SAP World Tour - It's all about mobility, BI, and SOA

Last week, we attended a local event on the SAP World Tour. Key topics included the future of in-memory computing, computing in the cloud, and mobility. The clear message was that the future is all about the iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, and Android. It's NOT about the desktop. We should expect specific apps that distill SAP software down to core information relevant to each person who needs it, whenever they need it, along with the ability to act on it. Another big takeaway was that during the next decade, we’ll see technology to enable managers to collaborate better with one other both inside and outside their companies. The new middle manager will work with customers and suppliers in real-time, with technologies that remove any semblance of corporate walls.

This is consistent with another key theme we noted at the SAP for Utilities event last month: utility customers will ultimately receive better customer service through more effective use of BI, SOA, and mobile technology.

We expect to see more granular, powerful functionality based on user roles in the future. This will be driven by leveraging Business Objects, by new analytical tools that make captured information readily available and actionable, and by increasing use of mobile devices. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) will facilitate third-party application integration with SAP while maintaining high security and enabling bi-directional flows of information that previously were not possible without far greater effort and expense.

Given these advancements, the right information will find the right users based on specified rules and real-time analysis of operations. Customers and field crews will be the most obvious beneficiaries of these developments . Work orders, for example, will change in real time based on actual need and geographic proximity, such that the four-hour appointment window disappears. Customers will get what they need faster and with less hassle, and utilities will make even better use of their resources.