The 10 Most Valuable SAP Solution Providers 2017

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Transforming the Ofce of Finance through Risk Intelligent Automation THE10MOST Valuable SAPSolution Providers 2 0 1 7 Transforming the Ofce of Finance through Risk Intelligent Automation
CEO SAP: Generating Business Value from Internet of Things www.insightssuccess.com JULY 2017 Business Corner TRINTECH TRINTECH Future of Technology Through the Eyes of SAP Experts FutureTech
Teresa Mackintosh

Laying Down

the Foundation

Stone of Futuristic Technologies with SAP

Whenwetalkaboutfuturistictechnologies,thenthefirst

thingthatcomesintoourmindisabouttherobots.With theadventofautomation,robotshavebeenplayingavital roleinautomatingmundanetaskstomakethemfasterandlesslabour intensive,andSAPhashelpedautomatingprocesseswithrobotsacross allfunctionalbusinessprocessesincludingfinancetransactions, personnelandcustomerrelatedaccomplishments.Commonareasthat haveseensuccessincludepayroll,accountspayable,employeeaction andcustomerservice.

WiththerecentadvancementsinRoboticProcessAutomationwiththe applicationofSAP,theimageprocessingdomainhastakenaglorious turn,anddocumentimaginghasbecomemoreuserfriendlyandcost effectiveasitwasneverbefore.Takingthisopportunityinto consideration,companiesareconvertingpaperdocumentsinto somethingdigital,workingoutthetextandcontentwithoptical characterrecognition,andthenrenderingtheinformationinasystem thatcanberoutedappropriatelythroughtheorganizationforreview, considerationandapproval.

SAPhasalsobeenpositioningitsofferingsasthedigitalcorefor modernbusinessworkingonthecloud,S/4andHANA,andis currentlyinanactivedeliverycycle,producingproductupdatesand addingfeatures.SAP'sfocusonS/4HANAisatextraordinarylevel, andthecominginnovationsonthecoreHANAplatformaregoingto beinteresting–HANAhastrulyproveditselftobeafullfledged developmentandruntimeenvironment,andnotjustaninmemory database.Hostingapplicationsusingawiderangeoftechnologies, suchasTomEEandNode.js,andprovidingenterpriseintegration options,hasonlybeenpossiblewiththehelpofworldclass developmenttoolsofSAP

WiththehelpofSAP,entrepreneursareleveragingtheirbusinessinthe domainofBigData,BlockChain,CloudComputing,DigitalBusiness, IoTandMachineLearning.ThepaceinwhichSAPishelpingsmall andbigbusinessgrowandexcel,thefutureoftechnologyseemstobe insafehandsandforsureitwillbringagloriouschangeforthe bettermentofmankind.

Editorial
Sagar Bhattacharjee

Increasingcustomeracceptability withscalableandfunctionalsolutions basedontheSAPPlatform

SAPisalwayscommittedtocontinuousinnovations,andhasbeenleveragingbothsmallandlargeenterprisesby

helpingthemgrowandexcel.Withtheincreaseincustomeracceptabilitythedepthofsolution’sscalabilityand functionalityhasalsoincreased.TakingadvantageoftheseSAPsolutions,companiesareremodelingtheir structuretooffercompanywidevisibilityandagility.Toflashthespotlightontheachievementsoftheseadmiring companies,weareintroducingtheissueofThe10MostValuableSAPSolutionProviders2017.

WehavelistedsomeexceptionalcompaniesthatarenotjustimplementingSAPintheirbusiness,butworking enthusiasticallytoprovideworldclasssolutionsandenterprisegradeservice.

Inthisissue,onthecover,wehaveTrintech,whichistransformingtheofficeoffinancethroughRiskIntelligent Automation.Trintechdevelopsfinancialsoftwaresolutionswithanaimtoprovideitsclientsincreasedefficiency, visibility,andcontroltominimizeresources,costs,andrisksacrosstheentireRecordtoReportprocess.

Also,wehavethemostprominentSAPsolutionprovidersinthisissuewhichincludes,AESCorporation,whichisa Fortune200globalpowercompany,andiswellknownforprovidingaffordable,sustainableenergyto17countries. Approyo,forbeingtheleadingglobalSAPtechnologysolutionprovider,whichmakesitsimpleforcompaniesto implementbigdatasolutionsthroughSAPHANAfortodayandthefuture.ConfigurableManagement,forproviding training,mentoring,andsupportingservicestotheirclientswiththeirSAP,Winshuttle,andSharePointsoftware. CoupaSoftware,whichisacloudplatformforbusinessspendthatisSAPICCcertifiedinSAPS/4HANA® integrationandSAPNetWeaver®integration.Gigas,whichisoneoftheemergingleadersintheCloudComputing industrywiththeirsecure,stable,efficientandflexiblecloudhostingservicesforcustomersofalltypes.Herrington Technology,forprovidingSAPBusinessSoftwareandHybridCloudManagedServicesforadvancedandaccelerated businessprocessing.rFactr,whichisaB2Bsalestechnologyandstrategycompanytrustedbytheworld’sbestsales organizationswhoareusingsocialmediatodriveleads,opportunities,andrevenue.SpinnakerSupport,whichisthe world'sfastestgrowingproviderofSAPthird-partysupportandmanagedservices,deliveringunparalleledsupportfor afractionofthecost,whilehelpingcustomersprogresstotheirtransformationalobjectives.Xpandion,whichisa leadingproviderofERPusageinspectionsolutions,deliveringunprecedentedreal-timevisibilityintomanagement systems,significantlyimprovingsecurity,optimizinglicensingusageandenablingGRC/SOXcompliance. WehaveincludedSAPCloudPlatformandtheFutureofDevelopmentforSAPandLeverageExistingSAP SolutionswithCloudProcurement,derivedfromthethoughtsofJamesWoodandBradHill,respectively Also,wehaveagreatcontributionofmasterlyarticlesscriptedbyourin-housewriters,FutureofTechnology ThroughtheEyesofSAPExpertsandSAP:GeneratingBusinessValuefromInternetofThings.

So,doflipthepagesofourmagazine,andwedobelievethatthisissuewillsatisfyallyourSAPsolutionprovider’s informationneeds.

Contents 26 14 Article CXO Standpoint Cover story 32 22 Leverage Existing SAP Solutions with Cloud Procurement 36 SAP Cloud Platform and the Future of Development for SAP Trintech: Transforming the Office of Finance through Risk Intelligent Automation Future of Technology Through the Eyes of SAP Experts Vitality of R&D in an Organization's Growth SAP: Generating Business Value from Internet of Things 08 Business Corner FutureTech Editor’s Pick
Contents Approyo: Simplifying the Cloud 18 Gigas: Providing World-Class Cloud Hosting Services 20 Coupa Software : The Cloud Platform Which Everyone Loves to Use Spinnaker Support: Exceptional third party support and managed services for SAP Herrington Technology: Differentiated and Value-Driven SAP Delivery Xpandion: Ongoing Improvement of the SAP System 28 30 40 42
, 7 Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: Visit www.insightssuccess.com Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Ofce No. 513, 5th Floor, Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017 Phone - India: 020-69400110, 111, 112 Email: meera@insightssuccess.in For Subscription: Visit www.insightssuccess.in sales@insightssuccess.com Corporate Ofces: JULY, 2017 Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Ariana Lawrence Senior Editor Managing Editor Co-Editors Pooja Jain Database Management Steve Technology Consultant Vishal More Circulation Manager Robert Research Analyst Jennifer Richard Davis Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Co designer Alex Noel Visualiser David King Business Development Manager Mike Thomas Business Development Executives Art Editor Picture Editor Marketing Manager Chris Clarke Nick Adams Shweta Shinde Vinod Alhat Sourav, Rajarshi, Piyush, Kaustav Contributors Sachin Bhandare David Smith Sophie Smith Sagar Bhattacharjee
Cover Story
Teresa

Trintech

‘‘ Cover Story
Transforming the Office of Finance through Risk Intelligent Automation
uniquely met our integration needs with minimal IT involvement, across our diverse SAP deployment ‘‘

Duetogrowththroughmergersandacquisitions, aggressiveexpansionduringhighgrowth periodsandhistoricallocalsystempurchasing decisions,mostfinanceorganizationsstruggleto maintainaheterogenousERPapplicationportfolio. “Severalofourlarge,enterprise-classcustomersthat havechosentopartnerwithSAP® stillidentify challengesinregardstotheirfinancialcloseprocess duetothemanualaggregationofinformationfor period-endreportingthatsitsoutsidetheERP,”says TeresaMackintosh,CEOatTrintech.“Thismanual workmakesitincrediblydifficultforcompaniesto effectivelydelivertherequiredinformationfor shareholder/investorandregulatoryreporting,leading tohighriskacrosstheprocessandthebusiness.” Havingtoreworkthenumbersaftertheclose,incurring re-auditfeesfromthirdpartyauditors,re-statementsof earningsandfinesfromgoverningbodiesbecomealltoo common.So,whatcanbedonetoreducethisextensive manualeffortandensurestandardizationofprocesses andintegrityoffinancialdata?

EnsuringtheIntegrity

FinancialClose ProcesswithCadency®

ofYour

WhiletheERPplaysasignificantroleinthe managementandautomationofdailyoperations, itlacksthefunctionalitytohandlethe complexityofthefinancialcloseprocess.With Trintech’senterprise-classcloud-basedsolution, Cadency®,financialexecutiveshavetheworld’s onlyfinancegovernancesolutionthatintegrates seamlesslyintotheirexistingERPsystems, specificallySAP®,tostreamlinealloftheRecord toReport(R2R)activitiesintoasingle,process.It providesyouwiththemeansofcollatingallthe criticaldatainasingleview,andcaneliminate thosewhitespacesthatsitoutsidetheERPby providingpre-builtConnectorsandagnostic integrationcapabilitiestostandardizeacrossthe business.Fromautomatingandmanagingbalance sheetreconciliations,managingintercompany workflowandtransactions,journalentries, disclosureandfiduciaryreportingandbankfee analysis,togovernance,riskandcompliance–Trintech’sCadencysolutionoptimizes resources,reducescostandimproves governanceandtransparencyacrossthe entirefinancialcloseprocess.

Cover Story

ThroughitsRiskIntelligentRoboticProcessAutomation™ capabilities,Cadencyallowsfinanceexecutivesto succeedinachangingenvironmentbyexhibitingcontrolledagility–“controlled”,toensurethehighestlevelof dataaccuracyandintegrityinfinancialclosedata,and“agility”,toadapttoandmeetorganizationalchangesthat mitigaterisk.Thissingleend-to-endsolutiondeliversreal-timevisibilityintothefinancialclosefortheC-Suite, producingdata-driveninsightstopropelstrategicgrowth.

®
Trintech’s Cadency solution optimizes resources, reduces cost, and improves governance and transparency across the entire financial close process ‘‘
‘‘

Withallthisinformationinoneplace,anexecutiveconsole deliversreal-timetransparencyandinstantvisibilityto seniorexecutives,enablingthemtooverseethecurrent statusandmakedecisionsanddeliveractionsbeforethey impactthenumbers.Thisalsoallowsallfinancialclose stakeholdersacrosstheorganizations,inandaroundthe world,toeasilycommunicateandcollaborate,creating real-timecommunitiesacrosstheOfficeofFinance.

IndustryVisionariesPartnerwithTrintech

Trintechhasanimpressivecustomerbasewithover 1,700clientsworldwide–includingthemajorityofthe Fortune100–relyingonit’scloud-basedsoftware tohelpintegrateintotheirexistingERPsystemsanddrive valuableinsightsacrosstheirbusiness,whileleavingthe manualandnon-judgmentaltasksfortherobots.

SiemensCorporation:Siemenslaunchedaprojectto “bundle”itsregionalinfrastructurefunctions.The objectivesofthisprojectweretoimproveefficiencyand complianceandtostandardizeonacommonsetof processes.SiemenslookedtoitsGlobalSharedServices organizationtoplayakeyroleinthesuccessofthis project.Whentheprojectkickedoff,theaccount reconciliationprocesswasverydecentralizedamongsteach

ofthecompany’sbusinessunits.Manylocationsreliedon Excelandmultipleshareddirectories toperformgeneralledgeraccountreconciliations. Siemenswantedanefficient,automatedsolutionthatcould integratewithitscomplexERPenvironmenttodeliver best-in-classaccountreconciliationservicestoitsvarious businessunits.

“When evaluating vendors to partner with, it was very important to us that we had tight integration with our ERP environment. In North America alone, we support 17 SAP instances as well as other ERPs and GL packages. Trintech uniquely met our integration needs with minimal IT involvement, across our diverse SAP deployment.” saidRobKoca,CorporateControlleratSiemens.

SinceimplementingCadency,Siemenshasbeenableto reconcile100%ofitsGLaccountandsubledgersinthe solution,whilealsoreducingitsoverallcosttodeliverby 20%.Ithasautomatedthecreation,reviewandapproval ofjournalentries,dramaticallyimprovingthequality andreliabilityoftheoutput.Siemenscontinuesaclose partnershipwithTrintechinordertodiscoverfurther waysinwhichthesolutioncanimprovetheefficiency andeffectivenessofthefinancialclose.

AstraZeneca:AstraZenecaisaglobalbiopharmaceuticalcompany,withmanufacturing,distributionandresearchfacilitiesin morethan100countries,generating$23billioninannualrevenue.Thecompanysupportsaglobalworkforceofmorethan 57,000people,andutilizesfiveregionalSAPERPinstancesthroughoutEurope,LatinAmerica,NorthAmericaand AsiaPacifcregions.AchievingglobalstandardardizationandstrengtheningitscompliancewasAstraZeneca’smainpriorityin itstransformationproject,asitfacedsevereriskmanaginga$52billionbalancesheetinExcel.

SinceimplementingCadency,AstraZenecahasdiscovered$2.5millioninsavings,improvedtheproductivityofits300users, andeliminatedExcelspreadsheets,paperandmanualeffort.Thecompanyhasincreasedcomplianceacross26,000accounts andsavedaround850hourseachmonth.

“Now, the Cadency dashboard will show when a reconciliation is due, who is responsible for its review and approval, and where it is in the system. If it’s not completed as expected, there are alerts. It’s easy to identify issues and get into root-cause analysis if people aren’t meeting deadlines.” —NatalieChilds,GlobalProcessOwner,Record-to-ReportandFixedAssets, AstraZeneca.

MeettheCEOofTrintech TeresaMackintosh,istheCEOofTrintechandhasover20yearsofexperienceworkingwiththeAccounting,Taxand Financefunctionsofcompaniesworld-wide,helpingthemtobeacatalystfororganizationalinnovation.

MackintoshbeganhercareerasaCPAatPwCandhassinceheldseveralseniorleadershiprolesinthefinanceand accountingspace.ShehasexperienceservingamultitudeofbusinessunitsacrossThomsonReuterswithresponsibilities rangingfromproductdevelopmenttogeneralmanagement.PriortojoiningTrintech,MackintoshservedasChiefExecutive OfficeratWoltersKluwerTax&AccountingintheU.S.Shehasbeenrecognizedasoneofthe “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting,” andhasalsobeennamedtothe “Most Powerful Women in Accounting” listseveraltimes. MackintoshreceivedbothherBBAandMBAfromtheUniversityofMichigan’sRossSchoolofBusiness.

Cover Story
The majority of our customers have identified challenges in regards to their Record to Report process due to the manual work that sits outside of their ERP
‘‘ ‘‘

FutureFuture of of Technology Technology

Through the Eyes of SAP Experts

Clockistickingbyandthetimeismovingaway

everymoment.Whatisfuturetoday,willbepassed soon.Asdayspassby,itbecomeseasierforthe industryexpertstoguessaboutthefuture,butnotevery professionalisaspecialist.Technologyisfastevolving,and thefutureisarrivingatarapidpace.Butitbecomes difficultsometimestomovewiththeflow,andonlythose striveintheracewhorunaheadoftheflowandnotbehind. Likeanyotherindustry,SAPisadvancingtoowitha lightningspeed.Andtobeintherace,theindustryexperts aremakingsomesuggestionsaboutthechangestaking placeintheworldoftechnologywhichoneshouldbe cautiousabouttopreparethemselvesforthebattletofight.

Everyoneisawarethatthefutureiscoming,buttheyare notawareofhowitiscomingandhowthatchangeofwind canbringsuccessorbloweverything,respectively.With eachofthesenotedchanges,enterprisescanplottheirplan tomakethemselvesreadyforthecomingdigitalfuture. FuturelooksinthefollowingwaythroughtheeyesofSAP futurists:

AugmentedrealityandImmersiveTechnologyisgoing tobetheChange-Factor

Afewyearsback,nooneknewabouttheconceptof augmentedrealityandapparently,themarketbarelyexisted. Industryresultssuggestthattherewasnothingonthe

enterprisesideandtheapplicationsarebeginningtoget builtnowon.Companiesmightstarttousethetechnology ofaugmentedtechnologytowalkthefieldofseveral servicerepsthroughtheprocesses-repairor,inanIoT (InternetofThings).Thistechnologicalshiftisbelievedto triggerdatatransferinreal-timeandreducedcostswhether itissuppliedinventories,inacaseofplannedoractual spending.Expertssuggestthattostayintherace, enterprisesmustrenovatetheirworkbyaddingvirtualor augmentedrealityintotheirexistingappsorthenewones thattheyareplanningtolaunch.

Blockchain

CanChangetheScenarioEntirely Foreseershavealreadysaidthatblockchainpossessan enormouspotentialanditcanchangetheentirescenario. Thoughitisknownthatblockchainwillmodifythe industry,howitwillalterisstillunknown.SAPgurushave definedthewaysinwhichtheindustrywillseethe advancements.Itisexpectedthatthistechnologywillhelp enterprisestoexperienceunderstandbusinessprocessbetter andmission-criticalsystems.Tech-expertsareviewingthe influenceoftheblockchainthroughafullend-to-end businessperspectiveandpredictingthatitisgoingtobring significantadvancesintheindustryasimprovementinthe supplychainefficiency,processspeed,transparencyand facilitationinbusinessnetworksandexchanges.

FutureTech 14 JULY 2017 |

InfluenceofArtificialLearningisgoingto Increase

Therehasnotbeenadaywhenthepowerof ArtificialIntelligence(AI)hasstoppedto entertheveinsofeveryindustryslowly Sinceitsinceptioninthe1950s,the technologyisrapidlyadvancingand expandingitswings.Theindustrycan presentlyseetheinfluenceintwodifferent versionsasmachinelearninganddeep learning.Expertssaythatthisistheyear whichisgoingtowitnessagenuineriseof AI.MachineLearningishelping enterprisesinlearningbystatisticsand self-learningwithqualifieddata. Specifically,inthecaseofSAPsolution industry,tech-gurusarebettingonthe deeplearningalgorithmstohitbusiness, andtheybelievethatthosealgorithmswill changethewayhowbusinessworks.

RoboticsandtheEmergenceofCyborgs Cyborgsareemerging,andtheprominencein itsusageisexpanding.Industrywillsoonsee thattheworldisturningintoalandfortestingasit isconsideredtobeanidealformachinelearning andalgorithms.Evenexpertsarefindingitdifficult topredictthefutureassoonthedaywillcomewhen themachineswillbringinco-evolutionwithan extremelevelofco-operationbetweenhumanand machine.Thiscollaborationhasalreadybeenprovedtobesuccessfulintheworld ofmedicine,buttheotherindustriesareexpectedtoexperiencethesameverysoon.

AutomationisGoingtoTransformtheIndustry’sEconomicStructure

Itisquiteclearthatautomationisgoingtochangetheworkflowandthecompletestructureof workwithitsadvancementsintechnologyandeaseintheworkthatitoffers.Butthebigger pictureishere,howtheworkforceisgettingaffected,andthedigitalizationoftheeconomy istakingplace.Automationwillsoontakeovertheemploymentindustryandreplace multiplejobsinthemarket.Everycompanyisfocusedonmanagingacontingent workforceandenablebettertrainingduringthehiringprocess.Withtheapplicationof automationintoitsworkforce,theentrepreneursareexpectedtogetrelieffrom certainproblemsandexperiencemoreeconomicallystablecondition.

Theworldsaysthatthepeopleareawarethatthewindiscomingyettheyare takingnostepstopreventit.Theyrealizehowthetechnologicaltransformation istakingplace,buttheyaredoingnothingtoaddressthat,whichisconsideredto beamajorproblem.Buttheexpertsapparentlysaythatthemainpointisnot howthesefuturistictechnologiesarehelpingbusinessessatisfycustomersor enhancingmarketoreconomy,thewayhowtheyworktogetherandbring valuetothebusinessiswhatmattersthemost.

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CompanyName

AESCorporation www.aes.com

Approyo www.approyo.com

ConfigurableManagement www.cfg-mgt.com

CoupaSoftware www.coupa.com

Gigas www.gigas.com

HerringtonTechnology www.herringtontechnology.net

Management Brief

AndresGluski CEO

ChristopherCarter CEO

TheAESCorporation(NYSE:AES)isaFortune200global powercompany Theyprovideaffordable,sustainableenergyto 17countriesthroughtheirdiverseportfolioofdistribution businessesaswellasthermalandrenewablegenerationfacilities.

ApproyoisaleadingglobalSAPtechnologysolutionprovider whichmakesitsimpleforcompaniestoimplementbigdata solutionsthroughSAPHANAfortodayandthefuture.

StevenBranch CEO

RobertBernshteyn CEO

ConfigurableManagementprovidestraining,mentoring,and supportingservicestotheirclientswiththeirSAP,Winshuttle, andSharePointsoftware.

CoupaisthecloudplatformforbusinessspendthatisSAPICC certifiedinSAPS/4HANA®integrationandSAPNetWeaver® integration.

DiegoCabezudo CEO

GigasisoneoftheemergingleadersintheCloudComputing industrywiththeirsecure,stable,efficientandflexiblecloud hostingservicesforcustomersofalltypes.

ValeryHerrington CEO

rFactr www.rfactr.com

SpinnakerSupport www.spinnakersupport.com

RichardBrasser CEO MathewStava Co-founder&CEO

HerringtonTechnologyprovidesSAPBusinessSoftwareand HybridCloudManagedServicesforadvancedandaccelerated businessprocessing.HerringtonTechnologyhasWorld'sTop SAPTechnologyexpertleadership.

rFactrisaB2Bsalestechnologyandstrategycompanytrusted bytheworld’sbestsalesorganizationswhoareusingsocial mediatodriveleads,opportunities,andrevenue.

SpinnakerSupportistheworld’sfastestgrowingproviderof SAPthird-partysupportandmanagedservices,delivering unparalleledsupportforafractionofthecost,whilehelping customersprogresstotheirtransformationalobjectives.

TeresaMackintosh CEO Trintech www.trintech.com

Xpandion www.xpandion.com

MoshePanzer CEO

Trintechdevelopsfinancialsoftwaresolutionswithanaimto provideitsclientsincreasedefficiency,visibility,andcontrolto minimizeresources,costs,andrisksacrosstheentireRecordto Reportprocess.

XpandionistheleadingproviderofERPusageinspection solutions,deliveringunprecedentedreal-timevisibilityinto managementsystems,significantlyimprovingsecurity, optimizinglicensingusageandenablingGRC/SOXcompliance.

Simplifying the Cloud Approyo:

realizingthebusinesspotentialsthat drivesgrowth,improvesROIandlowers theriskfactorsbyusingSAP applications.Sinceinception,Approyo hasmaintainedagoodwillofoneofthe largestUSbasedSAPHANAfirms.The companyisenrichedwithSAPHANA expertisewithover200SAPS/4HANA andSAPHANAenvironments worldwide.Withateamofexpertsfrom allovertheworld,Approyoishelping businessesgrow

ApproyoisontheForefrontof Technology

Witheverynewday,innovationcomesintotheworldof technology.Stagnancyandconstancyarethewordswhichare inapplicabletothetechnologicalaspectsoftheworld.These transformationsinthetechnologicalsectorprovokethechangethat companiesdemand.Sometimes,theneed,demandsandthechoicesof peoplearethereasonsthatleadtothetransformationsintheworld.Among thetechgiantsleadingtheindustrystandsApproyo,aglobalSAP technologysolutionprovider.BeingtheonlySAPpartnerthatallowsto chooseasuitablecloudenvironment,Approyomanagesandsupportstheir clientsbyrevolutionizingtheadoptionofSAPandSAPHANAsolutions, ultimatelymakingSAPsimpleforallbusinesses.

Approyoisdedicatedtothesuccessoftheircustomersbyproviding expertisetohelpfacilitatebusinessgrowth,improveefficiencyandincrease theprofitabilityofbusinessesworldwide.Puttingastoptothelongduration ofcloudmigrations,Approyosetsupcustomerenvironmentsinjustafew hoursordaysinanSAPcertifiedcloud.

WithatrulycomprehensiveSAPportfolioanddeepunderstandingof businessprocesses,thecompanyworkstowardshelpingitscustomersin

Approyorevolvesitselfwiththe changingfaceoftechnologybyproviding themostupdatedandeffectivesolutions. ProvidingtheSAPsolutionsinthe quickestandmosteffectivewaytothe customersistheprimemottoofthe company.

Approyosupportcompaniestohavea trueSAPS/4HANAsandboxreadyfor themtobeusedanytimewithSAP S/4HANAIgnite.Thisrevolutionizesthe worldofSAPwithaproductiongrade sandboxatanextremelylowcost,setup quicklyonasecuredSAPCertified network.Thisplaystheroleofgame changerforallSAPcustomerswhowant totryS/4HANA1610andultimately migratetoS/4HANA.

Approyoisknowntoprovidevarious servicesforvariousneedsoftheir customerslikeCloudIgnite,SAPHANA Ignite,SAPS/4HANAIgnite,GRC Ignite,SAPSolutions,HadoopSolutions andBigDataSolutions.Thecompany

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‘‘ ‘‘

looksatthecurrentandfuturebusiness needsandthisiswhatgivesits customersabetterinsightandaccessto importantbusinessdata,enablingthem tolookatthebigpictureneeds.Based ontheneedsoftheircustomers,this SAPsolutionprovidingcompanygives itscustomersaroadmaptosucceedone stepatatime.

ProvidingUniqueSolutionsto EveryIndividualChallenge

Itisawell-knownfactthatevery companythatrunsSAPisdifferentand eachofthemhaveauniquechallenge andopportunitytooffer Approyois strictlyagainsttheconceptof“One sizefitsall”,rathertheymaintaina good-willofprovidingpersonalized solutionsforeachoftheirclients.As quotedbythecompany,“We work with companies across multiple industries and by working with so many different companies, it allows us to anticipate questions that companies don’t even know they have yet.”

Approyoservescustomersfromall overtheworld.Companieslike CovenantTransportationGroup(CTG) dependsonApproyoforuniqueand extraordinarySAPsolutions.While talkingabouttheservicesprovidedby Approyo,aCTGofficialsaid,“By leveraging Approyo’s in depth knowledge of the HANA architecture, we could build an analytics engine to solve the needs of the CTG

organization, both with predictive modeling and through the analysis of huge data sets. This work would have been impossible on the in-house infrastructure.”

ExperienceWhereitMatters

Withalmostthreedecadesof extraordinaryworkingexperiencein the“BigData”and“SAP”industry, ChristopherCarter,CEOatApproyo foundedApproyowiththegoalof makingiteasyforcustomersto embraceSAPHANA.Chrisworks withbusinessesaroundtheglobeandis knowntoassistthemintheirjourney totheusageofBigDataintheforms ofHadoop(Clouderaand Hortonwork’s)andSAPHANA.His experiencehasearnedhimanational recognitionbytheAmericanSAP UsersGroup,SAP,HadoopWorld, CloudExpoandmore.

UndertheleadershipofChristopher Carter,Approyosupportfirmsthatare

lookingtogrowandexpandthier businessandtechnologyprocesses, whereevenonepercentcanleadto millionsofdollarsinbusinessflow. Thecompanyfollowstheideaof “Work hard and play hard”and believesinhiringonlythebestand brightestintheindustry

Thegoalofthecompanyistocreatea friendlyenvironmentwherepeoplecan leanononeanotherandprovide expertiseandleadership.Approyois growingeverydayandimprovingtheir servicestohelptheirclients,without changingtheirprimarygoalwhichisto becomethemostcustomercentricSAP HANAproviderintheentireindustry. ToApproyo,consistentcommunication andsupportarethekeytoremainthe bestinthemarket.

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Revolutionizeyourdataandigniteyour futurewithApproyo’sSAPsolutions

The Cloud Platform Which Everyone Loves to Use CoupaSoftware:

onboard,CoupadeliversanOpen BusinessNetwork™thatconnectsmore thanthreemillionsuppliersworldwide.

LeadingtheIndustrywithInnovative CloudSolutions

Inthecurrentdigitalera,businessleadersmustbeupdatedandstayon topofnew,emergingandthefuturetechnologiesorriskstayingback. Nobodywantstofallback,andeverybusinessleaderisfightingto climbtheladderuptocomeonthetopofpeople’sminds.Anythingand everythingintheworldoftechnologyaretransformingdaily;likebigdata, theblockchain,cloudcomputing,digitalbusiness,IoT,machinelearning, mobileandtheirimpactonSMEs.Whiletalkingaboutcloudcomputing systemsandSAPSolutionProviders,onecannevermissthenameof CoupaSoftwareInc.,(NASDAQ:COUP)thecompanywhichprovidesa cloudplatformforBusinessSpendthateveryuserlovestouse.

Purposelybuiltforthecloud,Coupaisknowntodelivertheonlyspend managementplatformthatunifiesbusinessprocessesacrossalltheways employeesspendmoney Coupa is SAP ICC certified in SAP S/4HANA® integration and SAP NetWeaver® integration.TheCoupaPlatformis knowntoconnectbusinesseseasilyandseamlesslytoSAPCloudandon premise.Thecompanyhasdesignedanddigitizedfinancialapplications withtheideaofconsumerizationinmindandhelpingbusinessesin differentsectorsallacrosstravelandexpensemanagement,procurement andinvoicing.Withateamof800extraordinarilytalentedemployees

Coupaoffersitscustomersthemost innovativesolutionsspanningtraveland expensemanagement,procurement,and invoicing,andwhencombinedwiththeir fullyunifiedpowerapplicationsin embeddedanalytics,sourcing,contract managementandinventory,theircloud platformdeliversfasterreturnon investmentandthecontrol,agility,and visibilitycriticalforbusinessesto compete.Thecompanyispopularly knowntooffertheirindustry’sfirstsetof CommunityIntelligencecapabilitiesthat allowseachoftheircustomerstolearn fromthecollectiveinsightsoftheir clients.AtCoupatheybelieve,“Numbers speakslouderthanwords,”andthe companydoesn’tbelieveinboasting aboutthemselves;insteadtheircustomers talkaboutCoupaanditsservices.

Reports suggests that Coupa has helped various companies to grow their business; namely, they aided newly minted Fortune 500 Company, Molina Healthcare in scale procurement, Tire Centers to drive savings and improve operational efficiency and Staples to gain visibility and control of $3 billion in global spend. To Coupa, their customers’ achievement is a part of their success; hence, they have supported multinationals like Concentrix, Avalon Healthcare, Service Corporation International, CSAA Insurance Group, NEC and many others in stabilizing their businesses.

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IncreasesCustomers’Visibilityand enhancesControlOverBusiness Spends

Customershavereportedhaving increasedvisibilityandgainedcontrol overtheirentirebusinessspendswith theservicesofCoupaSoftware.The companyalsoallowstheircustomersto extendthevaluethattheirSAPERP deliverstotheirorganizationasa whole.Onecanconsiderthecaseof JuniperNetworks,whichrolledout Coupatomorethan40Countriesto eliminatepaper,digitizeprocessesand reducecosts.Itisquiteclearbythe businessreportsthatcustomerslike Juniperarestandardizingbusiness processesforoperationalefficiency, regulatorycomplianceandspend visibility

Industryreportsapparentlysaidthat Coupaisleadingtheindustrywitha clearfocusoncomprehensivespend management.Onedoesnotbecomea leaderovernight,andittakesseveral sleeplessnightsandendlesseffortsto makethishappen.Similarly,Coupa hasalwaysoffereditscustomers somethingmoreanduniquesolutions inamuchfasterpacethantheir competitors.Theyhavedevelopedthe nextgenerationcommunity intelligencewhichisleveragingthe powerofallcustomerstoprovide prescriptiveinsightsunavailable throughanyothermeans.Thecloud platformprovideriscontinuingto leveragewhattheyhavestartedto

buildandinfusingtheirentireplatform withnormativeideasthatallowtheir customerstogainacompetitiveedge byusingthesolutionsofCoupa.

AbouttheManBehindtheLeading CloudPlatform

Withawealthofexperienceofmore thantwodecadesinthebusiness softwareindustry,RobBernshteyn, CEOatCoupa,drivesthecompany’s strategyandexecution.PriortoCoupa, hehasservedvariousenterpriseslike SuccessFactors,SiebelSystems, McKinseyandAccentureatthetop executivelevelmakinginnovationsin theindustry.

Apartfromhavingarichindustry experience,Robisalsoaguestlecturer atHarvardandStanfordbusiness schoolsandafrequentcontributorto ForbesandFortuneMagazines.Heis oftenseendoingcommentaryonmajor channelslikeBloombergandNPR. RobhasearnedhisBSdegreein InformationSystemsfromthe UniversityofNewYorkatAlbanyand anMBAfromHarvardBusiness School.Withalltheknowledgeand experience,Robissupportingtheteam

atCoupatohelpeachmembertoreach theirhighestpotential.

CoupaFeelsProudtoServe CustomersWorldwide

Thecompanyfeelsluckytoworkwith customersacrosstheglobethathas progressiveITorganizations.Coupais motivatedtobemoreinnovative, collaborativeandsuccessful.Theyare trulypassionateabouttheirvisionfor innovationswithcommunity intelligencetoexcitedlyhelpleadthe industrytowardsabetterway.Coupais knowninthemarketasamobile, collaborativecommunitythatdoesnot seektoworkinsilosshelteredina cube.Thecompanyisdedicatedto deliveringcloudspendmanagementin awaythat’sneverbeendonebefore. Whiletalkingaboutthefuture perspectiveofCoupa,Robsaid,“I see us expanding our global reach, particularly in the Asia Pacific and LATAM markets.” Coupaexpectsits cloudplatformtobeembedded communityintelligenceacross applicationsinawaythateveryuser experiencesmoreefficiencyand becomessmarterwhilejusttouching Coupa’splatform.

WithCoupa,ourcustomersareabletoincreasevisibilityand controltheirentirebusinessspendaswellasextendthevalue thattheirSAPERPdeliverstotheirentireorganization | JULY 2017 21
‘‘ ‘‘

Vitality of R&D in an

Organization’s Growth Vitality of R&D in an Organization’s Growth

ResearchandDevelopmentplaysanimportantrolein

leveragingtechnologytoreapmaximumbenefitsinthe formof innovativeproducts,processes,andservices.Many companiestendtothinkthatR&Dislikeaholygrail,butit’snot! Theydonotunderstandtheimportanceuntilitstoolate.

Thefactisthat,R&Distheonlyfunctionthatprovidesaplatform forinnovationandcreativitytoflourishinanorganization. Numerousinnovativebreakthroughshappenonlybecauseof meticulouseffortsoftheR&Dfunction.Consistenteffortsare neededwhenoneisinquestofresearch,everyfailureinR&Deffort escalatesthepressuretoperform.

IsR&DthatImportant?

Oneisknowledgeandanotheroneistechnology,thesearethetwo

22 JULY 2017 |

vitalingredientsfortherecipeofinnovation,andfor successfulR&D;innovationistheonlyprimafacie.

WhenacompanytakesR&Dintosignificantconsideration, theygetahugeinfluxofknowledge.Thisiswhatmakes thesecompaniessoamazinglysuccessful,theircontribution toR&Dmelts downtoaworldofusefulknowledgewhich thecompanycanusetofurtherdevelopitsmainproduct lines.

R&Dhelpsabusinesstohaveacompetitiveedgeoverits competitors.ItisonlytheR&Dfunctionthathelps organizationsdevelopplansmuchaheadthanother functions.TheR&Dfunctionrequiresaclearforesight aboutfutureproblemsanditssolutions,initsdevelopment role,itcanactasacatalystforspeedingupthe

organizationalgrowthbyintroducingbreakthrough productsinthemarket.

TheKeytoEverythingisPatience,yougetChickenby Hatchingit,notbySmashingit.

– Arnold H.Glasow

TheR&Deffortscantakesometimetomaterialize,but oncetheysucceed,thefinancialreturnscanbequitehigh. Manysuccessfulcompaniesinindustrysectorslike pharmaceuticals,chemicalandautomotive,investa substantialamountofcapitalexpenditureandstrivetobe aheadofothersbecausetheybelieve;expensesonR&Dare nottobeconsideredasexpenditurebutasaninvestment.

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ThetruetestofR&Dfunctionliesintimetomarket.Businessexistsforthesakeofmakingprofits.So,theroleof R&Dinminimizingthetimetomarketbecomesextremelyimportant.UnlesstheR&Deffortsinthelabcannotbe scaledupwithinareasonabletimeframe,littlecanbeexpectedintermsofthefunctionalcredittobeassignedto R&D.

SignificanceofR&DforMediumandSmallBusiness

BigMNCshavebillionstospendonR&Dbutmostofthesmallbusinessesdonothavethesamecapabilities,this doesnotmeanR&Disimpossible.Thereareplentyofgovernmentinitiatives,whichareaimedatleveragingthe R&Dopportunitiesformediumandsmallbusiness Evenventurecapitalistshavealsorecognizedtheimportance ofthesesmallerentries

Moreover,R&Distypicallywhatyourbusinesscantakeadvantageofpublicresourcesandeternalknowledgeto getsomehandsonexperiencebecause,attheendoftheday,usefulknowledgeisthemostimportantthingyour companyneeds.TheR&Ddepartmentisnotworthof,ifthedesiredoutcomesofR&Darenotutilized.

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Leverage Existing SAP Solutions with Cloud Procurement

CompaniesthathavealreadyinvestedinSAPfind thattheycanachieveevenbetterresultsfromtheir existinginvestmentwithcloudtechnologyand eProcurement.Aftertheinitialinvestment,companiesfind certainroadblockspreventingmassuseradoptionand diminishingcostsavings.Issuessuchasinabilitytostay connected,lackofinsightintodata,andcomplexand fragmentedbusinessrulesstopbusinessesfromusingthe fullpowerofSAP Ascloudapplicationtechnologies advance,companiesgainthebenefitsofrapiddeployment cycles,increasedself-servicetools,andfasterperformance. VroozideliversonthepromiseandpowerofeProcurement intheCloudwithseamlessintegrationintoSAP.

SAPuserslookingtothecloudgenerallyfaceafew questions,including:

· HowcanIbenefitfromusingcloudprocurement?

· Willmytransitiontothecloudbecost-effective?

· Howwillmybusinessprocessesbeaffectedbycloud technology?

Tounderstandthebenefitsofcloudtechnologytoexisting SAPusers,let’sevaluatethreeprocurementstrategiesthat highlightthepowerofcloudprocurement.

ValueRealization

ReturnonInvestment(ROI)isacentralfactorinany

procurementstrategy.Buyersandtradingpartnersofcloud procurementsolutionsneedtofeelconfidentthatsolutions willleadtocostsavingsandhigherproductivityand efficiency.Usersquicklyseereturnsbyfocusingonuser adoption,compliance,andspendmanagement. Spend Managementallowscompaniestovisualizepurchasing spendingpatternsandusageanddrivesemployeesto leveragepreferredpricingwithcontractsuppliers.To increaseuseradoptionandcompliance,thecloudempowers amobileworkforcewiththerightresourcesandexperience soeveryonestaysconnectedandavailablesothatbusiness isnotdisrupted.Asuseradoptionandcompliance frameworksincreasewithcloud-basedsystems, organizationsgainimmediatecostsavingsinprocurement bydecreasingtransactioncostsandpreventingspend leakagewithyoursupplychain.

Efficiencies

Processefficiencyiskeyforasuccessful,healthybusiness. Cloudtechnologyenablesbetterprocessesbykeeping everyoneconnectedthroughamobileexperienceand automatingtransactiontasksthroughtheuseofmachine learningandpatternmatching.Withacentralized,unified system,cloudautomationcanyieldimmediatebenefitsin requisitiontoinvoiceandpaymentbusinessprocessesand reducederrorsandissuesleadingtohigherproductivityand decreasedprocessingcosts.Further,byallowingemployees

CXO Standpoint
26 JULY 2017 |

tointeractwithcloudprocurementviasmart Phonesandtablets,businesscancontinueto movewithefficiencyandspeed.

ITCostSavings

Perhapsnodeterminantismoreimportantin realizingthebenefitsofcloudtechnologies versustraditionalonpremisesoftwareisinIT CostSavings.Systemsandapplicationswhich requiredlargephysicalinfrastructureand monetaryinvestmentscannowprovide inexpensiveandscalablesolutionsthroughthe Cloudandcloudinfrastructureproviders.A procurementsolutionthatintegrateswithSAPis easiertoaccess,lessexpensive,andtakesa fractionoftheimplementationtimecompanies oncefacedwithtraditionalsoftwaresolutions. Cloudtechnologyrelievestheuserofhidden costssuchashardware,consultants, infrastructure,maintenance,andcostlyupgrade cycles,providinglowerriskandlowertotalcost ofownership.

Conclusion

Thecloudofferslittleupfrontexpense,automatic upgrades,andpre-integratedbestpracticeswhich alloworganizationstofocusonbusinessgrowth andimprovedoperatingmargins.Vroozi’s eProcurementsolutionthattakesSAPsolutions tothecloudempoweruserswithbetterreturns, betterprocessesandhighersavings,sotheir overallSAPinvestment’sROIisaccelerated.

AccordingtoIDC,spendingonCloud computingisgrowingat4.5timestherateofIT spendingsince2009andisexpectedtocontinue growingatmorethan6timestherateofIT spendingfrom2015through2020.(viaForbes) Thismassivegrowthiseasilyunderstoodwhen businessesunderstandthepowerandvalueof cloudsolutions.WiththeVrooziPlatform, companiescantakeadvantageofrobust eProcurementtechnologydeliveredintheCloud andintegratedseamlesslywithSAP.

Brad Hill, Director of Global Sales & Marketing of Vroozi is a passionate leader and is responsible for expanding the Vroozi Product Suite, Brand Adoption, Partnership Network & ensuring our customers receive an unparalleled experience with Vroozi. Brad spent the last 20 years building Enterprise Sales and Product strategies with leading IT Services organizations. His entrepreneurial strategies have served a vast number of Fortune 500 industries and verticals. He is also an aspiring mechanic and frustrated golfer, two good reminders to keep his day job.

CXO Standpoint
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BradHill ofGlobalSales&Marketing Vroozi

Providing World-Class Cloud Hosting Services Gigas:

offeringsoundtechnicalsupport.It shouldcomeasnosurprisethatlastyear Gigaswonthetendertobeoneofthefive officialsuppliersofpubliccloudservices totheEuropeanCommissionandits Agencies.

Breaking-freefromtheShackles

Inthelastfewyears,Cloud-basedserviceshavebecomemoreofa

standardsolutionfortheenterpriseworld.Itisfurtherestimatedthat cloud-computingwillcontinuetogrowatarobustpaceinthenextfive years.TheirestablishmentintheITmarketisduetotheunmatched advantagesthatitoffers.Itprovidesquickaccesstofunctionality,flexibility duetosubscriptions,scalabilitytosupportevolvingbusinessneedsand reducesITefforts.Oneoftheemergingleadersinthishighlycompetitive marketisGigas,aSpanishCloudComputingcompanylistedonthe MadridStockExchangesince2015.Theyhavebuiltaworld-classcloud hostingbusinessthatprovidesbest-in-classsolutionsandservicesto customersworldwide.

Establishedbyproficientinternetexperts,Gigasoffersthemostpowerful cloudhostingsolutionstocustomersfromallverticals,inasimple,safe, reliable,flexible,scalable,efficientandcost-effectivemanner Theyhave emergedasatruemarketleaderinitsnativeSpanishmarketandkeySpanishmarketsthroughoutLatinAmerica,therebyattractinglarge enterprisessuchasWalmart,Aon,DinersClub,OHL,UnitedNations, Canal13andvariousothers.Theyarewell-knownfortheircloseoperating relationshipwiththeircustomers,providingtailoredsolutionsandfor

Whenthecompanywasformedin2011, GigasspottedSAPastheperfectmatch forthecloudservicesitwasofferingto itscustomers.CloudInfrastructureasa servicebackthenwasalmostnonexistentintheSpanishmarket.Itwas theirvisionarythatenabledthemto foreseeafutureinwhichtherapid adoptionofcertainmission-critical applicationswithsignificantcomputing needssupportedbyvirtualized infrastructuremadetotalsense.

Foranon-premiseenvironment,putting togetheranenterpriseapplicationSAP involvedanenormousinvestmentupfront.Inadditiontothehefty investments,implementationtimetoset uptheinfrastructurealsotakeslonger BeforesettingupGigas,theseproblems werepre-existentwithintheindustry.The ideabehindthelaunchofGigaswasto addressandsolvetheseissues,by reducingimplementationtimetomarket dramatically,scalinginfrastructure resourcesupordownasperthebusiness requirementsandmoreimportantly,by reducingcosts.

ProvidingaPoolofServices

GigasSAP-certifiedCloudDatacenteris theonlyavailablesolutioninthemarket thatallowstheircustomerstodefineand designtheirowncloudinfrastructure.

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Unlikeitscontemporaries,theydonot sellvirtualmachinery,ratherasetof unlimitedresources(RAM,memory, storage)toreplicateaphysicaldata centerinavirtualenvironment.Within theirCloudDatacenter,theyprovide theircustomerswithabasicfirewall foreachoftheirservers.Gigasoffers themostadvancedsecuritysolutions throughtheirpartnershipswithsomeof theleadingfirewallvendorssuchas Fortinet.

TheirCloudDatacentersolutionisone ofthefewintheworldtocomplywith thenewEuropeanCodeofConductfor CloudInfrastructureServiceProviders. This,inturn,ensuresoptimumprivacy ofcustomer’sdataandisin compliancewiththestrictEuropean DataProtectionregulations.

Inadditiontoalltheservices mentionedabove,Gigasisobsessed withprovidingthebesttechnical supportamongitscontemporaries. Theyunderstandthatincomplex environmentsproblemsareboundto springup,whichiswhytheystrive towardsprovidingaknowledgeable andempoweredcustomertechnical supporttosolvecustomerissuesand queriesassoonaspossible.Witha trackrecordofsolvingover80%of theircustomerquerieswithintheirfirst contactitself,Gigasholdsan unprecedentedpositioninproviding customersatisfaction.

AnInspiringDuowithanEyefor theFuture

Gigaswasfoundandbuiltfromthe bottombytheduoofJoseAntonio Arribas,whocurrentlyholdstheCOO position,andDiegoCabezudo,the CEOofthecompany.Itwasthemwho spottedSAPastheperfectmatchfor thecloudservicestheywantedtooffer theircustomers.Theirideasandastute predictionofthefuturemarkettrends, propelledGigastowhatitisknownas today.

Theircombinedexperienceofover40 yearsinthetecharena,ledGigasto becometheleadingcloudhosting companyinSpainandagrowingforce intheLatinAmericanmarket.Among thetwo,JoseholdsaBachelorof SciencedegreeinInformation Technology,whereasDiegocompleted TelecommunicationsEngineeringfrom theUniversityofNavarrainSpain.The latterfurthercontinuedwithhisstudy bycompletinganExecutiveMBA coursefromtheLondonBusiness School.

LivinguptotheResponsibilitiesof HostingaSAPPlatform

Itisofenormousresponsibilitytohost aSAPplatformthatsupportssomeof themostcriticalprocessesand informationofacompany.Customers arealwaysonthelookoutfor companiesthatcanprovidean enterprisegradeservice,butatthe

sametimebeavailablelocally wheneverthereisarequirementfor compleximplementationsorwhena problemarises.Gigas,withitslocal officesandpersonnelthroughoutSpain andLatinAmerica,aproficient technicalsupportteaminSpanish,and otherunparalleledservices,itprovides asignificantadvantageforits customers.

Gigaswasoneofthefirstcloud providerswhowereawardedwiththe SAP“InfrastructureOperations Service”certificationin2014.Having gonethroughtheprocessofcertifying theirplatformandwiththeexperience ofhavingdeployeddozensofSAP environments,Gigasknowshowto optimizetheplatformsothatthe processescanrunsmoothly,efficiently andreliably Thistriggersan improvementinperformance, productivity,andcorporateefficiency Infact,theircertificationsand expertisehavehelpedmanyoftheir existingcustomerstomakethe decisiontomigratetheirSAP applicationstothecloud.Cloud computinghassolvedandimprovedIT operationsfromdifferentangles,butit alsoofferssignificantadvantagesto today’scompanies.Itisthereforeeasy tounderstandwhyGigasplatform becamethesolutionofchoiceformany customersandSAPpartnerstodeploy theirSAPinstallations.

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Thesecurityandtrustthatwebuildwith ourclientsiswhatreallysetsusapart
‘‘

Differentiated and Value-Driven SAP Delivery HerringtonTechnology:

Today’sfastchangingbusinesssolutionsmarketincludesdynamic factorslikecompetition,efficiency,forecasting,collaboration, scalability,productivity,flexibility,customerserviceand streamlinedprocesses.So,implementingERPsoftware,systemsintegration andprojectmanagementhasbecomeastandardsuccessroutethatensures thesecapabilitiesarebuilt-intobusinessoperations.However,while implementingSAPERP,thesoftware,hardwareandsystemsneedto integratewiththird-partysolutionsandtools.HerringtonTechnology,based inManhattan,NewYork,isqualifiedtomakesurethattheimplementation ofalltheseaspectsofadvancedERPsolutionsandsystemsintegrationsare operatingtoplevel.ThisU.Sbasedpowerhousecompanyalsohelpsits customerswithSAPS4/HANAinstallation,configuration,and implementationservicesalongwithunique,brandlabelcapabilitiesthat oftenleadthemarketsectorsinoneormoreareas.

EstablishedTopSAPProvider:HighValue

HerringtonTechnologyisahighlydifferentiatedandvalue-drivenbusiness withestablished,certifiedSAPsolutionsandsoftware.Thefirmspecializes inthe “bestofbreed”SAPERPsoftwareanddeployments.Theyhave

highlyscalablecapabilitiesthatincludes premierIBMSAPcloudservicesfor rapidandtop-leveldeployments.SAP nicheHotelforBusinessOnesoftware forbusinessesrunninginthehotel industry(luxuryandstandard),custom SAPpartnerdevelopmentprojectsfor showcaseandon-demandcode enhancements,nichesystemintegration (SI)projectgo-liveleadership,rareSAP projectSWATTeamrescuecapabilities andafulllineofsmalltoenterprisefirm solutionmodelwithSAPwhenother organizationscan’tdeliver Thecompany owneralsocarriestheweightofahighly matureactive30-yearrelationshipwith theSAPcompany.Thisbusiness relationshipgeneratesextensivevaluefor SAPcustomersandclientsintheformof in-depthoperationalandin-network knowledgeofhowtonavigatetheinsand outsofSAP'suniquebusinesssoftware releasecycles,featuresupgrades, strategicroadmapsandorganizational supportchannelsformaximized customersuccess.Thecompanyalso providesservicesforthenewestSAP flagshipplatform,S/4HANAdigitalcore.

ANiche,AdvancedTechnology Enterprise

HerringtonTechnologySAPbusiness channeloperateswithinaspecialized multi-channelorganizationwith HerringtonTechnologybrandlabel servicesandsolutions.Thisbrings incredibledifferentiatedbrandvalueto customerdelivery.Recently,thisworldclassSAP-ERPsoftwareandsolutions channelvaluehasbeenfurtherextended byasmart-mindedleadershipmoveof

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‘‘ ‘‘

corporateheadquarterstoNewYork. Withincreasedvaluefordoing businessfromNewYorkwithclients aroundtheglobe,thecompanyalso nowprovidesessentialFinTechmarket capabilitiescrucialtothesuccessand survivabilityoffinancialservices sector.Otherspecializedbrandlabel innovationsextendthefirm'sniche beyondSAPERP

Respected,QualifiedLeadership

AManhattan-basedvisionaryleader, ValeryHerringtonistheFounderand CEOofHerringtonTechnology.She hasbuiltthecompanyfromtheground up,thattooduringtheworsteconomic conditionsincethegreatdepression, whichisaniche,advancedtechnology enterprisebusinesstoday Valeryalso holdsacareerdesignationofWorld’s TopSAPTechnologyExpertin cumulativeexpertiseforaprivate practiceowner-operator.Shehasalso achieveddegreesinEconomics, German,ComputerScienceanda leadingexecutiveMBAdegreewitha specializedfocusinbusinessfinance anddigitaltechnologyforhealthcare fromJohnHopkinsCareyBusiness School.Sheearnedrecognitionin industryasa“go-to”topexpertfor advanced,proprietaryemergingbig dataVLDBandHPCsystemsand datacenter.Sheworkedasatrusted advisorfor“TheA-list”oftopITfirms locatedintheheartofSiliconValley, CA.Sheisalsopursuingherdoctoral degreeforadvancesincomputer scienceandcybersecurity

GrowingQualityandRecognitionin Brand

HerringtonTechnologyisSAPEBM (ExtendedBusinessMember)certified whichincludemanybusinesstechnologycertifications.Inaddition, thefirmhasachievedrecognitionasan SAPPowerhouseandTopMost PromisingSAPProviderfirm.Thefirm alsohasanestablishedbusiness showcaseontheCorporatewebsite thatspotlightsimportantclientsuccess stories,casestudiesandrareindustry leveldeliveryrecognitionforprior workandopportunities.Thecompany activelystaysontheleadingedge providingvalue-drivensolution packagesandtop-notchbrandlabel.

Success&AChallengingIndustry

Theindustrydynamicsandclient requirementsforERPbusiness customersisahighlydemanding,fastpacedITmarketplace.Tokeeppace withthecontinuousmarketplace challengesHerringtonTechnologyhas quicklyattainedcertifiedcapabilities forthelatestSAPflagshipSolution, SAPS/4HANAfordigitalcore.Brand excellenceandnewR&Dinnovations, cybersecurity,FinTech,dataprotection andmoreextendscapability.

HerringtonTechnologycontinuesto meetothercompetitivechallengesin industrybybeingopentonew requirementsthatothervendorscannot complete.AsatopSAPERPprovider theyworkinavalued,SAPglobal supplychainof$700billion-dollars andgrowing.

TakingAStepUp:GeneratingNew JobsoftheFuture

HerringtonTechnology,rolesand opportunitiesemergefromthestaffing networkandfrominternal requirementswithnewjobs.The companyisactivelyworkingin innovativewaystoprovidenewjobs ofthefuture.

FuturewithR&DInnovations

Thecompanyiscontinuouslyworking ontheleadingedgeoftheadvanced technologyfronttoprovidecustomers andindustrywithhighqualityvaluedrivenbusinessproductsandsolutions. Thefirm’sestablishedstrongmarket positionforSAPsoftware,servicesand systemsimplementationleadstheway forgrowingandclientsseekingtorun onthenewSAPdigitalcore:SAPS/4 HANA.Inaddition,Herrington TechnologyorganizationalDNA continuestodrivenewR&D innovations,exploreanddevelop completelynewproductsandsolutions forcompetitiveadvantageinsuperior customerdelivery.Giventoday’s highlyvolatileandfluctuatingglobal economy,thisisauniqueand importantbusinesshallmark.[Citation toprofessionalannouncement(public) SAPS/4HANALaunch,Mr.Bill McDermott,CEOofSAPSE,New York,Q12015.]

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Wearecommittedtousingthebesttoolsand productsforqualityassurance

SAP: Generating Business Value from Internet of Things

Today,SAPisspikingindevelopingInternetofThings(IoT)applications andIoTservices.SAPhasaclearvisionabouttheinvestment.Thereare threenewIoTserviceswhichareaimedathelpingenterprisestoreduce costsandtodevelopIoTapplications.TheITresourceneedstomanageIoTdata, andderivebusinessvaluefromthesamedata.

TheIoTservicesareSAPConnectedGoods,SAPDynamicEdgeProcessingand SAPIoTApplicationEnablement.ItappearsthatasolidIoTapplication environmentwithnewIoTservicesissettledbySAPtothethefoundations.

IoTfunctionalityisaddedinasmartwayforthecustomerstobuildIoTsolutions, withthehelpofSAPHANACloudPlatform(HCP).ItisseenthatIoTsolutionsin theirrealimplementationdiffersubstantiallybetweendeploymentsandneeda platformasaservice.NowSAPhastolookforwardtowardsthecustomeradoption validatingthemarketviabilityoftheIoTpackagesSAPhasbuilt.SAP’sIoTservices offeringslookgoodonanindividualbasis,butitmaylackacoherentnarrative.

SAP’sIoTapproachhascomealongwayinacoupleofyears.Manytakeadvantagenot onlyofHANA,butsocalledend-to-endscenariosthattopintoSAP'sERPstrengths.A rolecanbeplayedbySAP’sHCPforcustomerslookingforIoTservicesandaplatform tobuildon.ButthereshouldbemorelogicalviewofworkingofalltheseIoTinitiatives together.Itisverydifficultfromtheoutsidetoexplainhowtheyfittogetherintoone valuepropositionforcustomersasthereareafewgroupsinSAPthatseemtohavetheir handsinIoTprojects.

VendorsandtheircustomerstrytorecognizewhetherIoTdatacanbenefittheirbusinessor not.TherearethreeaspectsfromwhichSAPaccessnewproductsandchallengesandthey aremachines,dataoriginationandvirtualmodeling.

ChoiceMaking

SAPConnectedGoodsisanHCP-basedapplication.Itisdesignedtohelpthebusinessesto manageandgetvalueoutofmassmarketdevicesandmachines.Thereasonbehindgetting thesegoodsisreallyinterestingforthecustomers,becausethevaluechaincanbeextended

32 JULY 2017 |

whetheroneisamanufacturerorOEMprovider.Informationcanalsobederivedfromthese devicesandhavealotmoreknowledge.

Itcanbeensuredthatthemachinesarestockedadequatelyandthegoodsarestoredproperly fromthedatacollectedfromthedevices. Itcanalsohelpidentifyrelevantdevicetrendsand usepatterns,andthensetuprule-basedalertstoreplenishstock.SAPConnectedGoodsalso includesbuilt-inintegrationwithSAPBusinessObjectsCloud,whichenablesthecreation ofcustomizeddashboardsforanalytics.

Forexample,takeindustrialcoffeemachineswhichareputinofficesorstores.Thetypeof coffeeconsumedcanbemeasuredanditcanbeknownforwhatkindofcoffeepeople consumefromeverymachine,andthencorrelatethatwithlocationdata.Nowonwards,it canbefiguredoutiftherearepatterns,likeifpeopleinruralareasconsumedifferentthan urbanareasorindifferentstates.Thisallowsspendingthemarketingmoneybetterin areaswhereonecanknowwhattheydrink.Thereisnoneedtospendonfancymilk drinksifthey,byandlarge,drinkblackcoffee.

DataLivingontheVerge

SAPDynamicEdgeProcessingisdesignedinawaytohelpdealwiththedataflowing intoorganizationsfrombillionsofIoTconnecteddevicesandsensors.Thisenormous andgrowingvolumeofdatacanoverwhelmthebandwidthneededtosendthedatato coreprocessingcenters.SothegoalofSAPDynamicEdgeProcessingistoprocess moredataatthevergeofenterprisenetwork.Thiscanreducetransmissioncostsand atthesametime,conservingthereal-timeacumenderivedfromthedata.

Alotofthecustomersstartsmall,withmaybeafewhundredorthousanddevices. But,eventually,itbecomesabigdataproblemandthenthereisaneedtofilterdata attheedge.Thismeansnottotransmitthedata,savetransmissioncostsandstorage

| JULY 2017 33

costs.Soitisbasicallytargetingthe notionofhandlinglargevolumesofdata anddetectspatternsattheedgewhere thedataoccurs.SAPDynamicEdge Processingintegratesbusinesscontext informationwithIoTdecision-makingat theverge.Itcombinesalgorithms, syncingarchitectureanddatabase technologieswithfeaturesfordevice connectivityandmanymore.

ModelDemeanorforIoT

SAPIoTApplicationEnablement providesawaytoconsumeandmanage IoTbigdatawithoutanyeffortsto managetheunderlyingdatastorage.To createanenhancedvirtualrepresentation oftheproduct,itcombinessensordata, businessdataandcontextualdata. Combininganaccuratevirtualmodelof howathingoperateswithreal-timedata collectedbysensorsallowsdetailedand realisticdigitalrepresentationsofa physicalassetoveritslifetime.

Ifthereisanyreferenceimplementation ofhowtohandlecoolersorcoffee makers,therewillbecustomerswhosay, ‘Mymodelofcoffeemakerisdifferent, soIwantthefollowingattributesadded.’ So,underneathallthesemodelsis somethingcalledathingmodel,andthe ideaistoquicklywhipupthenextthing. MicroservicesareincludedinIoT ApplicationEnablementforSAPHCP whichallowsothersystemstoretrieve enricheddigitaltwindata,including businesssemantics,productmasterdata hierarchydataandcustomercontact documentation.

SAPIoTApplicationEnablement includesasoftwaredeveloper’skitto buildIoTapplicationsfasterbyfocusing ondesign,ratherthancodingfor developingIoTapplications.Built-in featuresalsominimizetheneedtodefine datamanagementbycalculating aggregates,splittingdataintowarmand coldstorageandapplyingdataretention policies.

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SAP Cloud Platform and the Future

of Development for SAP SAP Cloud Platform and the Future of Development for SAP

Foralongtime,manybusinessesviewedtheirIT departmentsasanoverheadexpensewhichkept thebusinessrunningbutdidn’taddalotofvalue tothebottomline.Inrecentyears,thislineofthinking haschangeddramaticallyastherehavebeensomany notableexampleswheretechnologyinnovationshave completelydisruptedaparticularindustry.Thischangein philosophyhascausedcompaniestomakecommitments towardsachievingdigitaltransformationlikenever before.

Whilesuchdevelopmentsareexciting,thisshiftin philosophyhasplacedevenmorepressureonenterprise ITdepartmentstodeliversolutionsinafastandefficient way.Whilethisiscertainlyadauntingtask,thegood newsforSAPshopsisthathelpisalreadyhereinthe formofthe SAP Cloud Platform Theremaining challengeistofigureouthowtoembracethistechnology toachievecontinuousintegrationgoingforward.

MovingTowardsHybridLandscapes

OneofthebiggerchallengesITdepartmentsfacetodayis thattheenterpriselandscapeisbecomingincreasingly fragmented.Intheolddays,acompanymightdecideto

becomeanSAPshopandthatdecisionstronglyinfluenced thesoftwarepurchasinghabitsofthebusiness.Here,ifa businessneedarose,thecompanywouldlooktoSAPto providethesolutiontheywerelookingfor.Ifthesolution wasaperfectmatch,that’sgreat,butevenifnot,therewere stilladvantagesfromanITperspectivetostickingwithone vendorintermsofcohesiveness,tightintegration,and familiarity.Onthebusinesssideofthesetransactions however,thesekindsofchoiceswereoftentimesnotvery well-received.

Whileabest-of-breedsapproachmaynotbeidealfroman ITperspective,individualdepartmentswantthesolution thatbestmatchestheirrequirements.Andnow,withthe adventofthecloudandaproliferationofSaaSofferingsin themarketplace,thesedepartmentsnowhavethefreedom topurchasepackagedsoftwaresolutionswithouthavingto gothroughtheITdepartment.Regardlessofthe circumstances,sufficeittosaythatthedaysofthe monolithiclandscapearenumbered–evenforcompanies thatswearthey’llnevertaketheirERPsystemstothecloud.

Asthedustbeginstosettleonallthesedevelopments, enterpriseITdepartmentsarefindingthemselvesleftto

CXO Standpoint
36 JULY 2017 |

managehybridlandscapeswhichcombineon-premise systemswithcloud-basedsystems.Whetherthesesystems areprovidedbySAPoranothervendorislargely immaterialsincethesesystemsarebuiltusingdifferent technologies.ForSAPdevelopers,it’snotliketheolddays whereeverythingwasbuiltonABAP.Plus,whenitcomes tocloud-basedsolutions,developersareusuallyrestricted frommakingchangesanyway,sowhateverprogramming languageisusedunderneaththehooddoesn’treallymatter

InnovatingAroundtheEdges

Moreandmore,companiesarestartingtorealizethatthe safestbetforbuildingnewsolutionsistomovetowardsa centralized(andseparate)cloudplatformliketheSAP CloudPlatform.Here,ratherthanusingproprietary technologieslikeABAPtocustomizesolutions,innovation takesplacearoundtheedgeswithextensionappsthat accessapplicationfunctionalitythroughwell-defined RESTfulinterfaces(e.g.OData).Thisdesign-by-contract approachtoextensionappdevelopmentsimplifiesthe designandofferslotsoflong-termflexibility

Toappreciatethesedifferences,consideratypicalwebapp builtonSAP’sSAPUI5framework(i.e.thetoolkitusedto createFioriapps).Ifthisappwasdevelopedon-premise, thebasiccomponentarchitecturewouldlooksomething likewhatyouseeontheleft-handsideofthefigurebelow Here,thefront-endserverisastandaloneinstanceofSAP Gatewayandtheback-endservermightbeSAPS/4HANA oranolderSAPBusinessSuitesystem.

Now,let’simaginethattheappissosuccessfulthatthe businesswantstobeabletoaccesstheappindifferent

About the Author

James Wood, is the Principal Consultant of Bowdark Consulting, where his work domain includes being an architect and technologist in the enterprise software space. He has expertise in the development of custom software solutions using cloud-native, SAP, and Microsoft-based technologies. James’extracurricular activities include blogging, writing, working with the SAP Mentor Community, and technology research.

ways.Here,theremightbeadesiretoaccesstheappon mobiledevices/tablets.Or,perhapsthebusinesswantsto sharethisappwithbusinesspartnersviaaself-service portal.Inatraditionalon-premisescenario,thesemightbe difficultrequirementstoaddressduetoavarietyof restrictionsaroundchangemanagement,hardware procurement/installation,andsoforth.

Thediagramontheright-handsideofthefigureabove showshowmovingtheapptoSAPCloudPlatformchanges thisscenarioquiteabit.Inthiscase,dataisstillsecurely accessedviatheSAPCloudConnectorcomponent,butthe appishostedinanenvironmentthatoffersalltheservices neededtoexposetheapptomobiledevices,self-service portals,andmore.Plus,theITinfrastructureteamnolonger hastoworryaboutmaintainingthefront-endserveror ancillaryserversthatmightbeneeded.

Outlook

Theexamplesdescribedherebarelyscratchthesurfaceof what’spossiblewithcentralizedPaaSsolutionslikeSAP CloudPlatform.Thepointinallthisthoughisthattheonly waytokeeppacewithdigitaltransformationdemandsisto providedeveloperswithanenvironmentthatallowsthemto focussquarelyonsolvingbusinessproblemsandgetoutof thebusinessofworryingaboutmundaneproprietarydetails, environmental/scalingissues,andsoforth.

ThistrendisnotuniquetoSAP;youseeitacrossthe industrywithothermajorvendorsmovingtowardscloudnativedesigns.Thebenefitsintermsofscalabilityand flexibilityaretoogreattoignore,soweseethisasatrend that’sheretostay.So,thenexttimeyou’rethinkingabout buildinganewapp,maybeit’stimetoseewhatSAPCloud Platformcandototransformyourbusiness.

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JamesWood
WANT TO MANAGE YOUR IT ASSETS but lack the RESOURCES, BUDGET or TIME? ARE YOU OVERSPENDING or buying unnecessary IT EQUIPMENT for your business? PROBLEM RENEWING your SOFTWARE LICENSE or upgrading your SYSTEM? WANT TO KNOW MORE about your IT EQUIPMENT or your NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE? 11 Yishun Industrial Street 1, #02-96 NorthSpring Bizhub Singapore 768089 | Email: support@ds-solutions.com.sg | Tel. No.: +65 6369 9920

Exceptional third party support and managed services for SAP SpinnakerSupport:

MattStava,CEO MattStavafoundedSpinnaker Supportin2008andhasservedasthe ChiefExecutiveOfficersinceinception. Initiallyanexecutiveleadingsupply practicesforinternationallyrecognized supplychainconsultancies,Mattrealized thatSAPandOracleuserswereseeking bettersupportwithsignificantsavings. UnderMatt'sleadership,Spinnaker Supporthasgrownby40%annually since2008byprovingSAPuserscan receivehighqualitysoftwaresupport serviceswithlesscostandtheninvest thosesavingsintheirtechnologyvision.

Inthedigitalage,businessleadersmuststayontopofnew,emerging,

andfuturetechnologiesorriskfallingbehind.Butwheredoyoustart? Youareundoubtedlyalreadyexploringthelatestdigitaltrendsto identifythebestoptionsforyourorganization.But,howwillyouever implementtheseoptionswithsomuchofyourITbudgetearmarkedfor maintenanceofon-premisesoftwareapplications?SpinnakerSupportisa leadingthird-partyproviderofSAPmaintenanceandsupport.Spinnaker SupportSAPservicesareasolutiontoacompany’scontinuouslypressing businessproblem–howtogetrealvalueoutofannualsoftwaresupport whiletakingcontrolofitstechnologyroadmap.SpinnakerSupportservice deliversthesamesetofsoftwarebreak/fix,taxandregulatory,generaluse, andvulnerabilitymanagementsupportonegetsfromSAP’sself-service modelandimprovesuponitthroughafullservice,highlypersonalized deliverymodelwithsignificantsavings.TheircustomersscoredtheirthirdpartySAPsupportatnearly99%inthelatestcustomersatisfactionsurvey

Inadditiontothird-partysupport,theyuniquelyaddhighvalueapplication andtechnicalmanagedservicesfortheirSAPclients. They are the fastest growing provider of SAP third-party support and managed services in the industry (39.4% sales growth in FY 2016).

UnderMatt’svisionandsubsequent execution,SpinnakerSupportonlyhires themostexperiencedandproven softwareengineers,withsubstantial applicationandsurroundingtechnology stackexpertise.Theteamconsistently followsISO9001:2015standardsand avoidsshortcutsthatinfringeonthe intellectualpropertyrightsofothers.In Mayof2012,SpinnakerSupport launchedtheSAPSupportDivision.

Umpteenbenefitsfortheclients

SpinnakerSupportcustomersgainexpert andpersonalizedannualsoftwaresupport service;tremendousannualsavings; freedomtochoosetheirownpathof technologyinnovation.Spinnaker Supportisprovidingarangeofservices thatcustomersrespectandembrace. TheirSAPcustomersspan87countries andtheysupport305instancesofSAP software,rangingfromR/3through ECC6.Thecompanycurrentlysupports morethan120SAPproducts,including BusinessObjectsandHANADatabase. Additionally,SpinnakerSupportis

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maintainingOracle’sRuntime DatabaseformanyofitsSAP clients.

ThemajorityoftheirSAPcustomers leveragetheirthird-partysupport offering–whichiscomprisedof softwarebreakfixes,taxandregulatory updates,generalinquirysupport,anda rangeoftechnologyadvisoryservices designedtoensureinteroperabilityin dynamicenvironments,application security,andvirtualization.Most customersembracetheirsupport engineersasapartoftheirown internalITteamandtrusttheir independentguidanceregardinggoforwardinitiativesforcloudmigration, transformation,anddigitalization.

Nothingventured,nothinggained SAPisincreasinglyusingauditsand indirectaccessastacticstooptimize revenueandretainsupportcustomers. Theyhavealsomodifiedtheirstandard licensingagreements,whichcan complicatethecancellationprocess.

SpinnakerSupportengages independentpartnerstohelpSAPusers navigatethroughthesebarriers.SAP’s pushtothecloud,whichiswidely regardedasnotreadyforprimetime, cancomplicatetransitionstothirdpartysupportaswell–butoftenserves asapushtoanalternativesupport model.

Thebest-laidplans Industryanalystsagreethatcloud-first thinkingwillcontinuetodominateIT

executivestrategiesbutmostSAP usersarewaitingforSAPcloud offeringstofurthermaterialize.This couldtakeyears.So,thosesame analystsprojectthatthethird-party supportmarketwillremainastrong supportalternativetoenablethe long-termvisionatleastthrough2030.

SpinnakerSupportoffersasmartrange ofmanagedservicesandconsulting. OrganizationsthatrunSAPareseeking thatsinglevendortoprovidemore services–toreducecostsandtoshrink thenumberofserviceprovidersthey areusingtodaywhichisofferedby SpinnakerSupport.

SpinnakerSupportissigningnew partnershipstosupplementtheir capabilitiesinemergingareaslike applicationsecurity,performance monitoringandtuning,andcloud/SaaS support.Databaseoptimizationisakey areawheretheywillcontinuetoinvest. Themorerobusttheirservice capabilities,thebettertheywill competeandwingoingforward.Their servicemixwillmorphovertimebut theircommitmenttodeliveringexpert servicewillnot.

ExpertsonthecuttingedgeofSAP SpinnakerSupporthashiredexperts whoareonthecuttingedgeofSAP andsurroundingstacktechnology.The cloudisn’treadyforthevastmajority ofSAPshopsandtheyarelookingto vendorslikeSpinnakerSupportfor costsavingsthatcanhelpfundthe cloudwhenitisreadyandalsoto

coachandadvisethemonthebestpath tothecloud.Theyareexpertsinthis fieldandstayabreastofthelatestand greatesttoensurethattheyaretopof mindforSAPusers.

Integratingallessentialparameters tobecompetent

Firstly,SpinnakerSupportfocuseson providingunique,highvalueservices tocurrentSAPcustomerswhichretain themandmakesthemreferenceable.

Secondly,SpinnakerSupportis increasinglycommunicatingwith prospects,industryinfluencersfrom analystfirmslikeGartnerand Forrester,andwiththeITjournalist community Awarenessandeducation isakeyingredienttotheirsuccess.

Thirdly,SpinnakerSupportis expandingintoemergingmarkets.Last yeartheylaunchedanoperationin Israel,ahighrowthareaforthird-party support.In2017,theyhaveopened operationsinstrategicmarketssuchas SouthKoreaandRussia.

Finally,SpinnakerSupportalways deliverssupporttherightway–avoidingtheviolationofthe intellectualpropertyrightsofothers.

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Deliveringcutting-edge,fastreturn-on-investment SAPsupport,advisory,andmanagedservices forafractionofthecost

Ongoing Improvement of the SAP System Xpandion:

TransformationofXpandionfrom 2007

Xpandionwasfoundedin2007.It’sbeen 10yearsthatthecompanyis fundamentallyprovidinguseraccess controlinaunifiedcloudand on-premisesenvironment,controlling ERPsecurityandauthorizations, optimizingSAPlicensing,andalongwith itiseasilymaintainingGRCand SegregationofDuties(SoD)compliance. Xpandionisafairandresponsive employerwhorespectstheiremployee’s needsandprovidesthemwithasafeand enjoyableworkplace.

Everyestablishedcompanyisdisciplinedbytheirgoodmanagement, staffmembersandtheimplementationthathasbeenexecutedatthe righttimeinaperfectway.Weoftenthinkofexactlyhowsuch companiesraisevaluesintheindustriesatsuchanearlystage.Well,the onlythingwhichweneedtofocusonis-NeverGiveUp!Nomatterhow toughthepathyoucomeacrossorhowmuchsavingsyouputonaportal, oneshouldalwaysbelievethatamiraclewillsoonhappeninyourlife.This ishowtheteamatXpandiondreamtoffwhentheylitupanideathat enlightenedthecompanywithnumerousclients.

XpandionisaleadingproviderofERPusageinspectionsolutions, deliveringunprecedentedreal-timevisibilityintoSAPandnon-SAP systems,significantlyimprovingsecurity,optimizinglicensingusageand enablingGRC/SOXcompliance.Availableincloudoron-premises, XpandionProfileTailor™Dynamicssuiteisimplementedrapidlyanddoes notrequireanychangesformonitoringsystems.Theyworkhardtoupdate theirsoftwareconsistentlyinordertokeepupwiththemostcurrent industrystandardsandtheconstantchanges,includingSoD,ISOand GeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR).

Xpandionisconstantlyinvestingtime andresourcesinresearchingnew technologiesandincorporatingtheminto thesoftware.Xpandionsoftwareis mobile-friendly,supportsin-memory capabilitiesforbetterperformanceand usesthenewestdevelopmentstandards. Asoneofthefirstcompaniestoembrace cloud-technologyforenterprisesoftware, Xpandionoffersbothon-premisesanda cloud-versionofitssoftware,giving customerstheabilitytochoosethemost suitablesolutionfortheirorganization andtomovebetweensolutionsaccording totheircurrentandfuturebusinessneeds.

Xpandion’sapproachtosalesisabit differentthanothers.Thecompany’s mainmottoistogivevaluetoeachofits customersandprovidethemultimate satisfaction.Thisisthereasonthatin somecases,organizationswillapproach Xpandionandwillreceiveadviceon whetherornotXpandion’sproductisa goodfitforthem.

CustomerCareMakesXpandion Unique

Ideasareoftenoneandthesame,but

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beingabletounderstandandsolve customerissuesandultimately implementsolutionsmakesthe companyshineeveninthedark.

Xpandion,whichisaleadingcompany intheERPindustry,maintainsits uniquestatureonlybecauseofthe expertservicesandcompany management.Togetherwithitspartners globally,Xpandionprovidessoftware solutionsforincreasingSAPSecurity andcontrollingSAPAuthorizations, whichisalsoastronginfrastructurefor performingmulti-platformrole redesignprojects.

Later,theyalsostartedproviding ProfileTailorLicenseAuditor,which deliversreal-timevisibilityofactual SAPlicenseusageandsimplifies licensingmodels,enablingbetter managementoflicensesandachieving fullcontrolofSAPusage.

LicenseAuditoralsomonitorsusageof SAPsoftwareenginesand recommendstherightlicenseforeach one.Lastbutnotleast,LicenseAuditor monitorslicensingriskslikeduplicate loginsandIndirectaccess,whichcan resultinhighlicensingcostsifnot treatedbeforeanaudit.

Xpandionisalsoonthepeakofthe compliancemarketbyproviding ProfilesTailorGRCwhichenables compliancewithGRC/SOXandSoD requirements,identifyingviolationson staticanddynamiclevelsofgranting authorizationstousers,supporting authorizationrelatedprocessesand solvingviolationsfromSoDrules. Xpandion'suniquetechnologyenables customerstofindthebestauthorization

roletogranttousersinamatterof seconds,andtoreallysolveSoD conflictsinsteadofjustcreating compensatingcontrols.

Xpandioncustomersareatease knowingthattheirproductsare certifiedbySAPandthattheywill continuetogetvaluefromXpandion foryears.Xpandionproductsholdtwo certificationsintheSAPworld–one forSAPECCNetweaverandonefor SAPS/4HANA,whichpromises customersfullsupportfortheir existingSAPproductsandalsofor theirfutureones.Xpandionis continuouslyincontactwithSAPto ensurethatthesoftwareiscompliant withSAP'snextstepsanddirections.

Notaboss,butaleaderofXpandion MoshePanzer,Founder&CEOof Xpandionhasover20yearsof impressiveexperienceintheSAP industryandisrecognizedasanSAP expert.Moshehasalsocontributedhis skillfulknowledgetothepositionof ProjectAdvisorandProjectLeaderfor largeprivatemultinationalcorporations andsmallstartups.Additionally,he wasalsoaproudseniorSAPconsultant beforecommencingXpandionin2007. IncludingXpandion,Moshediligently establishedthreesoftwarecompanies.

HavinggraduatedfromtheTechnion andClarkUniversity,Moshestrongly believesthathehasanabilityto improvethelivesofpeoplethrough softwaresolutions.Thiskeepshim chargedtodevelopmoresoftwareand tohelpnumerousindividualsand organizations.Mosherestlesslylooks toforagethoseorganizationsthatare stillworkingmanuallyonthosetasks

whichcouldbeeasilyexecutedwitha fewclicksofthemouseandhavingthe intelligentsoftwarebehindthescenes doingallthehardwork.

SharpeningonFutureChallenges

Xpandionispersistentlyworkingon theirdevelopmenttoself-upgradethe systemthroughplannedchangesand updatingitsapplicationswiththe changesintheindustry.Xpandion’s softwareuniquelyoperatesinside customer’spremisesonaprivatecloud orinasecuredpubliccloudaswell. Duetocustomerrequests,thesoftware supportsmultipleSAPproducts, includingSAPBusinessObjectsand SAPSuccessFactors,andalso non-SAPproductslikeMicrosoft ActiveDirectory,Exchange, Sharepoint,InforM3,Microsoft DynamicsAX,MicrosoftNavisionand SalesForce.

Thecompanyalsoaimstoprovidethe bestservicesanddevelopthebest productforeachoftheirclients.They aremethodical,diligentandattentive tothesmalldetails.Thisgivesan organizationtheabilitytoupgradetheir coresoftwareeasilyaswellas continuouslyacquirenewfeaturesand capabilities.Xpandionanditspartners provideagreatcustomizedsolution withimpeccableservicesandthisis whatmakesthemuniquefromthe competitorsintheindustry

SAPcustomersshouldunderstandwhat’sgoingon insidetheirsystemsandwhattheirusersarereally doing–andwesupplythesoftwaretodothat!
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