Timing is Everything!

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Tech Trends gaining MOMENTUM..

Some of the above (e.g. Angular 2, React) are already being used at a large scale to build mobile apps, however, with newer features and functionalities introduced in the framework releases it has the potential to offer more to multiple development domains and go mainstream. Stay Informed, Stay Ahead. ;-)

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So, what really is FinTech ?

The impact of FinTech in other industries has also played a part in the rise of TechFin, where existing financial capability is being optimized through technology. I'll cover more of TechFin in a future post.

For now, here is a list of companies which are doing great things in the FinTech space, happy reading.

Digibank
Ant Financial
Credit Karma
Revolut
Atom Bank
Kabbage
ZhongAn
Avant


                                                                                           Feel free to download and share.

The doers vs the doer watchers (Just Saying…)

Have you ever been on a project where you just felt the hierarchy level was a tad bit too much than what was actually required? This often tends to happen with big projects in large companies that have deep pockets. This leads to a situation where a very vertical reporting structure forms, and then before you know you end up with a structure, where the client is now paying more people to watch a few people who are actually delivering output, and when working with tight deadlines, you need more people doing actual work than factual work, just saying….

Ready to disrupt mainstream soon - Blockchain

With all the craze around crypto-currencies at the moment, it’s easy to get side-tracked on how the  cryptocurrency is performing and miss out on what else is actually happening with the computers under the hood that is driving this new craze.

The fascinating technology behind it, as we all know it is “Blockchain” , but it is more than crypto-currencies & Financial Tech, it is becoming the new standard for trust and verification of data. It’s mind-boggling to think about how blockchain can completely disrupt today’s industries and processes.

Innovative companies are already beginning to implement blockchain that is integrated with their ERP systems which talk to IoT devices to do more in real-time than otherwise possible. With the increasing use of “Smart contracts” (which is where a network of nodes will only validate transactions if certain conditions are met and then transfer value from one person to another) it is most likely that this will replace many existing processes and data traps, and this, in turn, will give rise to a new generation of companies to thrive.

The biggest wins of using Blockchain technology is that it makes things transparent, democratic, decentralized, efficient and secure.

Here are some areas where blockchain will most likely make its biggest impact in the next few years:

1. Banking & Payment - It will make it possible to transfer money overseas in real time just as simple as it is , to do a skype video call across oceans and boundaries.
2. Supply Chain Management – It will reduce time delays, human mistakes and will automate most of the process in the supply chain life-cycle.
3. Cyber Security – No explanation needed here really.
4. Retail – It will connect buyers and seller without a middleman and everything will cost less.
5. Government Systems – It will help reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency.
6. Healthcare – It will create a single secure platform that will replace a zillion legacy system.
7. Voting – It will prevent rigging of election results and make it absolutely transparent.
8. Transportation – Automatically pay for parking, tolls, fuels, public travel & rides.
9. Charity – It will help record every penny donated and where it is actually being used.
10. Crowdfunding – It will help raise money through smart contracts.

...and all of the above is just the tip of iceberg, once the ability to develop databases with a blockchain design goes mainstream , the potential it has is unlimited.

The biggest impact blockchain could have on ERPs is that blockchain could radically change the nature of integration and might even completely replace existing systems as we know it. If the big wigs of ERP are not already on-board with blockchain, well things could change so fast that we might not see the big wigs around in the future.

Here is a simple simple example of what a blockchain design could do for you.

Imagine if you moved to a new address but would only have to update one record online and this automatically updates all the addresses of all the profiles you have ever created. That's the power of blockchain and smart contracts.

The future is uncertain but promising.

Here are some mentionable Big Data Analytics Platforms.

Link

SAP Transformation Navigator

SAP's new tool "Transformation Navigator" answers the questions that could most organizations procrastinate on or take too long to answer, i.e. What's next for my organization, what new products should I invest in for my organization, when should I do it, how long would these take and is there a business case for all of this ?

https://news.sap.com/heres-what-to-do-next-on-your-companys-digital-journey/

Watch the demo at Sapphire :

Source: SAP

Recommended Course on Open SAP: SAP Transformation Navigator in a Nutshell

https://open.sap.com/courses/tn1

Machine learning, Design thinking, Big Data, Blockchain, IoT, these are all some of the terms we are accustomed to by now and we are likely to hear more on these in the next decade and beyond. The digital race is truly on, with all technology companies innovating with new tools and solutions to tackle the challenges of the future. Here is a look at some of the latest product offerings from the 3rd largest software company in the world, SAP.

SAP Leonardo

SAP Leonardo is an innovative solution portfolio that enables companies to not only realize the digital transformation of existing end-to-end business processes but also enable them to evolve new business models to run digitally. The SAP Leonardo Foundation is based on the SAP Cloud Platform.

It comprises of 3 main components:

 - SAP Leonardo IoT Bridge – a configurable cloud solution

 - SAP Leonardo IoT Foundation - includes best of breed Business Services

 - SAP Leonardo IoT Edge - offers data protocol conversion, persistence and data analytics

https://www.sap.com/australia/products/leonardo.html

SAP Vora

SAP HANA Vora is an in-memory computing engine that is designed to make big data from Hadoop more accessible and usable for enterprises. SAP developed Vora out of SAP HANA as a way to address specific business cases involving big data.

https://www.sap.com/australia/products/hana-vora-hadoop.html

SAP Connected Goods

SAP Connected Goods is a cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) solution, designed to maximize the value of mass market devices (such as coolers, vending machines, or power tools) through remote monitoring, management, and central control.

SAP Connected Goods helps enterprises to reduce operational costs, increase revenue, and improve customer satisfaction. At the same time, it allows enterprises to avoid lost sales and missed revenue opportunities.

From a technical perspective, SAP Connected Goods uses the following:

 - Cloud Foundry services on SAP Cloud Platform

 - SAP HANA for storing, processing, and managing data

 - SAP HANA Vora as the central infrastructure component for big data

 - SAPUI5 and SAP Fiori UX for User Interfaces

https://eaexplorer.hana.ondemand.com/_item.html?id=12360#!/overview

SAP Cloud Platform Blockchain service (BaaS)

Embedded in the SAP Cloud Platform, our blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) pilot is giving registered customers an easy way to experiment with the technology. By eliminating the need for a large upfront capital investment, BaaS is a low-risk gateway to enterprise blockchain adoption.

Things you could do:

 - Experiment with blockchain to see how it could benefit your business

 - Use open standards to create consortium and private blockchain networks

 - Prototype, test, and build customised blockchain applications and smart contracts

SAP is co-innovating with customers and partners to explore high-value blockchain functionality for some of the existing products. This involves investigating new capabilities for multiple solutions across the IoT and supply chain portfolios, including: SAP Asset Intelligence Network, SAP Distributed Manufacturing, SAP Transportation Management, and SAP Global Track and Trace.

https://www.sap.com/australia/products/leonardo/blockchain.html

Others that have been around for a while:

SAP Lumira 2.x

SAP Lumira Cloud enables the use of self-service BI in a secure cloud environment, including the capability to access, visualize, and share data without IT assistance. This solution empowers users to explore information and expose insights with the ease of drag-and-drop.

The benefits of the cloud environment include reducing the amount of time that it takes to access and upload data from numerous resources, and the ability to expand self-service BI consumption with flexible accessibility at any time and on any device. Furthermore, no software or hardware is necessary to get up and running quickly.

https://saplumira.com/

SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer

This cloud CRM portfolio brings sales, customer service, and social CRM together – to help your team form powerful personal connections that drive customer engagement across all channels. Take advantage of rich predictive insight, flawless execution and contextual customer experience relevant to your industry. 

https://www.sap.com/australia/products/cloud-customer-engagement.html

SAP Predictive Analytics

SAP Predictive Analytics is business intelligence software from SAP that is designed to enable organizations to analyze large data sets and predict future outcomes and behaviors. For example, SAP Predictive Analytics can help make sense of big data and the Internet of Things by building predictive analytics models to identify unforeseen opportunities, better understand customers, and uncover hidden risks.

https://www.sap.com/australia/products/analytics/predictive-analytics.html

SAP Cloud Platform

SAP Cloud Platform, our enterprise platform-as-a-service (PaaS), provides comprehensive application development capabilities to help you extend, integrate and build innovative applications in less time – without the effort of maintaining the infrastructure. Use services for mobile, Big Data, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, and more to deliver secure business apps that integrate and optimise your IT landscape, drive agility and accelerate digital transformation – in weeks instead of years.

https://cloudplatform.sap.com/index.html

Source: As in links provided.

The "C-Levels" of the future

Replacing the age-old “C” levels with the new “C” levels for the future is a bold move. It was also a bold move to create the first marketing departments in history, and expect them to re-shape an entire company. But that happened anyway, and now the below "C" level positions are springing up in organizations too.

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The user who cried wolf (Just Saying…)

The best part of working in a Business transformation ERP implementation project is the gratification you get knowing that your work is going to help the organization and its users move to the next level. However, the hunger to move to the next level is something that should be come from within the organization too,  if the users don’t have the hunger to change, then there is a problem. The insecure users are the ones who generally resist the move to change and would raise a fuss about every new thing done in their area. This resistance to change does get noticed by the wider organization over time. The real problem is that any future genuine concerns raised by the same individual might get treated as “noise” and this oversight might hit the entire organization where it hurts most, all because of that one individual who cried wolf too many times, just saying….