Time for a change

Winston Churchill once said: “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” Any successful business knows it has to adapt to survive. Changing markets, needs and tastes are just some of the things businesses have to take into account. Businesses that are prepared for change are invariably the ones that succeed. In fact, some of them have undergone some pretty dramatic changes. In 1865, a Finnish mining engineer started a paper mill. The company initially branched out into rubber tires, footwear and waterproofs and changed over the years to take advantage of new markets and innovations. At the start of the 21st century, this company controlled 27% of the world’s mobile phone market.

Get in shape to grow

In recent times, the opportunities for mid-size organisations have been squeezed from above and below as SME’s and enterprise organisations have encroached on their territories. They’ve had to adopt the mantra do more with less, they’ve had to become more efficient and they’ve had to start pursuing new business more aggressively. The tough economic climate of the last few years has created businesses that are more competitive and also created more-competitive markets. Fast and agile businesses have succeeded, the rest have fallen by the wayside.

Why the answer’s simple

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” The quote’s often attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci, but simplicity is a theme that runs through all the arts. That’s probably because it’s so hard to create something simple. Simplicity is something we strive for in the business world too.

Cost cutting: insight or instinct

Cutting costs can seem counter intuitive when you want your business to grow. Yet, for the last five years, cost cutting has been high, if not top, of the agendas of most businesses.

Are you ready to run like never before?

Do you see your business as an organism – a continuous living system, made up of interdependent parts that work together to carry out vital processes? Or do you perceive it more as a mechanism – an arrangement of moving components that operate or interact to turn inputs into outputs?

Why cloud adoption is soaring among SMEs

One characteristic that sets successful companies apart is the ability to respond quickly to change. Small businesses are often assumed to be inherently more agile than large enterprises, but can find themselves bogged down by lengthy, resource-intensive IT projects when they come to deploy the new applications needed to support business growth. Many lack the specialised IT staff and expertise of larger firms, or have limited hardware, software and maintenance budgets.

While organisations of any size can benefit from Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the business case for smaller companies is particularly compelling, so it’s no wonder that cloud adoption among SMEs is soaring. Available on a subscription basis, SaaS allows you to rapidly deploy enterprise-level applications without tying up vital capital in hardware and on-premise software licenses. You can scale add or remove users to align IT expenditure directly to business need. As well as providing economies of scale, cloud delivery eliminates the grunt-work associated with ongoing upgrades and security patches, system monitoring and troubleshooting, so your IT team can focus on business strategy instead of keeping the lights on.

Visit SAPPHIRE NOW’s dedicated Cloud Campus to discover SAP’s cloud solutions for yourself. There’s a solution to manage every aspect of your business, from people and money to customers and suppliers. SAP’s OnDemand applications can be provisioned in as little as 48 hours, so everyone could be up and running in a matter of weeks, instead of months. Take this opportunity to talk to the experts about how SAP’s cloud solutions can enable you to compete head-to-head with bigger rivals by giving you affordable access to the technologies that were once the preserve of large corporates.

Read more and stay up to date with the latest news and information on the SAPPHIRE NOW Cloud Blog: http://bit.ly/TBjiKA

Unleash the power of mobile on your business

These days, mobile devices are capable of so much more than calls, text and email. Employees are already using smart phones and tablets to connect, research, buy, sell and interact in their personal lives – and now it’s happening in the workplace, too. In fact, thanks to their accessibility and native ease of use, mobiles are fast becoming the preferred way of consuming business information even when people are in the office.

But it’s not just about boosting productivity. Mobile innovation is helping companies revolutionise their business processes by providing up-to-the-minute, highly detailed information and enabling decisive action in situations that were previously inconceivable. It’s creating brand-new scenarios in service environments and in the field by enabling workers to make informed choices, avert problems, seize opportunities and satisfy customers in the moment, in ways that traditional desktop applications simply can’t support.

The challenge is to deliver a secure, joined-up mobile strategy that weaves the principle of “anytime, anywhere” into the very fabric of your business processes. One that takes into account the plethora of mobile devices and operating systems in concurrent use, and ensures company data is secure at all times, even on so-called “bring your own” devices.

SAPPHIRE NOW’s dedicated Mobile Campus is the place to start. Here you can learn about and experience first-hand the latest in mobile innovation from SAP. Find out more about SAP’s business-grade apps that let employees manage, sell, service, market, transact, spend and work on the go. Discover SAP’s device management solution, development platform and mobile strategy. Test-drive the latest technologies, engage with your peers and SAP experts, and attend expert-led presentations and panels.

This is your chance to explore all the exciting opportunities mobile solutions present to growing businesses. You’ll discover how to boost productivity, transform service, accelerate the pace of business and bring greater flexibility to the working day. You’ll see how easily you can connect field-based, traveling or customer-facing personnel to critical systems and learn how to drive competitive advantage by allowing customers to engage with you on their terms.

Read more by visiting the SAPPHIRE NOW Mobile Blog: http://bit.ly/SNVxxg

Are the days of spreadsheet analysis numbered?

Not so long ago, data analysis in most small and medium-sized companies was invariably done with spreadsheets. Sophisticated business intelligence systems were beyond affordable reach for most. Getting the information you needed, when you needed it, was an ongoing battle. And data was almost always historical, so you could only plan for tomorrow based on a picture of what happened yesterday.

These days, explosive growth in data – in terms of volume, variety of sources and the velocity at which it’s generated – means manual spreadsheet analysis can’t go far enough, fast enough. Decisions are often time-sensitive, and today’s accelerating pace of business allows little margin for error. With this in mind, recent innovations in analytics are making business insight accessible, real-time, predictive, visual, mobile, social and – crucially for growing businesses – affordable.

A visit to the dedicated Analytics Campus at this year’s SAPPHIRE NOW is the ideal place to start. There will be an influx of SAP experts will be on hand to show you how analytics can drive faster, better informed decision-making at every level of your business. Discover how, equipped with analytical tools designed for non-technical users, you can intuitively uncover trends, patterns, warnings, opportunities and inspiration within your data, to help you predict and adapt to changing conditions ahead of your competitors.

SAPPHIRE NOW is a great opportunity to find out more about the latest developments in analytics, get face-to-face advice from the experts, and swap experiences and best practices with your peers that you can bring back to create repeatable successes in your own business.

Find out more about this years SAPPHIRE NOW Madrid event in the video below:

 

Making better data-driven decisions

Do you have a clear view of how your business is performing? With all the key information? Without it, you might as well be driving in the dark – with no headlights.

Steering your company through the fragile economy can be challenging. But wouldn’t it be great if you had complete visibility of the data that drives your business? With SAP software solutions, you’ll have it. So you can make those important business decisions based on key data and facts.

The Interactive dashboards and rich visualisations in SAP Business Intelligence Solutions help you monitor your business performance. And with real-time insights, allow you to adjust your business decisions at a moments notice. You can anticipate changing needs and make better decisions. And imagine all this, at a click of a button.
Learn how SAP Business Intelligence Solutions can help your company make data-driven decisions by contacting your reseller or by reviewing the information below.

Benefits of a Business Intelligence and Analytics Strategy http://bit.ly/PjyFBX
SAP Business Intelligence Solutions Comparison Matrix http://bit.ly/PecfnC
SAP Business Intelligence Solutions YouTube Video Uploads http://bit.ly/NuO0kZ
Top 10 Reasons SMEs choose SAP – PDF Download http://bit.ly/O2v5tD

 

Making Quality Your Goal

Unfortunately, many companies learn about the importance of data quality management the hard way – by addressing data errors, data movement, and unstructured data after several, costly problems.

Is your information lacking in quality? Without accurate customer insight and performance data, you’ll never know. Which means you can’t target the areas of your business that need to improve.

With SAP Business Intelligence Solutions, you can close this information gap and quickly understand – and rectify – any weak points. The software provides unparalleled insight and allow you to integrate, transform, improve and deliver trusted data that supports critical business processes and enables sound decisions. And this will become even more important as you expand into new markets, develop products, and strive to improve your customer service.

Greater visibility and transparency will help your employees see how their day-to-day actions impact business goals. Learn how SAP Business Intelligence Solutions can help your company with its data quality management by visiting the links below.

Benefits of a Business Intelligence and Analytics Strategy: http://bit.ly/PjyFBX
SAP Business Intelligence Solutions Comparison Matrix: http://bit.ly/PecfnC
SAP Business Intelligence Solutions YouTube Video Uploads: http://bit.ly/NuO0kZ
Top 10 Reasons SMEs choose SAP – PDF : http://bit.ly/O2v5tD