Posts Tagged ‘SAP’
Thursday, June 2nd, 2016
With the blistering pace at which technology develops in this cognitive era, the mantra of the day is “disrupt or be disrupted”. IBM explores the possibilities of exploiting disruptive cutting-edge technologies through real-life case studies of how industry leaders have transformed their organisations and markets to lead the pack.

I am at a one-day thought leadership conference held by technology leader IBM at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore. The conference will discuss leading-edge technologies that organisations can exploit to win. I’m looking forward to the solutions showcase that will demo the latest in cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics, amongst other technologies of the day.
Brett Michael Nulf brought delegates through various examples of how technology-driven disruptions had decimated many traditional leaders in various industries in recent years, emphasising the importance for enterprises to stay vigilant in order to avoid getting eliminated because of disruption from existing competitors and new startups.
The impetus for disruptive innovation
At the rate at which devices proliferate, their numbers will reach 75 billion by 2020. In fact, some ninety percent of data created was in the last two years because of this proliferation of devices.
Computing systems nowadays are increasingly capable of taking in unstructured data in its many forms though IoT and the rise of the API economy. This has led to the rise of cognitive computing which is transforming digital organisations into cognitive enterprises.
As a result, new business models are emerging, with many of these based on mobile strategies.
New disruptive businesses are leveraging the confluence of analytics, IoT and cloud to create new applications, putting them ahead of incumbent leaders entrenched in legacy technologies.
To succeed in this competitive race, enterprises must be nimble and creative, despite their size.
In order to do this, winners need to accelerate innovation by evolving a progressive technology mindset, mastering technologies such as hybrid clouds and integrating into the API economy.
He mused at how more than seventy percent of companies have dropped off the Fortune 500 list, with the “Unicorn Club” of privately-funded startups reaching US$1bn in value becoming increasingly crowded.
Nulf is a Business Unit Executive for MobileFirst Platform & Cloud, Asia Pacific, IBM Corporation.
He cautioned that although the Fintech arena is currently seeing the most disruptions, other industries are also prone to technology-driven disruptions, such as in manufacturing, healthcare, and even traditional sectors with a long history – such as consumer packaged goods.
An interesting phenomenon that Nulf described was what he called the “Uber syndrome – where a competitor with a completely different business model enters your industry and flattens you”.
It was an interesting example where the innovative newcomer (in this case Uber) enjoyed rapidly growing revenue and market share at the expense of traditional taxis – while the overall pie remained the same.
One key reason why these disruptive newcomers do so well is the speed with which they move and innovate.
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Tags:API, Cisco, cognitive, disruptive, Flipkart, Google, GrabTaxi, IBM, IBM SolutionsConnect 2016, Kickstarter, Netflix, SAP, Singapore, SolutionsConnect, technology, VMware, WeChat, Yes Bank
Posted in Big Data, Business IT, Cloud, Enterprise IT, Events, events, IBM, Mobile, Opinion, SAP, Seminars, Technology, Uncategorized, VMware | No Comments »
Thursday, October 23rd, 2014
Asia’s leading non-life insurer turns to SAP to streamline operations and advance in a fast changing regulatory environment.

At the SAP Media Summit in Singapore. From left to right: Scott Russell, Chief Operating Officer, SAP Asia Pacific Japan & Alan Wilson, Regional CEO, MSIG Asia talk about how Big Data is changing the Financial Services Industry. Photo provided by SAP.
Leading non-life insurer MSIG has chosen SAP Core Insurance Platform for its Singapore and Indonesia companies.
“To keep pace with the industry’s changing customer needs and the dynamic regulatory environment, we wanted a flexible and scalable solution to meet both our current and future needs,” said Alan Wilson, regional CEO, MSIG Asia.
Along with driving operational efficiencies, faster time-to-market and improved customer service, the SAP Core Insurance Platform will empower these MSIG operations with a single system that will better enable growth and support the innovations and flexibility required to meet the fast-changing business demands of today and tomorrow.
Currently, there are software solutions from two main providers within MSIG in Asia, each of which has in place its own variation on the main processes and supporting systems and have undergone custom development over time.
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Tags:enterprise IT, Indonesia, infrastructure, insurance, Japan, MSIG, SAP, Singapore
Posted in Announce, Business IT, Enterprise IT, Events, events, SAP, Seminars | No Comments »
Saturday, May 24th, 2014
Was having lunch last week with John Ruthven, Eugene Ho of SAP, Bob Aubrey of Mazars and a few other journos from the media – when Bob mentioned a study that Mazars did in 2013 about Millennials.

If you’re a “Millennial”, how often do you use social media? Click on image to view enlarged version.
The study was conducted in 2013 and approached 6,900 Millennial employees in 64 countries worldwide, out of which 3,010 responded – that’s a remarkably high return rate.

Bob Aubrey, Partner & Practice Leader, People Development Consulting, Mazars. With more than 20 years’ experience in leadership and people development consulting, Dr Aubrey is also an entrepreneur, writer and professor.
The “Millennials” or, otherwise known as Gen Y (Generation Y) are defined in this study as young people born between the beginning of the 1980s and the mid-90s.
Since the Gen Y will account for a huge chunk of the world’s population and workforce in the near future, the demography is relevant to global companies such as SAP that provides business IT solutions to large enterprises and organisations employing these Millennials.
Currently, Millennials make up more than half of our workforce. This is expected to increase to 75% in 2025.
It would be interesting to watch how these statistics change over time to observe the underlying trend, although the result would not be surprising, given the increasing popularity of social media amongst the increasingly IT-savvy working population.
Here are some additional statistics surrounding Millennials.
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Tags:enterprise IT, factoid, Mazars, SAP, social media, study
Posted in Brief, Enterprise IT, Events, Figures, Infographic, infographics, Reference, SAP, Study | No Comments »
Saturday, April 12th, 2014
Abeo International and Aptean partner to market Pivotal CRM in Southeast Asia and emerging regions.

Pivotal CRM will assist companies in customizing business processes and streamlining operations.
Abeo International, a provider of IT Solutions and Services and Aptean, a global provider of enterprise application software has announced a partnership to provide Pivotal Point of Sales (POS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services to Southeast Asia and emerging markets.
“These days, more companies emphasise on multiplatform and real-time interaction with their customers and they need industry-tailored applications that mirror their functional needs. We are pleased to partner with Aptean, a global leader in customer relationship management, to offer Pivotal CRM that will help businesses manage CRM data efficiently,” said Michael Lim, Chief Executive Officer of Abeo International.
Abeo international will serve as a channel partner for selling Aptean’s CRM solution.
Through this partnership, clients from industries ranging from finance, real estate to marketing, healthcare and retail would be able to leverage on Aptean’s decades of CRM experience and Abeo’s ability to customise CRM into their business processes in a cost-effective manner.
Pivotal CRM is a full-featured CRM platform that has a flexible and customisable platform for organisations to reduce the cost and complexity of embedding cutting edge functionality into business processes.
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Tags:Abeo, Aptean, CRM, Electra, enterprise IT, partnership, POS, SAP, SME
Posted in Announce, Enterprise IT, Events, Press Release | No Comments »
Sunday, February 23rd, 2014
The Extreme Sailing Series has just completed the races at its first venue for 2014 in Singapore. There will be seven more venues coming up before the eventual winner is decided.
멀라이언쿠기 (Merlion Cookie) was invited to be the sixth sailor on the catamaran of the SAP Extreme Sailing Team during one of the races. She shares her experience and understanding of how SAP data analytics contribute towards the rigours of extreme racing.
* All the pictures in this article were provided by Merlion Cookie. This journal is dedicated to the Korean readers out there 🙂

A day out with SAP Extreme Sailing Team
세일링은 쉽다. 응? 세일링이 무엇인지도 잘 몰랐던 내가 이제 세일링이 쉽다. SAP Extreme Sailing팀과 경험한 세일링은 그렇다.
“We are committed to transforming the sport of sailing globally by developing tools that help sailors optimize their performance, bring fans closer to the action and enable media and broadcasters to provide better informed commentaries,” said Stefan Lacher, head of Technology, SAP Sponsorships.
2014년 2월 20일에서 23일까지 나흘동안 싱가폴 마리나베이를 배경으로 전세계에서 온 11개 팀의 카타마란 경주를 펼치는데, 경주는 하루에도 몇 개의 라운드를 걸쳐 진행되며 결과적으로 각라운드의 점수합이 가장 높은 팀이 승리를 하게 된다.
나는 이 중 세번째 라운드 경주에 직접승선하여 바람을 가르는 세일링의 짜릿함을 온몸으로 느끼고 돌아왔다. 카타마란이 뭔지도 모랐었던 내가 어떻게 세일링과 친한게 되었을까?
우선 카타마란이 무엇인지 알아야겠다. 카타마란은 두 개 선채가 연결된 모양을 하고 있으며 그 위에 세운 돛으로 풍력을 이용하여 진행하는 배를 말한다. 즉, 돛을 세우고 바람을 받아가는 배 인 것이다.
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Tags:analytics, Big Data, data, enterprise IT, Korean, Marina Bay, races, sailing, SAP, Singapore, sports
Posted in Big Data, Enterprise IT, events, Software, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, February 20th, 2014
The Extreme Sailing Series is in Singapore as the first of 8 international venues for some 260 races this year. 12 teams will be vying to be leaders over four days from today till 23 February, at the Marina Bay.
I joined the SAP Extreme Sailing Team as a guest in their 40 Catamaran during one of the races on the opening day to experience the thrills and challenges of extreme sailing.

The participating multihulls racing against the backdrop of the Singapore skyline at Marina Bay, as the sun sets at the end of a successful first day. Taken with a Samsung GALAXY Note 3. Photo credit: John Tan.
With things happening so fast and with so many variables changing at the same time, it is easy to see how SAP’s data analytics is an invaluable tool in helping the teams and the coaches squeeze as much performance as possible out of every race.
Established in 2007, the Extreme Sailing Series is into its eighth year.
In 2012, SAP became the Official Technical Partner of the Extreme Sailing Series.
For the results of the first day of racing in Singapore, check out the report here after the eight races.
You can also check out the race leader board and visualisation of how each race unfolded based on SAP analytics here.
As in other complex competitive sports such as Formula One racing, a multitude of factors contribute to the success of a participating team.
These variables can also make it confusing and daunting for the spectator to follow and fully appreciate how the race is unfolding.
This is because there is simply too much information assaulting the brain of anyone trying to fully understand why a team they support is falling behind or why a rival is pulling ahead.

The SAP Extreme Sailing Team, with the Singapore Marina Bay Sands hotel in the background. Taken with a Samsung GALAXY Note 3. Photo credit: John Tan.
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Tags:analytics, Big Data, data, enterprise IT, Marina Bay, races, sailing, SAP, Singapore, sports
Posted in Big Data, Enterprise IT, Events, events, GALAXY, Note, Photos, SAP, Software, Sports, tablets, Technology, Visits | No Comments »
Thursday, February 13th, 2014
SAP wishes you a happy Valentine’s Day!

SAP’s infographic for Valentine’s Day.
Below are six interesting findings highlighted by SAP.
- Singapore is the biggest importer of flowers in comparison to 8 other markets, topping the list with an average spend of USD6.85 of flower imports per capita.
- Singapore tops the list again for the highest cocoa imports for chocolate and food preparations, with an average spend of USD 12.60 per capita. Separately, did you know that SAP customers produce 70 percent of the world’s chocolate and distribute more than 71 percent of the world’s food?
- Korea consumes 14.8 liters of alcohol per capita, the highest in the region ahead of Australia (10 liters) and New Zealand (9.6 liters). Also, SAP customers produce 64 percent of the world’s ice cream and 72 percent of the world’s beer.
- Hong Kong residents are the biggest spenders on tourism per capita ahead of 9 other markets.
- Korea has the highest divorce rates per person (2.2%), followed by Australia (2.2%), Singapore (1.9%) and New Zealand (1.9%).
- 62% of Indonesians have started retirement planning while only 29% of Japanese started retirement planning.
This infographic is created with the generation Y consumers in mind who are more inquisitive than ever before.
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Tags:data, infographic, SAP, Valentine's Day
Posted in Figures, Holiday, Infographic, infographics, Study | No Comments »
Thursday, September 12th, 2013
The Formula 1 Grand Prix is again in Singapore for the only night race in the F1 circuit.
I had the opportunity to take a peek at how SAP’s HANA in-memory computing system helps McLaren to harness the Big Data streaming in from their cars’ onboard sensors to fine-tune – in real time – the team’s race strategy.

SAP HANA provides McLaren with a dashboard for comprehensive awareness and real time decision making during a Formula 1 race or practice.
In this digital age of high performance computing, pertinent telemetry data is constantly being captured and transmitted by on-board sensors on the car for modelling and analysis by the team management back in the control room – be it during test practices, qualification runs, or the actual race itself.
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Tags:analytics, Big Data, cars, dashboard, F1, Formula 1, HANA, McLaren, predictive, racing, SAP, Singapore, telemetry
Posted in Big Data, Cloud, Interview, Seminars, Software, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
HP is collaborating with Singapore Asia Publishers (SAP) and onSponge to introduce new free print apps that allow direct access from web-connected HP printers to print out assessment and test content.

Sang Hoon Park describing how the free print apps will deliver quality educational content directly to web-connected HP printers. He is the Printing Category Director, Printing & Personal Systems Group, Singapore.
With the overwhelming choice of supplementary education options on the market, and the overwhelming volume of school-work already on young learners’ plates, parents are often unsure about how to help.
This new approach to supplementary learning – daily or weekly “bite-sized” education materials that are in-line with Singapore’s Primary School curriculum – reinforces learning for young students by focusing on quality and consistency instead of quantity.
Complement In-Class Learning
SAP is a leading publishing group specializing in academic materials such as supplementary workbooks, guidebooks, textbooks, reference books, dictionaries and other educational materials.
Availability
The SAP print app is now available for download free of charge for owners of HP Web-connected printers.
The onSponge print app will be available later this year.
The print apps are available on HP’s web-connected printers including HP Officejet Premium 6700 e-All-in-One and HP Photosmart 5520, 6520, 7520 e-All-in-One printers.
The SAP education print app offers content which has been handpicked from SAP’s own range of primary school assessment books, delivered on a daily and weekly basis.
Focusing on understanding key concepts through commonly tested questions in examinations, students and parents have direct access to bite-sized practice materials, all aligned to the latest curriculum taught in Singapore’s classrooms, that focus on understanding key concepts through commonly tested questions in examinations.
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Tags:Apps, education, HP, onSponge, printers, SAP, Singapore
Posted in Cloud, Events, Gadgets, HP, Inkjet, Launch, Printers | No Comments »