Yes, HANA and beer can make for a good mix.

Jon recently caught up with Omer Agiv, CEO of WeissBeerger Ltd, who made the trip from Israel to Sapphire Now 2013 in Orlando. His goal? To share an alcohol analytics solution, powered by the SAP HANA startup program, which gives real-time value to customers and breweries. And that has big names in the brewing industry climbing on board.

Omer explains that off-trade markets like supermarkets are easier for breweries to analyze. For bars and restaurants, breweries only know how many kegs were sold in a month – not which of four taps is flowing faster. Enter WeissBeerger’s alcohol analytics solution. Small sensors are physically placed on draft beer lines, each recording every drop. Consumption data is then sent to a brewery-side dashboard – enabling control of marketing, dynamic pricing and even the quality of the beer.

HANA’s role? It’s easier to get a foot in the door with SAP propping it open. HANA also has a lot of features that can save startups work, Omer says, citing the graphic design platform. WeissBeerger’s biggest appeal is focused promotion efforts. “Smart taps” could allow breweries to run a prize contest among all of the bars in one city from, say, between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. And there’s more value: breweries now have the ability to affect consumption, not just analyze it after the fact.

The guys talk about adoption, with some of the bigger names in Europe signing on – a healthy sign, especially in a conservative industry. On the tech side, Jon notes that WeissBeerger is using the HANA One cloud-based option, with the possibility of other licensing options depending on the scale.

Show Notes

:54 Sensors physically placed on tap lines deliver consumption data to breweries

2:40 Doors to new clients opened using SAP’s reputation

3:26 SAP persuaded conservative brewing industry, wary of new ideas, to sign on

4:16 HANA builds the whole platform for startups like this one

5:11 Without the need to gather huge data, WeissBerger used HANA more for analytics

5:50 Omer’s solution more about focused promotions – like real time selling contests

6:48 Big names climbing on board, even in this conservative industry

7:17 Omer’s solution uses HANA One, with licensing available upon scaling

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

When customers have trouble finding or accessing data, it might be time to call in the process miners.

Bastian Nominacher, Co-CEO of Celonis, sat down with the JD-OD Team at Sapphire NOW 2013 in Orlando.  The vital stats: With about 15% in cost savings, translating into potential millions of dollars, process mining pays off.

More than aggregated analytics, Bastian’s solution drills down into every process, uncovering digital traces that sometimes hamper key functions like procurement and invoicing. The HANA advantage? Celonis has been able to build better and more scalable solutions that also offer easier data integration.

In fact, with support from SAP, Bastian’s engineering team was able to complete integration in 2 to 3 months. Could he have used any other database than HANA, Jon asks? Not really, Bastian says. At least, not one that would give them the ability to push data in real time and scale it out.

The guys talk about the SAP HANA startup program, including SAP’s involvement on both the technical and market-enabling sides, which makes for a great spirit among program participants. With most of his customers of the large enterprise variety, Bastian expects that it might take a while to close some deals. How many live HANA customers would he like to have by this time next year? Given plans for U.S. expansion, around 20 to 25.

Show Notes

:44 Process mining increases compliance and efficiencies

1:29 Drilling down on processes reveals specific problems

1:50 2-3 month integration confirmed HANA as the only database of choice

3:35 Process mining can shave costs by 15%, potentially saving millions

4:18 Tech and market-side support from SAP a big plus

5:14 Forecast: 20 to 25 HANA customers a year from now

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

Dennis continues his discussion with Tamas Szirtes, a partner at Intenzz, to learn more about the future of mobile applications – this time in retail and health products. What Dennis found has broad implications.

Tamas says that SAP itself is very busy with new solutions for retail, an industry where the consumer experience has to be perfect – not second rate. It’s critical to remember that end-user consumers aren’t the typical SAP user. As an example, Tamas describes one of their apps for health care..

The mobile app, which runs on top of HANA XS, is aimed at people with special needs – from marathon runners to those looking for relief from allergies. The app provides product recommendations, and also has cross-selling capacities. And while Intenzz happens to be in the Netherlands, there’s nothing Dutch-specific about the app.

Given that the customer has established buying patterns, which the retailer can use for making product recommendations, Dennis notes that the app really amounts to “Shopping as a Real Service.” That could have furtherl impact down the line, possibly tying in to logistics systems.

As for the future of mobile retail apps on HANA, Tamas says that things will start to get interesting once people start looking beyond HANA’s basic capabilities.

Show Notes

:26 Retail apps are about end-user consumers, not the typical SAP user

1:04 Intenzz’s health/retail app, running on HANA XS, is for people with special needs

2:53 There’s nothing Dutch-specific about the app; it’s useful in other markets

3:03 App offers “Shopping as a Real Service,” which could be tied into logistics

4:11 Future of mobile apps gets interesting once people see beyond HANA’s basic features

In our other video shoot with Tamas, he demonstrates several additional HANA apps Intenzz has built. With a number of HANA apps in progress, Tamas also identified a need to monitor HANA instances 24/7.  So Intenzz created the “HANA Control Center on Mobile.” Built on the NetWeaver Cloud, the apps allows a company to monitor HANA processes 24/7, from any connected location.

Building the app on the NetWeaver Cloud had significant advantages. For one, functionality is easy to extend – no additional licensing is required for the vast majority of HANA customers who have a Java stack in house. For SAP Portal customers, the app is easy to create and manage, because Portal customers already have the knowledge as well as the support procedures in place.

During the demo, Tamas runs through the app’s main features, which monitor areas such as CPU, Memory, Users, Tables, Alerts, Connections, Admin Contacts and Documentation:

Demo Notes

:24 A mobile HANA Control Center lets users monitor processes at any time

1:48 Tamas runs through the main functions and options

3:47 App is easy to manage with a NetWeaver Portal

4:11 Future of mobile apps gets interesting – once people see beyond HANA’s basic features

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

When it comes to crunching numbers, Semantic Vision is bigger than Google News. Semantic constantly downloads from more than 160,000 sources and process more than 800,000 articles per day into 1.3 million semantic categories, running in eleven world languages in parallel. And they have patents in cross-language information retrieval.

Frank Vrabal, President of Semantic Vision, traveled from Czech Republic to Sapphire NOW 2013 to connect with his company’s largest customer, SAP. Oh, and to spread the word about the size and scope of Semantic’s data analysis, which tracks more than 5,000 semantic categories across 1,200 different industries.

How does that help the customer? Frank says that they deliver intelligence that is distributed among the millions of documents that are openly available on the Internet. One example: Semantic’s metadata, which is automatically generated, is  being used in the area of supply chain management. Another example – defense and security.

The guys talk about how HANA fits into the picture. Frank says that, due to the size of Semantic’s database, which has 35 terabytes, they needed something more powerful than what was available. The company joined the SAP HANA startup program and is currently working with HANA “very intensively”.

What would constitute a successful year with HANA? Frank wants to fully migrate to subscription-based HANA and to conclude the R&D phase in the algorithmic trading area. Thinking longer term, option could include powering a hedge fund which would leverage semantic analysis.

Show Notes

:40 Semantic performs analysis of 800,000 news articles per day

2:02 Company tracks 5,000 semantic categories across 1,200 different industries

3:04 Data used in the area of supply chain management as well as in defense and security

4:12 Semantic’s database, which has 35 terabytes, needed the power of HANA

4:53 Current R&D project is to find algorithms that can predict changes in financial markets

5:31 EOY goals: Integrate system on HANA & complete R&D phase in algorithmic trading

6:24 Algorithmic trading options are to work with a select few or create larger solution

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

Elhay Farkash, CEO of Lightapp Technologies, made the trip to Sapphire NOW 2013 Orlando all the way from his home base of Israel. His mission: meet customers who use his HANA-driven solution.

Elhay sat down with the JD-OD team to share how HANA helps Lightapap’s existing solution became a part of the SAP HANA startup program. The analytics-based solution, Elhay explains, mainly focuses on energy management for industrial manufacturing – companies that produce food and beverages, metals, plastics, etc. The problem? These companies use significant amounts of electricity, gas, fuel oils, water and wastewater.

The value add comes from companies who previously monitored those consumption quarterly switching to tracking those processes in real time. Jon notes that that makes a real difference, and is a good reason for HANA to enter the picture. Elhay agrees, adding that HANA enables Lightapp to do “a lot of fast work over a lot of data in real time,” especially for customers who are already using various SAP systems.

The guys switch gears to focus on Lightapp’s growth strategy, which Elhay views as a supply-and-demand chain issue. The plan is simple: Start all the way down at the demand end, with energy consumers, and work upward to the distributors and manufacturers of the energy itself, including utilities.

Bottom line? Elhay estimates that their current customer benchmark for energy-cost reduction is anywhere from 5% to 14%. And they’re working to get it higher. It’s all about measureable results for the customer, and making good connections with potential partners. A piece of good, old-fashioned networking, Jon notes, that never goes out of style – even in a HANA world.

Show Notes

:28 Elhay traveled from Israel to meet customers using his HANA solution

1:01 Lightapp helps customers manage energy data streams, reducing consumption and costs

1:43 Using HANA, Lightapp can offer this information in real time, instead of periodically

2:16 Natural integration with SAP systems speeds up deployment of their solution

3:12 Growth plan is to work up the supply chain from consumers to energy producers

4:09 Current benchmark for energy-cost reduction via the solution ranges from 5% to 14%

4:49 Networking never goes out of style

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

Dealing with a mountain of text data which may or may not have business relevance is no small task. According to Paul Wagner, Senior Development Operations Manager at Luminoso, the key lies in filtering streams of data in ways that businesses can actually use.

Talking with Jon at the SAP HANA Forum in Boston, Paul cites the example of Luminoso being able to distinguish Grumpy Cat, a popular Internet meme, from the commonly used pair of words, which merely mean “unhappy feline”. Making that kind of distinction while using both structured and unstructured data could have an impact. How? By influencing buying patterns and providing marketers with actionable insights.

The guys touch on ideas for SAP’s startup program that could make an impact for customers. Bottom lin? Having access to the technology layer and landscape is a huge bonus. The more you can get your feet wet, the better off you’re going to be.

Show Notes

:32 The HANA Forum showcased  interesting approaches handling big data

1:21 How Luminoso disambiguates between an unhappy cat and Grumpy Cat, the Meme

2:14 The same concept could be used to affect buying patterns

2:52 Establishing links among complex concepts

3:56 Paul imagines running Luminoso against e-mail data, pairing up like-minded innovators

4:56 HANA Startup Forums: the more startups can get their feet wet, the better

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

What’s the progress since SAP acquired Ariba last fall? Tim Minahan, SVP of Network Strategy at Ariba, visited with Dennis at AribaLIVE 2013 in Berlin to share Ariba’s current news, as well as the company’s vision for the future.

One conference announcement which interested Dennis was Ariba integrating with Sage and Quickbooks, prompting the question, “Who in either of those communities are going to use Ariba?” Tim explains the overall strategy is to provide the necessary connectors that make for easier on-boarding of particular customers, and to expand Ariba’s market footprint.

SAP is generally regarded as a large system of record for internal use, whereas Ariba’s use cases are external. Doesn’t that mean big changes for both companies?. Tim agrees that that journey is only in the beginning stages, but he does point out that shops like Disney have been extending their SAP platforms with the Ariba network for a decade or more.

The next big frontier? Making vendor relationship management the exact mirror image of CRM done right – a goal that, the guys agree, is still a ways off.  As for the  “what’s in it for me?” factor, Tim says that, at a customer’s request, one supplier joined the network, and in the first year, saw their business with that customer increase 300%. In the second year, business went up 250%. Another customer said their clients were OK with being charged more because they were actually saving them money by taking away admin pain.

The big story to tell, Tim says, is that being part of SAP allows Ariba to recognize the full value of business networks. Every business process that touches the edge of the enterprise can benefit from a business network. The long-term vision? Gathering ideation from a community of suppliers, and being able to cost out the feasibility of that design in real time.
Show Notes

:46 Tim’s take on Ariba LIVE

1:26 Integrating with QuickBooks and Sage

2:53 Adding new connectors for easier onboarding

4:30 Discussing connectivity scenarios

5:24 Big SAP companies and their history with Ariba

6:39 Vendor relationship management needs to be mirror image of CRM done right

8:48 Value for suppliers in joining the network lies partly in eliminating admin pain

10:03 Today’s business networks do more than push docs; they manage multiple processes

12:17 What’s next – connecting to supply chain and CRM systems

“Death to spreadsheets,” says Joanna Chan of Discovery Consulting, who, along with colleague Chris Paine, set out to build a mobile app – using NetWeaver Cloud – that would provide her company with a viable timesheet solution – and save having to chase down employees to account for billable hours.

In talking with Dennis at the Mastering SAP Technologies 2013, Joanna and Chris unveiled their app’s major difference: It relies on the likes of Facebook and Twitter to authenticate users. Security wonks, fear not. The app uses OAuth, the same secure protocol used by the social networks themselves. As a result, the same two-factor authentication that Google provides for its users becomes the level of security that’s needed to get into the app.

Prospective customers say that, in addition to looking nice, the app is easy to use and doesn’t require training – part of the whole point in creating it, Joanna explains. And the timesheet aspect of the app hasn’t deterred users at all. On the contrary, they seem to like the simple UI.

The next step? Use the app internally, say Joanna and Chris, both content to take a dose of their own medicine first. Potential enhancements include the integration of a signing service.

Show Notes

:43 New app, meant for the cloud, created as a timesheet alternative to spreadsheets

1:11 The team wanted to show they could build a mobile app, not just say so

2:26 One major difference: this app uses social networks to securely authenticate people

3:30 Simple UI gives customers something they can use without training

4:14 They’ll take their own medicine first, using the app internally

5:06 Adding a signing service is something to consider for the future

After the interview, Joanna and Chris demonstrated the mobile app to Dennis. Users can add several mobile devices by obtaining unique pairing codes for each. Once those are entered, the app authenticates the device being used against the cloud – meaning it recognizes the user’s account and shows all associated devices and timesheets. Voila – a process previously requiring manual spreadsheet entry is now securely synced to a common, accessible location:

Demo Notes

:21 Social media log-in generates a pairing code to sync a device with the cloud

3:01 Settings screen facilitates storing projects and forwarding of data

3:38 Hours can be entered for multiple days; color-coded boxes indicate submission status

4:45 Discovery Timesheet, available in App Store or Google Play, is simple to use

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

“Impressive and impressively vague.” That’s how Jon’s recent blog post described SAP’s lofty goal of building a big data organization, as outlined on Day One of Sapphire Now 2013. Steve Lucas, EVP for Database and Technology at SAP, took the time to join Jon at Sapphire Now to tell him exactly what building a big data organization means.

These days, Steve says, SAP has a classic analytics organization that focuses on BI, dash-boarding, reporting, EPM and GRC. And it also has a classic D&T organization with integration and storage tools – HANA, Sybase, middleware and EIM.  Citing some surprising feedback from customers who aren’t considering SAP for their big data fix, Steve  saw that he clearly needed to be more relevant in this area – part of which means not confining the focus to SAP technologies, but extending that to other, classic big data-associated technologies like Hadoop.

In terms of enabling transaction and other unstructured data to come together, Steve cites an example of a customer taking social commentary and news feeds and dumping it all into Hadoop – while, at the same time, looking at running their business suite on top of HANA.  If a customer’s past purchase history, stored in ERP, could be married with their social commentary sitting over in Hadoop, a company might be able to take advantage of cross-selling potentials. To do that, all of the pieces and parts need to come together — a bit of big data, a bit of HANA, a bit of analytics – which, Steve admits, means there’s still some work left to do.

Steve also talks about his role taking over SAP Analytics (again), and what his plan is going forward. Stability of the platform is one thing, but what is the growth potential?

The guys talk about whether Steve’s vision might spread his efforts too thinly, a point he suggests can be mitigated as like-minded colleagues step up and lead. And, having lived through the whole enterprise-BI wave, Steve sees people shifting back to very fast BI purchases – department-centric and very tactical. They want their answers now, with high-quality visualization, the ability to go mobile and the option to predict.

Steve’s  #1 Challenge to his analytics management team? Attract 250,000 followers on Twitter – something that, Jon notes, won’t be the product of press-release blasts. Nor by purchased followers, either, adds Steve. Given the need to move quickly, Steve says the JD-OD Team should check back on his progress no later than by Tech Ed time.

Show Notes

:37 First day’s sports-themed presentation hit the right notes, Steve says

1:36 Big data presence means offering solution packages that match up with solutions like Hadoop

3:19 Combining big data, HANA and analytics to meet customers needs

4:50 Steve: SAP is number one in the world at analytics – and must lead like they are

6:34 Like-minded analytics folks at SAP to be given the opportunity to step up and lead

7:27 People want answers now, with high-quality visualization, mobile and predictive tools

7:58 Steve’s #1 Goal: Analytics management team must have 250,000 followers on Twitter

8:46 Check back in 3 months – if SAP is going to go fast, they should have advanced the story by then

GoCatch, a free mobile app that connects taxi drivers directly with passengers, has made CEO Andrew Campbell popular with travelers looking to flag down a ride. Not so much, however, with the operators of the antiquated dispatch system that GoCatch bypasses.

Dennis sat down with Andrew at Mastering SAP Technologies 2013 to get a better feel for why taxi drivers should use his system rather than relying on what’s worked for decades. In addition to the outdated radio calls, Andrew explains, mobile dispatch terminals cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to install, and dispatch algorithms aren’t always efficient.

Thanks to a grant from the New South Wales government, Andrew’s group worked with a consortium that included Microsoft, Blackberry, Google and Nokia – resulting in a smartphone app that currently works on four different platforms.

Where does SAP HANA fit into the game? With the massive amount of data that GoCatch processes, HANA is a natural fit. GoCatch was also invited into the HANA Startup Program. As Andrew sees it, SAP has the lightest technology for his use case, and also represents a great channel to market.

Show Notes

:36 GoCatch, a smartphone app, connects taxi drivers with passengers in real time

1:28 Old radio dispatch systems are expensive and sometimes use faulty algorithms

2:12 Bypassing the system makes GoCatch popular with customers

2:29 NSW government funded a consortium of Microsoft, Blackberry, Google and Nokia

3:42 SAP HANA helps GoCatch adjust to surges in data and take corrective action

4:46 Partnership with HANA helps to achieves real-world outcomes – including revenue

Andrew took a few minutes to demo the highlight of his app for Dennis. Andrew starts with the driver application and puts through a job. Within a few seconds, a passenger icon shows up on the on-screen map, and the driver can accept the job – quickly, before another cabbie gets the fare:

Demo Notes

:22 Andrew shows how the driver-side application gets notified of a possible fare

1:27 The on-screen map displays the taxi as it approaches to pick up the passenger

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

It’s almost impossible to comprehend big data by manually looking at records. Machines are needed to identify patterns, including recurring ones, so that people can use their business skills to take action.

That’s more than a logical approach, according to Volkmar Uhlig, Chief Technology Officer of Hstreaming. It’s also good business. Volkmar, whose startup won the award for Best Big Data Solution at the SAP Startup event in Boston, sat down with Jon to talk about how Hstreaming can better help advertisers reach the right customers – among an estimated 100 billion ad impressions per month worldwide.

The amount of data involved means that SAP HANA could stand to play a major role. Business people want to make informed decisions in a very short period of time, using existing infrastructure. So what does Hstreaming think of HANA so far? Volkmar sees HANA as an opportunity to distill real-time data from video, audio and advertising behavior.  Connecting with SAP through the startup event, says Volkmar, proved helpful in seeing how to integrate data into Hstreaming’s existing processes.

Show Notes

:39 On being awarded Best Big Data Solution

1:18 In the world of big data, reading patterns trumps analyzing individual records

2:03 Using machines to analyze patterns makes efficient use of resources

2:49 Hstreaming helps advertisers place their ads in front of the right customers

4:15 Enabling security concerns to react in real time

4:50 HANA could help Hstreaming fully integrate data into an existing business process

5:56 Startup event offers the chance to connect with SAP’s knowledge of business processes

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

How do you run a pensions company without some form of procurement control? Sounds like a problem, no?

A maverick spending environment was recently the situation at at Storebrand, a Norwegian life insurance firm. Ellen-Carine Martinez, Supply Chain & Spend Analyst, sat down with Dennis at AribaLIVE 2013 in Berlin to detail how Ariba is saving her company 20% on spend. She also explains how Storebrand managed to get maverick spending under control.

Some four years ago, Ellen says, her company had no procurement system in place. The firm needed to get control over their spend and how they were doing business in terms of purchasing and getting contracts into place.

The solution? In a three-phased approach, Storebrand deployed the sourcing and contracts management module from Ariba. Then, they went out and found all of the existing contracts – in drawers and on shelves in all of the offices of their company – and put everything into the system. The goal was to reduce spend by 10% in a three-year period. That happened. Now, into year four-and-a-half, savings have increased to nearly 20%.

Ellen tells Dennis that they are now creating standardized processes that make things happen with fewer employees and smaller headcounts. They can also focus on other priorities, such as global and social responsibility. As for reining in those maverick spenders, the best result comes when people learn that tighter controls mean  they’ll have an advantage when sourcing new contracts.

Show Notes

:46 Lack of procurement control was a problem

1:20 A three-phase install got the ball rolling – all contracts were placed in system

2:16 Four years in, Storebrand has reduced spend by nearly 20%

2:43 Storebrand can now focus on other areas of impact, like sustainability

3:39 “Complete maverick spending” reined in – employees now realize controls help them compete

Car parking might seem the last application upon which to give the SAP HANA  treatment. But that’s exactly what Intenzz is doing.

Dennis paid a visit to the company’s offices in Soesterberg, Netherlands, to learn more about the parking app directly from Tamas Szirtes, a partner at the Intenzz – an SAP consulting firm specializing in mobile, HANA and business intelligence.

The challenge, Tamas says, was to make an app that would go beyond a simple transaction. He wanted one that would improve the customer experience. Example: allow parking operators to become brokers and re-sell each other’s spots. And, for the user, provide the ability to find a spot on the phone, reserve it and get directions/navigation to the location. The app can even help you find your car if you’ve forgotten where you parked it. Editor: something Jon would have found useful in Sapphire Now Orlando. 

HANA’s in-memory computing handles all of the data – the number of cars on the prowl, available parking spots and scheduling of nearby events. Predictive analyses can be used to prepare for parking patterns or to set and change prices. The system could recommend a cheaper area of the neighborhood to park, or offer personalized offers for events like after-theater dinners. As Dennis puts it: “This is way beyond ‘I want to park my bloody car.’”

Show Notes

1:02 Intenzz focuses on the possible combinations of separate technologies

1:49 Tamas describes the firm’s parking app – built to improve the customer experience

3:29 HANA’s in-memory power helps with predictive analyses of parking patterns – and prices

5:10 Combining innovative apps and HANA tech requires out-of-the-box thinking

After the interview, Tamas walked Dennis through three of the Intenzz apps in this bonus footage.

First up is a Travel Portal, running on the HANA cloud. Travel Portal was built in a couple of hours using a drag-and-drop interface. Some back-end coding is needed – making this particular app a joint effort between a business person and a developer.

The second app is for launching products. In this case, a new beer that a brewery wants to bring to market. This app, a mobile front end for trade promotions, can be easily created with no need for back-end integration:

Demo Notes

:23 A Travel Portal created on the SAP cloud platform – user friendly for tech-minded

1:50 Some back-end coding needed to connect mobile data to the on-site enterprise system

2:51 Back-end users can update info as, say, company travel policies change

3:29 Cloud platform allows for drag-and-drop design, with coding added by developers

4:27 Second app – a mobile trade promotion tool, easily built, that sells beer

5:38 HANA, SAP Business Suite and analytics run on the back end, straight off the cloud

Tamas also takes Dennis through a parking app with HANA potential.  Going screen by screen, Tamas enters his destination information and asks the app to find nearby parking facilities that have available spaces. Once safely pulled into his reserved spot, Tamas taps another icon to set the meter running. If he forgets exactly where his car is parked, a My Car menu provides reverse directions back to the space.  That’s just a start, says Tamas. The use of HANA will enable much more data – which, in turn, could give rise to nifty predictive scenarios:

Demo #2 Notes

:25 Entering address info calls up available parking facilities, sortable by location and price

1:23 Choosing a facility returns options for reserving a space, and info on rates and hours

2:06 Navigation and Park options get you there and start the meter running

3:20 The My Car option provides return directions to where you parked your car

3:38 Next iteration will include more options, such as offers from neighborhood businesses

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.

At Sapphire NOW 2013, the JD-OD team sat down with Ralph Steinbach, Director Software Architecture of Danone Group – known in the U.S. for making Dannon yogurt – to ask what cloud could do for the world’s market leader in dairy products.

In Ralph’s view, cloud matters because his company is a loosely coupled one with a lot of local business units. Since Danone places emphasis on cash flow management, they’re not interested in investing in significant CapEx upfront.

But why the  HANA Cloud? Ralph likes the convergence of technologies at SAP.  Through HANA, SAP focuses on big data. Their cloud platform allows you to run your IT business outside your own company. And they have a solution for mobile, which means you can address your consumers globally – all while staying on the same platform. Which is exactly what Danone needed. Further down the road, Ralph has found that the  major benefit, other than farming out IT, comes back to mobile, which allows Danone to address a billion or more consumers with the same cloud apps.

Danone’s first cloud project built on the HANA Cloud, presented by Ralph at Sapphire, is a customer call center. Why build it on the cloud? Because it was faster. And they could leverage the latest SAP UI5  technology. The advantage to having CRM on the cloud? Ralph says that today, they can use it in-house. Tomorrow they might want to use it in a remote call center. Or to extend the access to their hotels. With a cloud deployment, everyone can use the same application.

The guys talk about old-school versus new-school developers. Jon has a hard time imagining the old school ABAPpers easily making the transition to  Java. On the contrary, Ralph says, the old schoolers at Danone were more than happy to embrace something new, working practically day and night to master the code. Perhaps even more important, Ralph adds, marketing and IT are doing more than finally saying “Good morning” in the elevator. They’re working together because each side sees the benefits in using the latest technologies.

Show Notes

:43 Danone’s global footprint

1:48 Why cloud?  Because it lets companies start small and then pay as you go

3:01 HANA Cloud’s features fit with Danone’s digital marketing strategy

4:22 SAP’s shift into B to C helped Danone in its quest to reach customers; so did mobile

4:57 Danone’s new CRM system was built on cloud because it was faster

5:59 Having CRM call system on cloud allows for in-house use today, flexible tomorrow

6:37 Next cloud project is a web app where customers can buy medical products online

7:40 Old-school developers embraced the challenges of working in a new environment

8:12 Marketing and IT finally see the opportunities in working together

ExpertIG sought to solve one key business problem with their mobile app: tracking orders at the enterprise level – using real-time data.

Steven Crooke, Mobility Practice Leader at ExpertIG, met with the JD-OD Team at Sapphire NOW 2013  to explain how his company’s tracking app, called My Orders, got plugged into the SAP ecosystem.

While the process of building the app took time, the overall result has been a success. The main challenge? Convincing customers where the app adds value. That means communicating the business case: the app eliminates much of the cost around customer service, as well as the potentially frustrating call to the service desk. It also gives the customer real-time anywhere access from the palm of their hand.

The app’s biggest commercial challenge lies less in selling the app’s features and more in getting the word out that the app exists. As for gaining customer trust, the partnership and certification with SAP has alleviated a lot of questions that might otherwise be raised.

Show Notes

:48 My Orders app solves one business problem: Tracking orders at enterprise level

2:35 App reduces customer service costs and provides real-time anywhere access

3:36 Biggest commercial challenge to the app’s success? Raising awareness

4:37 SAP certification provides comfort level that customers need

5:45 ExpertIG’s 2013 goal: to become SAP’s mobile partner of choice

In our demo shoot, Steven shows Jon how it all works:

Demo Notes

:24 My Orders app allows customers to track orders at enterprise level

:44 Dashboard uses color-coded icons to group and show status of all orders

1:55 Notification icons also use color scheme to prioritize action items

3:04 Bookmarking a problem order offers one more way to minimize supply chain disruptions

Disclosure: This video is part of a project commissioned by SAP to amplify startup activity and developer innovation on HANA, mobile, and the SAP cloud.