Artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud solutions, the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, and predictive analytics – each of these intelligent technologies is charting an unprecedented and breath-taking future for all of humankind.
Yet, as businesses move through the peaks and troughs of their digital innovation efforts, it is rare that people have the omniscience to fully understand the exciting milestone changes that are about to unfold.
Instead, as technologies continue to mature, the relentless pressure to innovate ground-breaking, sustainable value for customers and the business is consuming tremendous attention. In fact, IDC predicts that over 55 percent of companies will be digitally enabled by 2020, transforming markets and themselves with new business models, products, and services.
But, it is important to remember that implementing the latest digital investments is not enough to win over an increasingly crowded and evolving marketplace. Companies must also deliver profitable, sustainable growth fueled by aspirational creativity and proven expertise.
Resolving Business Challenges and Innovating to Win with Less Cost and Risk
Most executives understand the fine line between digital investments and the outcomes they want to realize. If a newly deployed technology does not deliver the results expected by any stakeholder or user, they immediately question whether the digital investment is worth the time, money, and effort in the first place.
While such swift decision-making may seem prudent and well-intentioned, it doesn’t allow organizations to get to the root of their innovation obstacles and needs. Businesses should also understand what customers want so they can create engaging experiences across all customer segments and groups of employees. Additionally, they must foster a culture of innovation that nurtures new ideas and builds strong offerings that exploit the full potential of the technologies they own.
This reality inspired the creation of SAP Advisory Services. Created to provide the continuous guidance our customers demand, the portfolio helps uncover new ways to optimize business operations, products, and services while encouraging innovation with less risk and greater speed.
Introducing SAP Advisory Services
As a portfolio of expertise, tools, and resources, SAP Advisory Services allows businesses to acquire the customer-centric operations, visionary strategies, and agile business models they need by focusing on five fundamental aspects of innovation success:
- Digital business ideation and modeling: Generate sustainable value by turning ideas into a strong value proposition for your customers and company.
- Digital architecture and road map design: Apply expert advice and guidance to plan your intelligent enterprise strategy, suitable business process model, and digital architecture.
- Landscape strategy and architecture: Define a comprehensive IT strategy and enterprise architecture to facilitate your digital strategy and business process architecture.
- Organizational change management: Foster a workplace culture that is committed to improving digital dexterity, innovating new ways to get work done, and enabling value-added transformation.
- Value design and assessment: Define, develop, and benchmark conceptual ideas to improve the outcomes of new business models, processes, products, or services.
Throughout this series, we will examine how this portfolio blends established applications with emerging technologies, industry and functional expertise, and an ecosystem of innovators to further optimize operations and inspire history-shaping change. Bookmark the series landing page and check it each week. In the meantime, read our infographic, “Accelerate Business Optimization and Innovation with SAP Advisory Services,” or visit our website for an overview of SAP Advisory Services.
Marc-Alexander Winter is service offering manager in SAP Digital Business Services.
