SAP Leonardo is a new digital innovation system from SAP. It delivers software and microservices that enable customers to leverage future-facing technologies like the Internet of Things, machine learning, blockchain, analytics, and Big Data.
Let’s take a closer look.
1. Where does SAP Leonardo get its name?
The name SAP Leonardo was inspired by Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and philosopher Leonardo da Vinci. With an estimated IQ of over 220, this universal and prolific genius possessed the imaginative power to create pioneering inventions in a wide range of disciplines. The aim of SAP Leonardo’s holistic approach is to support businesses and public sector organizations in every aspect of their digital innovation strategies.
2. Which solutions does SAP Leonardo include?
In the broader context of digital innovation, it quickly becomes clear that topics like the Internet of Things, machine learning, blockchain, analytics, artificial intelligence, and Big Data often need to be viewed in combination: This is the key to creating a framework for harnessing the latest digital breakthroughs. As well as technologies, services, and applications, the SAP Leonardo portfolio includes design thinking methodologies, data intelligence tools, benchmarking, and more. And to speed up time to value for customers, SAP offers “SAP Leonardo accelerator packages” that are tailored to specific industries and core functions, such as IoT.
3. How does the customer create its first prototype? What’s the time scale?
When it comes to digital innovation, companies know that they want to create new data-driven services and business models fast, improve their customer experience, and make their business processes more efficient. Yet they are often unsure about where to start their digital journey and which SAP tools and solutions can help them on their way. That’s where the SAP Leonardo accelerator packages (“accelerators”) come in. In a design thinking process, consultants from SAP Digital Business Services team up with customers to develop a vision of how SAP Leonardo can support their business objectives. Depending on how extensive the customer’s envisioned innovation strategy is, initial prototypes can be available in as little as eight weeks.
4. Who are the SAP Leonardo accelerators designed for?
At present, accelerators are available for retail, consumer products, discrete manufacturing, and sports and entertainment ‒ with packages for utilities and travel and transportation on the way. SAP also offers accelerators for IoT core functions, such as SAP Leonardo IoT for SAP Connected Goods and SAP Leonardo IoT for SAP Global Track and Trace. Depending on their industry, required functions, and use case, customers buy a fixed-price, tailored accelerator package that comprises design thinking methodologies, the requisite cloud licenses, and development and design services right the way through from the initial prototype to the final solution. As such, the SAP Leonardo digital innovation system represents the gateway to digital transformation in the enterprise.
5. Which solutions are available now?
There is a distinction here between ready-made applications powered by SAP Leonardo (like SAP Service Ticketing), and the microservices and APIs (like the SAP Streaming Analytics microservice) that run on SAP Cloud Platform to help customers and partners integrate SAP Leonardo capabilities into their own applications. The SAP Streaming Analytics microservice analyses incoming data streams and responds individually to them. SAP Service Ticketing powered by SAP Leonardo, uses machine learning capabilities to analyze incoming service tickets by content and to forward them to the correct processing agent automatically.
6. What role do the SAP Leonardo Centers play?
The SAP Leonardo Centers form a global network of interconnected locations designed to serve as points of contact for established companies and startups seeking inspiration for digitalization projects and collaborative innovation. Initial prototypes and pilots can be created here as part of the SAP Leonardo accelerators. SAP Leonardo Centers are already operating in New York and Paris; further centers in São Leopoldo, Brazil, and Bangalore, India are at the planning stage.
More Information
Mala Anand gave initial insights into SAP’s digital innovation system at SAPPHIRE NOW in 2017:
