Digital Transformation for the Technology Industry with SAP powered by Approyo

Although high tech is finding itself in nearly every product and service across all industries, high-tech companies are not themselves immune to disruption. Factors such as new entrants, blatant IP theft, and knowledge leakage due to key employee turnover accelerate the rate of disruption.

Strategic Priorities in a Digital Economy
The digital economy is disruptive. High-tech companies need strategic priorities that drive transformation. SAP supports a reimagined set of E2E business scenarios to support the strategic priorities of working in a digital environment.

• Subscribing to outcomes -  High-tech companies are shifting from selling products and services to selling measurable results that are relevant to their customers. Becoming an outcome provider requires a different business model –one where customers can pay for the outcome. As high-tech companies realize this, they are increasingly acquiring, building, and joining the platforms and ecosystems that are needed for the outcome economy
• Realizing a digital supply chain - Transform your supply chain into a responsive network. Companies everywhere face volatile customer demand and heightened expectations of responsiveness. Innovative technologies can help resolve these issues by providing vital business information across the network, improving real-time analysis, and enabling better collaboration across departments and trading partners –thus making the supply chain more responsive.
• Providing digital smart products - Digitally connect your products and transform them into solutions. Enabling products to provide intelligence about their usage and to be upgraded remotely any time with the latest features required by customers allows for differentiation in an industry where products get rapidly commoditized. Data-based services can be monetized, and individualized offerings can be provided cost-effectively. Leverage IoT technology to connect products to R&D and sales processes.
• Achieving customer intimacy - Putting the end customers‘ point of view at the center of every decision is a key prerequisite for success in the digital age. This does not stop in the sales department but also applies to what products are built and what services are offered

So, how does the incumbent not only defend itself but also become the disrupter? 

Plan less, experiment more
Many refer to the high-tech industry as dynamic, however, it is better characterized as frenetic. Product launch delays, yield losses, and IP disputes can all lead to unexpected events that can throw off a perfectly crafted plan. However, for some, this also represents an advantage. Those who can leverage their data and incorporate more simulation and other sophisticated analytic techniques to model their environment will respond much faster to unforeseen events.

Harness the intelligence of the network
High-tech companies have a long-standing history of developing complex supply chain networks to enable high efficiency, which keeps prices down and quality high. These networks have evolved to handle more than just physical goods; they are now conducting commerce, distributing IP, and contain component pricing awareness. The data required for sophisticated decision-making has now shifted to the network, providing the next frontier for data exploration.

Make every meeting a decision making meeting
Most meetings are best described as information-sharing sessions. Participants often spend most of their time preparing and reconciling reports yet often end up with poor meeting outcomes due to a lack of current information. With the unprecedented speed of competition within the industry, executives need real-time information to make prompt decisions. Adopting innovative solutions to support rapid and informed decision-making can shift the focus from reporting to achieving outcomes.

Recognize the Knowledge Worker
Arguably, the most valuable asset for a technology company is the productivity of the knowledge worker. Far too often, these employees are straddled with excessive data preparation tasks involving spreadsheets and must spend precious time filtering through extraneous data. This leaves little time to focus on business outcomes. Decision support tools have evolved to take the burden of data preparation off individuals and provide them with predictive capabilities –accelerating productivity.

The intelligent ERP
Bringing SAP S/4HANA and SAP Leonardo technologies together as a digital core will result in a more flexible and intelligent enterprise. To achieve next-generation business processes, companies need an intelligent ERP solution that can be continuously enhanced and extended with innovative business services and applications built on emerging technologies, including machine learning, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT). High-tech organizations that have big innovation appetites or prefer to be early adopters have already begun this journey.

Read the full blog post on www.approyo.com

Mid-year review – 2018 Technology Predictions from Approyo

Every year, the team at Approyo puts together a few predictions for the upcoming year. We published our original predictions back at the start of 2018 and now that we are half through the year, we thought we would revisit these predictions.

IT predictions for 2018

• Cloud First - It's not a question of "if" the Cloud and more. Companies of all shapes and sizes need the cloud to innovate in a digital world. You can't be on the sidelines anymore and 2018 is the year to fully embrace the cloud. 
• Everything as a service - Traditional business products are being re-imagined as services.
• AI and Machine Learning - Creating systems that learn, adapt and potentially act autonomously. SAP introduces SAP Leonardo this year that has many features for AI and Machine Learning that can help companies today. 
• Security – As we mentioned in our first bullet point, the cloud is the new normal. Your data is one of the most important aspects of your business. Cloud and hosting partners will need to continue to adapt security measures to protect this valuable information.

Observations from the first half of 2018
Through the first half of the year, the Cloud continues to be more and more important. One of the major themes from this years SAP SAPPHIRE NOW conference was that the cloud is the foundation to achieve the intelligent enterprise through SAP Solutions.

Additionally, security continues to be an important topic throughout the year and into the future. As your company continues to create more and more data, securing that data becomes more important. That’s why we recently announced a new partnership with Bohh Labs. BOHH Labs brings an easy to implement service that acts as a layer between the user/ application and the back-end data store. BOHH enables total security on all stored data by uniquely providing database or specific file security, removing it from the source and storing it separately without changing the structure, enabling prioritization and control of sensitive data. BOHH’s security service provides full text search capabilities, even on secured data, and supports Bot technology for data to be conveniently accessed through keyboard, text-and-type from any device and voice commands to enhance the access flow to data within the system. This means sensitive and non-sensitive data residing in SAP HANA can easily be searched at once in real-time to extract valuable analytical insights without putting sensitive data that must stay protected at risk by hiding it away for access by authorized users only.

Data also continues to be an important trend. We already talked about the security side of data, but another important aspect is how companies are using that data. Another major focus on SAP SAPPHIRE NOW 2018 was how companies need to implement the right technology foundation in order to use all the data they are producing in an intelligent way. This will continue to be an important trend for the rest of the year and beyond.

Read the full blog post on www.approyo.com 

FoxConn, Welcome to Wisconsin. An open letter from Wisconsin based CEO Chris Carter

You’ve probably heard the big news by now, Foxconn Technology Group, a global technology and electronics manufacturer, is coming to Wisconsin and creating up to 13,000 jobs. The announcement was made earlier this summer by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walk, President Donald Trump and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou. And the Wisconsin assembly recently passed a bill supporting the move to Wisconsin.

As an owner of a leading SAP technology company based in Wisconsin, I would like to welcome Foxconn to the great state of Wisconsin. I look forward to forging a partnership with your business and continue to help Wisconsin and out industry grow.

I’ve had the pleasure of working in Wisconsin for over 2 decades and started Approyo here in Wisconsin in 2012. In that short time, I’ve grown Approyo by leaps and bounds, being named the Inc. 5000 list 2 years in a row (2016 and 2017). Seeing an industry leading global company like Foxconn make a commitment to Wisconsin is a great sign that the state is heading in the right direction.

Over the years, I’ve grown to enjoy working and having a business in Wisconsin. Wisconsin offers a great environment for businesses to grow. We have lots of great people who are hungry to work and provide for their families. These people have tremendous values and will be a great addition to any organization out there. I’ve been fortunate enough to find great staff throughout Wisconsin with drive and knowledge to help me and my company grow.

Plus, we have clients throughout the state of Wisconsin that we work with every day to ensure that their SAP environments are running as efficiently as possibly. We can offer award winning SAP solutions throughout the state, country and world, just like you have throughout the years.  Foxconn should have no problem finding qualified individuals and companies like Approyo to work with.
An underrated factor that makes Wisconsin a great place to have a business is the location. Since Wisconsin is situated right in the middle of the country, it is easy to fly to the east coast or west coast at any given time. Plus, we are located within a short drive or train ride to Chicago, which has many other easy transportation options.

Seeing a fellow technology company come to Wisconsin and create so many jobs is exciting. We at Approyo have been fortunate to find very qualified SAP and technology experts to work with in Wisconsin.

I can’t reiterate how exciting it is as a business owner, to have a company like Foxconn choose to come to Wisconsin. As a leading SAP provider we look forward to the opportunity to partner with you and your business leaders.  Our local SAP operations can help your company as it extends its footprint in Wisconsin and across the United States. I look forward to all your success and can’t wait to do business together in Wisconsin.

About the Author:

Mr. Carter works with businesses around the globe, assisting them in their journey to the usage of Big Data in the forms of Hadoop (Cloudera and Hortonwork's) and SAP HANA. At Approyo, we support firms who are looking for knowledge to grow through current business process, where even 1% increase can lead to millions of dollars in business flow. 

Mr. Carter has been in the "Big Data" industry and the SAP industry for almost 25 years, He has been nationally recognized by The American SAP Users Group, SAP, Hadoop World, Cloud Expo and more. 

Calling all Inc 5000 Winners.... Share your Story

Recently, Inc. Magazine released its 36th annual Inc. 5000. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment— its independent small and midsized businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Domino’s Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees of the Inc. 5000. Approyo is honored to be featured back-to-back, this year at NO. 747!

As part of the honor, Approyo will be attending the annual Inc. 5000 conference and gala honoring all the companies on the list will be held from October 10 through 12, 2017 at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA.

Last year, we held a series of special interviews with some of the top companies and speakers at the event. The interview series moderated by Approyo CEO Christopher Carter, focused on what it takes to be a successful business owner and entrepreneur in today’s ever changing world. This year Approyo will continue the interview series. If you are a business owner who made the list and will be attending the conference, please let us know. The interview process only takes a few minutes and you will get a chance to share your personal and business journey to the Inc. 5000.

Take a look at some examples the event last year:

Approyo Inc 5000 Interview series - Les McKeown, CEO, PREDICTABLE SUCCESS

https://vimeo.com/189325131

Approyo Inc 5000 Interview Series - Steve Baker of The Great Game of Business

https://vimeo.com/189325130

Are you interested in being a part of our interview series at the annual Inc. 5000 Conference and Gala? Reach out to our PR team below to schedule a time to meet during the event.

Alison Maloni, President and CEO, Alison May Public Relations
Email: alison@alisonmaypr.com

We look forward to seeing everyone at the event!

About Approyo

Approyo has been providing SAP HANA solutions such as SAP S/4HANA 1610 in the cloud for the last three years. Approyo built an entire platform using the best solutions in the market, allowing clients to move SAP HANA quickly and benefit immediately without the massive upfront cost structure typically seen with those bare metal solutions.

Approyo is a global SAP HANA start up focus partner for products and services that include upgrades, comprehensive remote operations/managed services, consulting, migrations, hosting and implementations and cloud services. Approyo differentiates itself by offering scalable managed SAP HANA solutions for organizations of all size. Approyo has the capability to support global organizations and their applications with our Headquarters in Milwaukee, WI and offices in throughout North America, Europe and South America, plus partners around the world.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts for Techies

Some people are getting coal for Christmas this year.  But for those who have made the “nice” list... it’s a great year for some really cool gifts in technology.

If you’re looking to buy for the good little men and women into technology... I’d start with the basics.

This techie gift might sound unusual, but consider a new router/Wi-Fi device called EERO. Basically this is Mesh based Wi-Fi in the secured format that allows you to set up your Wi-Fi in your central location ….but get this.  You then plug in into a wall socket, and using the electricity in the wiring of your house, individual pods in those pods help you get a much better Wi-Fi signal in a more secure Wi-Fi signal.

Next one I really like is VR.  I'm all about virtual reality and there are number of different virtual reality solutions, from Google, Samsung and others. Now as much as I really like them, it's a new technology, so they're not the perfect virtual reality box or eyewear. But what they do is give you the belief that you are involved inside that game or the solution.

We're talking about Samsung’s VR solution, and Google VR - these are all great tools that you can use for virtual reality.

One of the gifts that every technologist must have is the Amazon echo, this comes in either a Dot, the original version or a wireless version called the Tap.  The Alexa app is fantastic. It has an ability to be able to utilize her for all the activities that you need such as your calendar, fantasy football or your day-to-day schedule. The voice recognition of Alexa is truly fantastic… with incredible third-party apps that are now available in the Amazon store there's freeware as well as paid apps that you can use with your Amazon Echo. It truly gives you the ability to have a voice automated assistant right there in your office, your kitchen, living room or your bedroom that will take care of your heat and cooling temperature settings and all other activities as programmed… truly a must have!

My last pick for this Christmas season is the new Nintendo called the NES Classic Edition.  It brings me back to my youth.  It comes preloaded with 23 of Nintendo’s most popular games including Mario and all the different activities that he had.  It’s definitely one of those fun toys to play on your phone or on a new handheld machine.  Forget Pokemon - we’re going with some major old school fun here.

Well, those are my choices for this year's Christmas gifts for us techies.  If you have one of us in your family, I highly recommend looking at them - I think there's some cool fun toys and remember Christmas is about giving!

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Approyo Inc 5000 Interview Series - Jude Ramayya of Impiger Technologies

Earlier this year, Approyo had the honor of being ranked #120 in the Inc. Magazine 34th Annual List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies.

Approyo CEO Chris Carter recently attended the Inc. 5000 Conference and Gala and was able to speak with a number of CEOs and business influencers to talk about Business Success, tips and what it takes to the the Inc. 5000 list.

Chris sits down with Jude Ramayya from Impiger Technologies at the Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala.

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About Impiger Technologies
Impiger Technologies is a world-class, enterprise software product engineering company specializing in Mobile Application Development, Cloud Applications, Microsoft Technology Solutions, Web Technology and Telecom Services. We help enterprises improve business efficiency, productivity, and grow revenue. We offer a comprehensive set of, cost effective services from prototype to production and everything in-between.

About Jude
Jude is the founder of Impiger and is responsible for the overall vision, strategy and execution of the organization. He has more than 18 years of experience working with both small and large organizations. Prior to founding Impiger, he was part of Prodea Systems as Solution Architect responsible for Digital Home Device Architecture & Design, NetHawk as Solution Architect responsible for 10 different testing products for GPRS network, Sonus Networks as Technical Lead responsible for their class 5 VoIP switch, Nortel as Engineer and Infosys as Engineer.

Coming from strong technology background, he would always be eager to provide IT solution that solves business problems and help bottom-line. His belief in Mobility has led him to focus on helping businesses leverage the power of Mobility to increase sales, productivity, faster decision making and ultimately revenue and profitability. He leads a team of around 150 experienced professionals at Impiger, providing Mobility Strategy, Design, Development and Testing of Mobile applications, in addition to Telecom Solutions. He travels extensively across the US, Asia and Middle East offering mobility strategy to help SMEs and startups go Mobile.

An evangelist, Jude has spoken in various events and conferences including the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Fleming Gulf etc. Jude is listed as either a primary inventor or co-inventor in 25 different patents.

Contact Approyo Today! 
Don’t miss this exciting time to take your business to the next level.
Approyo can help your company deal with the changing world. Our SAP HANA and Big Data solutions address these important questions and more. Let us show you today! Set up a free consultation.