Top Keynote Speakers at the 2019 SAP SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference

Keynotes in the General Session Theater are the headline addresses where SAP and ASUG executives and their guests offer inspiration, their vision of the future, and unveil exciting new announcements and breakthrough innovations. Here are our top keynote speakers announced for the 2019 SAP SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference.

Tuesday, May 7 9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

Bill McDermott - Chief Executive Officer

Bill McDermott is the chief executive officer of SAP, the world’s business software market leader. He leads the company’s more than 96,000 employees and 2+ million-person ecosystem in executing SAP’s vision to help the world run better and improve peoples’ lives.

Since becoming CEO in 2010, Bill’s innovation-led strategy for SAP has resulted in expansive increases in customers, total revenue, market value, and profitable growth. One of the most popular leaders in business, Bill’s approval rating from SAP employees on the “Glassdoor” website hovers around 99%. As the only American in history to lead Europe’s most valuable technology company, Bill advises world leaders and policymakers on issues including youth unemployment, digital government, and international trade policy. He is a member of the European Roundtable of Industrialists and the U.S. Business Council.

Tuesday, May 7 4:30 p.m.–6:00 p.m. 

Bear Grylls - Outdoor Adventurist, Author, and TV Host

Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure.

His journey to this acclaim started in the U.K. on the Isle of Wight, where his late father taught him to climb and sail. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces, serving with 21 Special Air Servce (SAS). It was here that he perfected many of the skills that his fans all over the world enjoy watching him pit against Mother Nature.

Despite a free-fall parachuting accident in Africa, where he broke his back in three places, and after enduring months in military rehabilitation, Bear succeeded in becoming one of the youngest ever climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Bear went on to star in Discovery Channel’s Emmy-nominated “Man vs. Wild” and “Born Survivor” TV series, which has become one of the most watched shows on the planet, reaching an estimated 1.2 billion viewers. 

Off screen, Bear has lead record-breaking expeditions, from Antarctica to the Arctic, which in turn have raised over $2.5 million for children around the world.
In recognition for his expertise and service, Bear was appointed as the youngest ever Chief Scout to over half a million brilliant scouts in the U.K., was awarded an honorary commission as a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy and as a Colonel in the notoriously tough Royal Marines Commando.

Wednesday, May 8 9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

Hasso Plattner - Chairman of the Supervisory Board SAP SE

Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Hasso Plattner is one of the founders of SAP and has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board since May 2003. In this role and as Chief Software Advisor he concentrates on defining the medium and long-term technology strategy of SAP. He also heads the Technology Committee of the SAP Supervisory Board. In 1972 Hasso Plattner and four colleagues left IBM in order to found SAP (Systems, Applications, Products). When SAP went public in 1988 Hasso was appointed Vice Chairman of the Executive Board. From 1997 to May 2003 he was Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of SAP. In May 2003 he was elected to the SAP Supervisory Board and took over the chairmanship from co-founder Dietmar Hopp. Hasso received his Master‘s Degree in Communications Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe. In 1990 the University of Saarbruecken awarded him an honorary doctorate and in 1994 he was granted an honorary full professorship. In 1998 he founded the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) for IT Systems Engineering at the University of Potsdam with the largest single private contribution to a university ever made in Germany. He is a professor at the HPI for enterprise software systems.

Thursday, May 9 9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.

Sandra Bullock - Actress, Producer, and Philanthropist

Sandra Bullock is one of Hollywood’s most sought after leading ladies and has received universal acclaim for her work. Over the course of her career Bullock’s films have grossed over $5.3 billion worldwide and over $2.6 billion domestically. This past December, she starred in Netflix's post-apocalyptic thriller “Bird Box,” directed by Susanne Bier. The film instantly broke the record for the most-views for a film on Netflix to date with 45 million-plus streams in its first week. Earlier last year, she led an all-star cast of women including Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling and Awkwafina in the heist comedy “Ocean’s 8.” The film, which was produced by Steven Soderbergh had the best opening weekend in franchise history.

In addition to her Oscar, Golden Globe, and SAG Awards, Bullock has received numerous awards and nominations for her acting, including four MTV Movie Awards, nine Teen Choice Awards, ten People’s Choice Awards, and three Critics’ Choice Awards. Bullock is also the only person to be named “Entertainer of the Year” twice by Entertainment Weekly, having gained the honor in 2009 and 2013.

Bullock has donated millions of dollars to support the work of the American Red Cross, including donations in response to the 2018 California wildfires, Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis in 2004. In addition to the Red Cross, she donated to the California Humane Society to help the animals that were affected by the California wildfires. Bullock has continuously lent her support to New Orleans’ Warren Easton Charter School, the oldest public high school in the state of Louisiana following the devastation and damaged caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In recognition of her on-going charitable efforts she was presented with the first ever People’s Choice Award for Favorite Humanitarian in 2013.

These are just a few of the great speakers planned for the 2019 SAP SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference. View the complete list at www.sap.com

New Innovations in SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 04

SAP HANA 2 is the business data platform for the intelligent enterprise. Leveraging state-of-the-art database and data management technology, advanced analytical capabilities and intuitive application development tools in the only all-in-one, in-memory-first data platform – SAP HANA 2 frees up valuable resources and human capital for new and innovative application development to meet your business’s strategic objectives.

SAP recently announced the release of SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 04. SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 04 includes a mix of new and continuous innovations across the themes of database management, data management, analytical intelligence and application development.

Here are the latest innovations in SAP HANA from SAP.

• Data tiering enhancements for improved scale
• Persistent memory hardware availability
• Scale-out enhancements
• Data protection and privacy
• Smart data access and Hadoop integration
• Hexagon grid clustering for spatial data
• Data scientist and machine learning improvements
• Spatial performance enhancements and algorithms
• User experience optimizations throughout

Learn more about SAP HANA at: https://blogs.sap.com/2019/04/05/whats-new-in-sap-hana-2.0-sps-04-2/

Start your path to the Intelligent Enterprise with Approyo
Approyo provides full SAP service technology with extensive capabilities in consulting, solutions architecture, hosting and managed services, in order to develop the right solution for our customers. Get started today...

Major Benefits of Cloud Computing in 2019

There’s no question that cloud technology is redefining the way we do business, including the sharing, storing, and accessing of data to remote locations. The benefits of moving to the cloud far outweigh any disadvantages. By enabling you to boost organizational efficiency, the cloud helps you run your business more smoothly. The availability of all the resources on demand also substantially reduces your IT costs, allowing you to allocate funds to where you need them more.

Scalability
Cloud solutions can support your ever-changing requirements by enabling you to scale resources quickly and efficiently. You can upgrade your storage or bandwidth plans at any point simply by changing your subscription plan. The pay-per-use option is probably the greatest advantage of the cloud, and the cost transparency makes for reliable planning.

This scalability minimizes the risks associated with in-house operational issues and maintenance. You have high-performance resources at your disposal with professional solutions and zero up-front investment.

Not only are your cloud services scalable, but your business can scale as well with the increased flexibility your cloud services provide. You can allocate funding to other growth opportunities and create efficiencies in areas you have thus far been unable to tackle.

Automated Updates 
In cloud computing, the server suppliers regularly update your software including the updates on security, so that you do not need to agonize on wasting your crucial time on maintaining the system. This will enable your IT team to work on business critical issues to help grow your business.

Security
Security is foremost one of the benefits of cloud computing that guarantee data integrity. A cloud service provider should offer a platform designed with strict security measures. The provider must ensure that servers storing your files are well managed to prevent data theft.

Security features for offline computers are more expensive to get when compared to those of a cloud-hosted platform. Note that data in the cloud is as vulnerable as data on offline computer systems. However, the cloud appears to be safer than offline computers since most cloud service providers fix bugs as soon as they’re detected.

Cloud infrastructure has hundreds of people managing data while offline computers only rely on an individual or team to install the security features.

Collaboration
When your team can access documents anytime, anywhere, they can collaborate more efficiently. Your workflow improves because your employees have the flexibility to edit and share documents when it is convenient. That is not to say that coming into the office is not important; however, you maintain a competitive edge by giving your employees more of a work/life balance.

This increased collaboration on a cloud platform facilitates virtual work all over the world among your employees and your clients. It can reduce time-to-market and improve product development and customer service.

The cloud makes running your business simpler by allowing you to track documents without having to worry about USB drives or other pieces of equipment.

Flexibility
Flexibility covers a wide array of solutions. From storage space to bandwidth flexibility, your business must assess its needs and see how the cloud can meet them.

One of the immediate business advantages that cloud solutions offer in this respect is the increased flexibility of both in-house and remote employees. Document storage in the public cloud allows employees to collaborate more efficiently and work on any platform. Any web-enabled device can access cloud-based tools, which is especially useful for mobile or remote workforces. Your employees can work at any time and in any time zone without restriction.

The flexibility of server loads is another advantage of adopting cloud. You can choose to turn up capacity when you expect more traffic to your site and turn it back down when you don’t need as much. The accelerated implementation streamlines your processes, creating increased accessibility and decreasing your reliance on local hardware or software.

Read the full post on www.approyo.com

Ask Approyo: How is Artificial Intelligence impacting businesses right now?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science that emphasizes the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans. The massive amount of data produced by our devices, sensors, and the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow. Turning this data into actionable insights and reaching new levels of sophistication and efficiency will require artificial intelligence (AI).

Now is the time to start to implement AI solutions at your business. Here are just a few examples of how AI is impacting the day to day operations at companies around the world.

Automating customer interactions
Most customer interactions, such as emails, online chat, social media conversations and telephone calls, currently require human involvement. AI, however, is enabling companies to automate these communications. By analyzing data collected from previous communications it is possible to program computers to respond accurately to customers and deal with their inquiries. What’s more, when AI is combined with machine learning, the more the AI platforms interact, the better they become.

Data Mining
Cloud-based AI apps are so advanced that they can quickly discover important information and relevant findings while processing big data. This gives businesses insights into previously undiscovered information, which gives them a major advantage in the marketplace.

Reducing Human Error
Robotic process automation (RPA) can help businesses avoid costly human errors. Each year human errors cost SMEs millions of pounds. RPA tools are designed to continually collect, analyze and learn from large amounts of data. As such, robots are far more effective at standardizing processes than human employees.

Businesses around the world use RPA software across a range of industries and purposes. For example, making logical and consistent marketing decisions, avoiding expensive fines from mistakes within compliance reports, and using set protocols to reduce injuries at work.

Automation
Since the industrial revolution, the rise of technology has gone hand in hand with the automation of work. From tractors, to automated hotel bookings and advanced robots working in manufacturing factories, the theme remains constant. As far as the introduction of artificial intelligence is concerned, the only difference is where it works. There’s a growing trend towards the automation of routine work. Artificial intelligence is quickly automating routine processes, the same way industrial era machines automated physical labor. Not only are these technologies extremely capable, they also don’t require coffee, lunch or smoke breaks.

Breaking the language barrier
At one time or another, we’ve all used Google Translate to simplify our communication with someone, understand a text in a foreign language, or as a part of our work. While the initial translation solutions might not have been the most efficient, Google has implemented machine learning to teach their digital translator to improve on the go. Now, it delivers highly realistic translations, despite their complexity or colloquial nature.

However, AI has gone a step further, and we now have devices that can instantly translate speech into a variety of languages as you enjoy a conversation with someone who doesn’t speak your own native language.

Read the full blog post at www.approyo.com

Key Benefits of Outsourcing your SAP Basis Support

SAP Basis refers to the administration of SAP system that includes activities like installation and configuration, load balancing, and performance of SAP applications running on Java stack and SAP ABAP. This includes the maintenance of different services related to database, operating system, application and web servers in SAP system landscape and stopping and starting the system.

SAP Basis support is a critical aspect to organizations running SAP Solutions and companies looking to get the most out of these solutions. In-House support teams are most likely severely overburdened and can’t give Basis the attention it deserves. Many companies have faced a large turnover of SAP professionals, requiring them to scramble just to keep SAP running. Or, many organization can't find the expertise needed to manage these solutions. So, they do what they can to keep SAP Basis running — for now.

Key Benefits of outsourcing SAP Basis Support:

• No need to hire, train or retain SAP staff
• Help you stay focused on your core competencies
• Costs reduction with predictable SAP support costs and improved operational efficiencies
• Improved reliability, availability and performance of the SAP infrastructure
• Quality monitoring to boost system availability and capacity

View the full blog post on www.approyo.com

The Intelligent Enterprise powered by SAP HANA

The SAP HANA business data platform is unrivaled, combining a robust database with services for creating innovative applications. It enables real-time business by converging transactions and analytics on one in-memory platform. Running on premise or in the cloud, SAP HANA untangles IT complexity, bringing huge savings in data management and empowering decision-makers everywhere with new insight and predictive power.

Accelerate with Simplicity
An intelligent enterprise requires a business-ready data platform that helps you find the signal in the noise and unleash your data’s potential for better business outcomes. The SAP HANA business data platform provides the next-generation data management foundation for all of the industry-leading SAP® solutions. It also enables development of cutting-edge applications to deliver intelligent solutions for the enterprise quickly.

SAP HANA is one of the first data management platforms to handle both transactions and analytics in-memory on a single data set. It converges a future-proof database with advanced analytical processing and capabilities for application development, data integration, and data quality. Embedded in a robust, state-of-the-art security framework, it supports compliance with the latest security standards and data protection regulations. You gain a single secure environment for all your mission-critical data assets. You can manage large volumes of structured and unstructured data efficiently, leveraging the value of your business data while improving total cost of ownership (TCO).

Reimagine the Database
SAP HANA is built on an in-memory columnar store that is optimized for both transactional and analytical workloads, enabling the benefits of multicore processing, modern storage technology, and the single-instruction, multiple-data instruction set. It’s fully compliant with requirements for the atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability (ACID) standards.

Intuitive modeling tools and preconfigured function libraries let you run complex business logic directly inside the database. That means you avoid latencies from moving data between the database and application server tiers.

Multitenant databases can be managed as one while maintaining their isolation from one another. The data tiering capabilities of SAP HANA, such as extension nodes, allow you to maximize your value by balancing performance and cost of data storage. This enables administrators to control which data is kept in-memory and which is kept in alternative persistent data storage. At the same time, the multistore tables in SAP HANA mean that where and how data is stored is completely transparent to consuming applications.

Act with Live Intelligence
SAP HANA provides next-generation hybrid transactional and analytical processing (HTAP) with the broadest advanced analytics capabilities to help business leaders understand information in context and achieve situational awareness to act in the moment. This includes native high-performance predictive and machine learning algorithms and integration with TensorFlow and R to reveal meaningful patterns in data and build applications that can learn and automate manual business processes. Text analysis and search capabilities help extract real insights from unstructured textual data in many different languages. Administrative boundary content, advanced services such as geocoding, and spatial services available in the cloud help accelerate development of location-aware business applications.

SAP HANA can store and query streaming data from sensors, plant equipment, and Internet of Things devices; time-series data such as price fluctuations and information on machine efficiency; and highly interconnected graph data. It also provides a JSON document store. These powerful capabilities can be leveraged with standard SQL, enabling data to be combined from standard relational databases, spatial and graph data, and data stored in a JSON document. A wealth of new possibilities helps you reimagine business models.


Innovate with Confidence
To achieve business insight in real time, SAP HANA helps you innovate with confidence. You can analyze sensitive data while effectively aligning with compliance requirements with real-time data anonymization. State-of-the-art techniques such as k-anonymity and differential privacy render personal data disconnected from an individual. This empowers business users and data scientists to “know without seeing” and explore new business opportunities for data as a service.

SAP HANA connects with existing applications using open standards and offers a choice of ways to build applications that are Web based or based on microservices. SAP Web IDE for SAP HANA offers a comprehensive lightweight tool set for data modeling and application development. Complex security authorizations can be easily shared between native applications and extensions running on SAP HANA and SAP business applications.

Read the full blog post on www.approyo.com 

Mirror Review Recognizes Approyo as one of The 10 Most Agile SAP Solution Providers To Keep An Eye On In 2019

Mirror Review has listed Approyo among the top SAP solution providers in its latest magazine, “The 10 Most Agile SAP Solution Providers To Keep An Eye On In 2019”

The magazine has recently published its special issue, in which it has featured the most prominent companies that empower their clients with the most advanced SAP solutions and tools for enterprise operations.

Today, SAP is leading the world with industry expertise in providing high grade enterprise solutions. It is the unique characteristic of SAP that enable a strong digital core and an easy-to-use system that supports innovations planned by companies. Tools provided by SAP are helping businesses transform themselves and take themselves towards success, without jeopardizing the daily business operations.

In its published story, Chris Carter, the CEO and Founder of Approyo shares his journey from starting Approyo to leading it to a successful SAP solutions provider company. Currently, in the leadership of Chris, SAP solutions by Approyo help businesses to unlock the full potential of SAP technologies. Mayur Shewale, Assistant Editor of Mirror Review shares, “SAP HANA and SAP Cloud Platform are useful to build intelligent applications and analytics solutions across various industries which greatly assist in streamlining business processes. However, the emergence of challenges like technological differences, integration difficulties is an essential part of their implementation. Such challenges are the prime motive behind the need for quality SAP solutions providers who can integrate SAP with leading systems like CRMs, Supplier, or third-party purchase order systems. Chris and his team at Approyo have recognized these challenges and are helping customers to develop a fully operational SAP HANA solution in the cloud to gratify the needs of their customers.”

“We are excited to be part of this great list of companies" said Christopher Carter, CEO of Approyo. "This achievement continues to validate our success in the SAP and Cloud marketplace.”

View the full profile: https://www.mirrorreview.com/approyo-moving-sap-applications-to-the-cloud/

The 10 Best Performing SAP Solution Providers list: https://www.mirrorreview.com/the-10-most-agile-sap-solution-providers-to-keep-an-eye-on-in-2019/

About Mirror Review
Mirror Review is a magazine company that unwinds the untold stories of Enterprises and their Founders, VPs, CEOs, CXOs, etc., while focusing on the unique services offered by them. As this is a platform for technologists and business people, the company keeps its audience informed with all current affairs in the market. The magazine company focuses on technology sectors such as Big Data, Cloud, IoT, Mobility, Networking, Security, Software, and Virtualization, and has issued numerous successful projects.