Exploring an Agile, Resilient and Sustainable Enterprises

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Explain solution and business transformation within an enterprise 
  • Explain the general hurdles in a business transformation 
  • State how SAP’s transformation methodologies link to associated tools

Solution and Business Transformation Within an Enterprise 

Introduction

Our goal here is to demonstrate how to manage an SAP transformation through various steps using recommended tools. We'll introduce the general context and start to present some of these tools. We'll delve deeper into the specifics of these tools. Additionally, we'll continue to outline the integration points, as there are many relevant ones. These integration points will vary depending on how you manage your project and the areas of expertise you choose to involve.

Three side-by-side panels, each depicting a different concept Business agility., Supply chain resilience. and Sustainability outcomes.. Emphasizing the different strategic goals enterprise can achieve.

Business transformation

Business transformation is the process of making fundamental and significant changes to the operations, structure, and processes of a business in order to improve its performance, efficiency, and overall competitiveness. This may involve adopting new technologies, redefining business processes, and changing the company's culture and mindset. The goal of business transformation is to enable the company to be agile, sustainable and resilient and achieve long-term success.

The benefits for an enterprise.

The journey to becoming an agile, sustainable, and resilient enterprise requires transformation. Big or small, change is inevitable.

Becoming agile means…

  • Responding to changing market trends.
  • Adapting to new business models.
  • Quickly adapting while operating through mergers and acquisitions.
  • Adopting new technologies (AI, the cloud, automation, etc).

Becoming resilient means…

  • Being able to respond proactively to challenges in supply chains.
  • Being able to address unexpected disruptions (pandemic, regional war).

Being sustainable means…

  • Reaching your Environmental, Social and Governance goals.
  • Operating with less waste.

General Hurdles in a Business Transformation 

Three side-by-side panels, each addressing different challenges organizations might face in operations, resource shortages, and inconsistencies between business and IT.

Hurdles when transforming

Transformation even when not implemented business-wide, can be challenging and disruptive. Three hurdles enterprises often encounter during business transformation:

Uncertainty, mixed with layers of complexity.

  • No visibility into the existing process and application landscape.
  • No idea where the value potential is.
  • An unawareness of the risks in changing something.
  • No distinguishable starting point because of all the complexity.

Shortages, everything is finite.

  • Capacity like time, resources, etc.
  • Skills colleagues with the knowledge may have even left the business.
  • Management has no insights with data, roles, and responsibilities.
  • Companies have limited budget and must balance running the business versus innovation.

Inconsistency, business and IT stakeholders want/need different things.

  • There is poor or even no alignment or collaboration between business and IT it’s different languages and disciplines.
  • Companies struggle to get stakeholder and management buy-in.

Ultimately, this can result in decision paralysis or decisions made based on gut instinct rather than with meaningful insights.

Consequently:

  • Delays in progress.
  • More expenses.
  • Potentially a failed transformation.

SAP’s Transformation Methodologies and Tools

An infinity loop diagram illustrating a continuous cycle between Processes and Applications, interconnected by People and Data. On the left side, the loop emphasizes the stages of Discover and Analyze within Processes, aiming for fast insights. On the right, it covers Design and Operate within Applications, focusing on quick adaptability. The central elements—People and Data—are key to linking these stages. The diagram highlights the importance of methodology, best practices, automation, and integration, powered by Business AI, to drive rapid insight and adaptability across the cycle.

This is where business transformation from SAP steps in:

  • Bringing the key dimensions necessary for successful business transformation together in a consolidated, streamlined approach.
  • Process, applications, people and data are what drive transformations.
  • Taking you from business strategy to execution.
  • It’s important to have the right solutions that connect across these dimensions.

And it’s not just the tooling that make this possible, but also:

  • The end-to-end methodology to guide you every step of the way.
  • Best practice content – for example, reference architecture from SAP and Process Value Accelerators.
  • Automation that helps to accelerate work-flows.
  • Integration capabilities to pull this all together.
  • And of course, powerful Business AI underpinning the value acceleration throughout the journey.

Our End-to-End Holistic Approach

a structured methodology divided into six phases: Operate, Discover, Analyze, Design, Implement, and Operate (repeated). The approach is organized into four rows representing different components: People, Processes, Applications, and Data.

Our end-to-end holistic approach sets the standard for transformation, highlighting the ingredients necessary for success – from the moment visibility is established, to operating the enterprise at a higher level.​

There are key categories to consider that impact the transformation and it’s crucial that :

  • These are all connected, and meaningful insights should be exchanged across categories to effect change
  • SAP is uniquely positioned to pieces this all together.
  • We bring market leaders in process analysis and mining, as well as process management.
  • We bring market leaders in enterprise architecture.
  • We consider the entire enterprise stack from business architecture, to individual IT components and how these are all affected through change.
  • And where we don’t have SAP solutions in place today, we bring in ecosystem partners like Collibra to cover essential parts of this story such as Data Quality and Observability.

The Suite Portfolio for SAP Transformations

Here's how our SAP best-of-suite solution portfolio helps Enterprises within each step of the key categories that should be considered. Some of these are solution-led, others are purely consulting or partner-oriented. Either way, Enterprises can be sure that with SAP, it's covered across all different layers of the organization with market-leading solutions - such as SAP Signavio, SAP LeanIX or SAP Enable Now and WalkMe - to drive the business transformation step by step from discover to operate.

Our Suite Portfolio for SAP Transformation Includes:

Note

  • SAP Solution-led (Blue) : Primarily solution offerings, supported by service or consultancy.
  • Consultancy-led (Green): Managed by SAP, partners, or internal consultants, supported with various solutions or offerings.
  • SAP Partner Offering (Pink): Includes SAP-endorsed apps or SAP solution extensions.
The diagram emphasizes the comprehensive suite of tools and services available to support various aspects of SAP transformation across different stages and functions.

Here are the specific solutions for each category:

People:

  • WalkMe (SAP solution-led) throughout.
  • SAP Enable Now (SAP solution-led) from the Analyze to Operate phases.
  • Organizational Change Management (SAP solution-led) throughout.

Processes:

  • SAP Signavio (SAP solution-led) throughout.
  • SAP Build Automation (SAP solution-led) from the Implement to Operate phase.
  • UIPath (Partner solution) from the Implement to Operate phase.

Applications:

  • SAP LeanIX (SAP solution-led) throughout.
  • SAP Cloud ALM (SAP solution-led) throughout.
  • Tricentis (Partner solution) from the Implement to Operate phase.

Data:

  • Data Management (SAP solution-led) throughout.
  • Data Transition (SAP solution-led) from the Analyze to Implement phase.
  • Collibra (Partner solution) from the Analyze to Design phase.
  • SAP Advanced Data Migration and Management (SAP solution-led) from the Design to Implement phase.
  • Data Transformation (SAP solution-led) from the Implement to Operate phase.

Definition solutions

Data Management: This includes solutions such as SAP Master Data Governance, SAP Data Services & SAP Information Steward, SAP ILM, SAP ADMM by Syniti.

Data Transition: This includes tools like SAP S/4HANA Migration Cockpit, Software Update Manager and, SAP Business Transformation Center.

Phases with SAP Signavio, SAP LeanIX and SAP Cloud ALM

Here we are looking at phases where SAP Signavio, SAP LeanIX and SAP Cloud ALM can work together to enable an end-to-end, data-driven transformation approach.

A comprehensive flowchart showing the value throughout your transformation journey, focusing on the collaboration of SAP Signavio, SAP LeanIX, and SAP Cloud ALM. The flowchart is divided into five key phases of transformation: Discover, Analyze, Design, Implement, and Operate.

At each step of the transformation journey, for example SAP Signavio, SAP LeanIX and SAP Cloud ALM empower organizations to accomplish key tasks:

  • The solutions also complement each other and mirror value on the business and IT level.
  • This collaborative approach ensures that there is visibility through the enterprise stack.
  • It ensures that the analysis is vigorously completed through the stack.
  • It facilitates collaboration between business and IT on what the target state might look like.
  • And ensure that as this new state rolls out, it is implemented effectively.

We are also able to unlock further value in ways that no other single solution or offering can:

  • No other competitor can quickly deliver the insights into the as-is SAP process and application state.
  • No other competitor brings the best practice process content and reference catalogs for the SAP landscape.
  • No other competitor offers the full breadth of capabilities across all project phases with such a high degree of integration.
  • And no other competitor solution or offering sets an enterprise up for continuous optimization and improvement.

It’s about more than just getting the business to survive. It’s about getting the business onto the front foot. Enhanced agility, higher resilience and more sustainability. These examples can be extended to the whole best-of-suite portfolio for SAP transformations.

Our Best-of-Suite Portfolio for SAP Transformations

Let's now focus on SAP Signavio, SAP LeanIX, SAP Cloud ALM and Tricentis.

A highlighted section of a larger diagram titled Our best-of-suite portfolio for SAP transformations. It focuses on the Processes and Applications categories, showcasing specific SAP and partner solutions.

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