Enterprises are constantly on the hunt for opportunity. But taking advantage of opportunities requires agility in core IT systems and business software—easier said than done. In my conversations with customers, I’ve heard one story of frustration after another. Data and processes were locked into silos. Getting two applications to talk required massive work. Building new applications and launching new technologies like mobile were painful and time-consuming.
That’s why we created SAP HANA Cloud Platform (HCP).
The Innovation Platform
Officially, HCP is a Platform as a Service (PaaS)—but I think of it more as innovation as a service. HCP can unleash innovation across your enterprise by modernizing core systems while powering new business apps.
With HCP, you can seamlessly integrate, extend, and customize existing SAP applications—whether on-premises or in the cloud. That includes all of your SAP software, from Business Suite and S4/HANA to SuccessFactors, Ariba, CEC, Concur, and Fieldglass.
By breaking down silos, you can manage your business seamlessly. For example, you can take a forecasted order from your CEC pipeline, match it to your promise to deliver in the Business Suite system, and then apply resources to the order from your Fieldglass workforce management system.
What’s great about this integration is that it doesn’t stop at the apps. When you’ve connected all your systems, you’ve also enabled collaboration across the enterprise, as well as with customers and partners at scale.
But innovation is about more than integration—you need to provide new ways of supporting the business. HCP gives you two great options for leveraging new apps: You can write your own using the latest open, agile technologies, or you can choose from 1,000+ apps written by our 500+ partners. Either way, the apps will snap directly into your existing SAP environment.
Figure 1. The options available with SAP HANA Cloud Platform. [Source: https://www.sapappsdevelopmentpartnercenter.com/media/cms_page_media/117/SAP%20HCP%20Partner%20Overview%20v2.pdf, “What Can You Do With SAP HANA Cloud Platform” graphic]
Apply Innovation Wherever It Is Needed
HCP is designed to let you apply innovation wherever it is needed. Its microservices architecture and open APIs make it easy to connect any data or business process within any SAP app to any new app or HCP service. An API Hub allows developers to quickly discover, test, and consume external APIs from anywhere, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, and of course, existing SAP systems.
We also built in support for deployment to mobile devices, so you can extend the reach of innovation. In addition to our own mobile capabilities, we’ve added partnerships with IBM and Apple. Now IBM front-end iOS apps integrate directly with SAP back-office apps via HCP. In addition, Apple and SAP will soon deliver an SDK for direct mobilization of SAP business processes in native iOS apps.
HCP also extends innovation to the Internet of Things (IoT), including tools for remote device provisioning and management, time series analysis, and predictive maintenance so you can quickly develop, deploy, and manage real-time IoT applications. Your IT operations now have a clear path to devices of all kinds at the edge of networks.
Propel Your Business Forward
The importance of HCP isn’t to have “cool” technology, but to make a practical contribution to your strategic goals. That starts with agility—specifically, the ability to quickly build and test new applications. But the applications themselves need to be fast. That’s why HCP is built on the SAP HANA database and application platform.
The real-time performance of SAP HANA lets HCP analyze data on the fly. Built-in capabilities can model key performance indicators against analytic content. Included analytic engines provide predictive, geospatial, and text analysis. You can generate reports in graphs or in text, to help executives and managers make better decisions.
Other services extend analytics to social networks, allowing you to integrate rich data to see its impact on marketing, sales, and customer service. The completion of this last link lets companies create an end-to-end approach to supporting business strategies.
SAP HANA Cloud Platform Is the Future of Innovation
HCP lets your company innovate wherever and however you need. Whether that means updating existing apps or building something entirely new, HCP can help you seize opportunities whenever they arise.
To learn more about how HCP can power your company to success, go to hcp.sap.com.
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