for fast and effective data analysis, i.e. SAP Analytics Cloud. Will this development path of SAP tools in 2020 be sufficiently popular among clients or will it share the fate of SAP Leonardo? We will soon find out.
Changes from the inside
Michał Sarna, SAP Support Manager at Hicron
The trend that has always been and will always remain present in business is the pursuit of increasingly better results. What changes is the tools used to achieve them. In our industry we encounter many fashionable and interesting phenomena, such as Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning, but it is very important to stay focused on what is happening inside the organization when chasing innovations and the competition.
The key to Change Management is planning and involving employees in the process by proper communication and anticipation of facts. Thanks to this approach never again will you have your team changed overnight, learn about a new system introduced in the company on the day of its launch, or be surprised by a new supervisor. Change Management will prepare you for any major upcoming changes and provide you with a sense of peace and security.
The dynamic development of companies affects their external and internal operations. Traditional models, which worked fantastic when the organization was made up of 10 people, begin to fail with several dozen. And what does the creation of new rules involve? Initial dissatisfaction, denial, and fear. Moreover, the introduction of too many changes may cause processes to overlap – thus lowering employee satisfaction, commitment, and efficiency. While being focused on meeting technical requirements, we must not forget about the time our people need. We will not implement technological changes in isolation from our employees.
Accurate, honest, and transparent communication is one of the basic tools of Change Management. It makes changes easier to accept and increases the effectiveness of work. This is why my answer to the question about the most important business trends of 2020 is Change Management. Only by preparing for changes can we fully reap the benefits of new technological improvements.
