The intelligent enterprise driven by 5G IN ASSOCIATION WITH
SAP SE
DIGITAL REPORT 2020
02
The intelligent enterprise driven by 5G WRITTEN BY
MATT HIGH PRODUCED BY
GLEN WHITE
03
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SAP SE
Frank Wilde, Vice President Global Center of Excellence at SAP, on the power of 5G and data to enable digital change in organisations “
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ith 5G, our business technology platform and our IoT capabilities, we can fundamentally change how our custom-
ers operate and go to market, it’s an exciting prospect and represents a step function change for enterprises,” says Frank Wilde, Vice President 04
of the Global Center of Excellence (CoE) at SAP. Wilde is a seasoned technology leader responsible for driving innovation with SAP’s customers using the latest technologies to digitally transform, create enhanced customer experience as well as unlock new revenue streams. Given such an approach, Wilde and his Global CoE colleagues work closely with customers to use data and technology effectively, to think outside the box and to innovate in a customer-centric fashion. “We help them think differently about SAP, and think differently about technology,” he explains. “We take a data-driven approach, in doing so we bring a team of data scientists and platform architects, and we help the customer think about their data differently. It’s like a test-drive - we’re not simply driven by a particular technology, for example. Rather, we
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SAP SE
“ It’s a level of intelligence and responsiveness that we can bring to life that we haven’t been able to do before” — Frank Wilde, Vice President, SAP
show how responsive our platforms and technologies can be, how rapidly we can change their business models, and demonstrate how exciting the possibilities are. Mentally, we really change the dynamic.” Central to this work with customers is a blue sky approach to innovation that runs through SAP, and is a particular passion for Wilde. “It’s the centerpiece of how we’re able to instigate change,” he explains. “Whatever the size of the customer
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or the project, we work closely and collaboratively to drive success. I love solving problems - we all do - and working together on the strategy, the process and technology. An example is work we recently launched with Duke University in North Carolina. They asked for our help to innovate, and when we sat down together they were unaware of our offerings and had little idea we could support data science and analytics, or that we used a platform-based approach to support innovation. And that’s where open and honest conversations are crucial. Often, we see that our customers don’t always know what they need, or
SAP 5G and Edge Services Tech CLICK TO WATCH
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07 what is available, so that collaborative
- in its most basic form - is like Lego
approach we utilise is key.”
blocks. We can create new busi-
Change is an underlying driver of
nesses or concepts in a very short
our CoE’s work, in particular helping
period of time with predefined and
organisations to better understand
pre-built services, or microservices.
technology so as to navigate a suc-
“The acceleration of moving from
cessful digital transformation. “We
a mainframe environment to being on
now have the ability for business
the cusp of edge services and edge
models on demand to come to life,”
computing, makes it exciting when
Wilde says. “Look at an Uber or a
you can weave together the fabric of a
Lyft, and you’ll see the shift towards
company in short order,” he continues.
a platform-based approach opposed
“You just have to look at the Fortune
to relying on a dedicated application
500 as an example; a third of those
or system to influence change. We
businesses are slated to disappear
base our work around a platform that
from that list in five to seven years w w w.s a p . com
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SAP Where to Start Tech CLICK TO WATCH
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- there’s a rapid escalation of new busi-
it forms a powerful proposition that
ness models coming to life enabled by
can bring new technologies and busi-
technology, and it’s really the key trend
ness models to life.” This proposition
that’s dominating right now.”
is the result of a partnership between
In terms of technology, Wilde and
SAP and Verizon that was announced
SAP drive customers to innovate
in October of 2019. The collaboration
and use technology in a customer-
sees Verizon’s network and platform
centric way. To do this, he explains,
capabilities married with SAP’s soft-
the company leverages its 49 years
ware and services.
of experience. “It lets us look at our
Through this work, customers are
customers through a unique lens,” he
able to benefit from new technologies
states. “When you marry data man-
such as 5G, software-defined net-
agement, analytics, and digital supply
working, and Verizon’s Intelligent Edge
chain services into a holistic platform,
Network capabilities. The former is an
“ With 5G, our business technology platform and our IoT capabilities, we can fundamentally change how our customers operate and go to market” — Frank Wilde, Vice President, SAP
exciting proposition for both Wilde and SAP. SAP launched its 5G Council in 2018, for example, as a cross-industry collaborative council of SAP customers to better understand the changes necessary to adopt 5G. “5G represents a step function change in terms of capability, it’s like jumping from a bicycle to a race car,” says Wilde. “You’re able to pull together various aspects - data, AI, machine learning and edge services - and build a true hub and platform for innovation. The 5G Council represents a 5G
E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :
Frank Wilde Title: Vice President Company: SAP SE Industry: Software Location: San Francisco Bay Area Frank Wilde leads data and data science innovation focused on telecom & high tech as a Vice President for SAP’s Global Center of Excellence. In this role, Frank’s teams of data scientists and platform architects spark innovative thinking with SAP’s customers through a combination of data science and design thinking.
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“ We can create new businesses or concepts in a very short period of time with predefined and pre-built services, or microservices” — Frank Wilde, Vice President, SAP
on an Industry 4.0 approach for several manufacturers whereby we have created a 5G environment that can support innovations like autonomous vehicles, augmented reality technology that allows work to be digitally tracked as it flows through the shop floor, and so on. “Similarly, there’s huge potential in the retail sector,” he continues. “For example, 5G gives us the ability to use video analytics at scale as well as mixed
ecosystem comprising our custom-
reality to scan product contents or
ers, partners and companies such as
look for drug interactions; you can also
Verizon and Ericsson, that addresses
introduce autonomous checkout and
new business models and monetisation strategies. Also, we have worked closely with Deloitte Consulting LLP to create 5G ‘playbooks’ that show what can be brought to life with the power of 5G in specific industries such as retail, manufacturing and oil & gas.” The technology may still be in its relative early stages, but Wilde sees enormous potential to fundamentally change how businesses approach innovation. In particular, he explains, private deployment of 5G will likely gain significant traction over the next few years. “You look at manufacturing, for example,” Wilde says. “We’ve worked w w w.c o mpa nywwe w w.s bsite. a p . com
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SAP SE
“ Where current wireless networks enable a 2D world, 5G and edge computing coupled with SAP’s software platform enable 3D, immersive experiences for consumers and employees” — Frank Wilde, Vice President, SAP
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other innovations. As I said, 5G forms an entirely new platform upon which we can adopt these technologies for each customer and sector across the value chain. It really is an exciting prospect in terms of transforming business.” Where that prospect becomes truly innovative, relates Wilde, is when 5G is coupled with edge services. “If I can have the processing occur on an IoT sensor or on a vehicle, then I can create a new experience or service,” he explains, “which means you remove any delays, any latency. It’s a level of intelligence and responsiveness that we can bring to life that we haven’t been able to do before. There are productivity changes there, too - you remove that complexity from the shop floor and change the experiences and effectiveness of workers and you immediately improve output. You’re going to see significant change over the next five to eight years as 5G rolls out, so we are bullish on our predictions in that regard.” Of course, many of the approaches to business and digital strategies have been disrupted as a result of the COVID19 pandemic. While the impact of a shift to remote working has been felt by many w w w.s a p . com
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SAP SE
SAP Centre of Intelligence Tech CLICK TO WATCH
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“ 5G represents a stepchange in terms of function and capability; it’s like jumping from a bicycle to a race car” — Frank Wilde, Vice President, SAP
industries worldwide, from a technology perspective there is a general sentiment that such a shift will focus many organisations on technology adoption. For Wilde, 5G and its associated technologies could play a significant role in a post-COVID environment. “It offers a significant opportunity, particularly on the retail side to remove contact or friction from the experience. So, you could introduce technology that shows optimised routes through a store based on previous shopping trips, or mixed reality
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Year founded
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technology that lets you identify the
36 months you’re going to see a water-
contents of products with an immersive,
shed moment for 5G,” he states. “If I
3D experience. Upon that is the capabil-
look to 2021-22, when customers are
ity to build AI and chatbots, or a level of
able to visualise the proof points we
dynamic content that satisfies consumer
have put in place and the potential of
needs without requiring face to face
edge services, data management and
interaction with a store’s employees.”
5G woven together, then I see a strong
While no one is able to fully predict the ‘new normal’ we face, when it
case for why they should all have it high on their agenda ”
comes to 5G Wilde feels that SAP is well placed in rolling out the technology and working with customers to remain ahead of the curve. “In the next w w w.s a p . com
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