Forty innovative SAP partners from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) recently took part in an interactive webinar organized by SAP Partner Service Delivery to discuss the trends that 2015 brings, talk about their market readiness for these changes, and their strategies for adapting.

According to the Top 10 Technology Predictions For 2015 by IDC, next year will be one of accelerating disruption and broadening the adoption of Cloud, Mobile, Big Data and Internet of Things. The partners shared their opinions on global predictions and their relevance in the CIS market. Below is some of the feedback that was captured from various polls and discussions during this webinar, held in Russian.

A Smart Vending Machine at Every Corner?

After reviewing the article about smart vending machines running on SAP HANA (according to The Telegraph “The machines are able to identify and greet a user, remember a person’s preferences and even refuse to vend a certain product based on a shopper’s age, medical record, dietary requirements or purchase history”) the partners were asked to vote in a poll, which revealed that the majority of them expect wide adoption of such machines in at least 2-5 years.

Are Customers Ready for Data Load of Next Generation Innovations?

Another reviewed article described a new breakthrough technology by SAP and PHEMI. The technology is helping fight disease by using Predictive Analysis and SAP HANA to analyze vast amounts of data generated as a result of medical tests and examinations to deliver better health outcomes for patients. CIS partners were asked if data overload and the lack of its effective usage was an issue for their customers. The results revealed that most partners agree that the problem exists, yet customers are not fully aware of it.

Will Sports Analytics Apps Take to the Field?

The third article gave some examples of how SAP revolutionized the sport industry by developing innovative apps that use data to analyze player performance: “Stories from the world of sport that feature SAP solutions for the sports industry are a great way to highlight how cloud and analytics technology can change the game” (Sarah Harvey, SAP). The poll below shows mixed reviews of the potential of similar apps in CIS market with some seeing a big future for it.

From the received feedback, it is clear that while all the partners are well aware of the trends, they still exercise caution when it comes to early adoption of innovations.