Wednesday, January 16, 2013
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning Opportunities
SAP Gets Real-Time With HANA-Powered Business Suite
SAP's integration of its business suite with its in-memory HANA database puts it into the thick of the Big Data competition with Oracle, IBM and Microsoft. The new engine allows both transactional and analytical processing to take place in real time. This could be a game-changer for SAP if enough of its enterprise customers want to board the bullet train.
SAP last week released SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA (High-Performance Analytic Appliance), which marries its popular integrated applications with its high performance business analytics platform.
SAP Business Suite is the largest application SAP has in terms of customers, Ken Tsai, VP, SAP Hana product marketing at SAP, told the E-Commerce Times. "That makes this release a major milestone for SAP."
The introduction of SAP Business Suite by HANA is attracting significant interest from ISVs and third parties, Tsai added.
Analytics for the Masses
The rollout of this product on HANA is an important step for SAP, Charles King, principal of Pund-IT, told the E-Commerce Times.
In a nutshell, HANA is SAP's attempt not only to bring analytics to the masses but also to give the company a seat at the table as demand for such capabilities explodes.
"That is the larger strategy and value proposition that SAP is going after with this release," said King.
Until recently, much of the interest in analytics technologies and solutions has been driven by systems vendors, he noted. Typically, their response was to deliver a database plus specially designed and optimized hardware.
"What SAP has done is come up with an analytics engine that can be deployed on any x86 platform," King observed. "HANA could become a de facto analytics platform for industry standards-based systems."
SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA "puts SAP in the thick of it and its partners in the thick of it too," he said.
Making Business Real-Time
SAP has deployed other business applications on HANA, and it also plans to deploy SAP Business All-in-One on HANA for its medium sized customers.
However, SAP Business Suite will likely become the company's poster child for HANA, given its integration and range of capabilities.
"It is the same suite that our customers know and love, but faster and in real time," Tsai said. "Otherwise, the user interface has not changed. All we did was optimize the operation so users could take advantage of what HANA has to offer."
With a combined transactional and analytical workload, as well as combined predictive and prescriptive analytics, HANA's strength is in real-time calculation and analysis, Tsai said.
That means as new data enters the system, it immediately becomes available to line of business users.
"Customers can collect real-time insights and run simulation scenarios on the spot when trends or data change quickly," Tsai pointed out.
For example, say a factory received a last-minute request to increase an order size. With a system running on HANA, said Tsai, it would be possible to see almost immediately whether it could accommodate the order.
Similar capabilities can be applied to any business function, he said, from marketing analysis to financial closes, receivables management, material resource planning, and consumer and social sentiment analysis.
Discussion: How does a system such as this increase productivity of a business? Provide your thoughts on this type of application to your small business idea. How does this compare with similar products from other ERP suppliers?
Posts are due by January 21st!
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This would be great for home depot. Everybody complains that we are often out of stock and takes weeks to order anything. SO with this system as soon as a product is sold we could potentially replenish the supply much faster with this real time technology. - Dan
ReplyDeleteThe productivity of the business would increase as it would allow customers to customize their orders even after it had been ordered in case there was changes. Today's would there is always something changing or altering last minute, and this would allow flexibility for a customer. This option would not work as well for my small business idea as the inventory and clientele is not large enough to need to accomodate large orders. Any last minute customization can be done over the phone as the business is small enough that nearly all sales are done by the owner. This application provides a full-range of functionable programs that are changing to the customers needs.
ReplyDeleteAs times are changing the faster things can be done the better. This won't be useful for my business as the moment the order comes in, it will be sent to the restaurants of their choice. As for any changes we will hopefully be able to do this but their will be a factor of time, from the consumer ordering through us, to our business sending it to the restaurant. To us contacted the consumer again saying if we could or couldn't do the change. -Danielle
ReplyDeleteThis real-time system increases productivity because of adding speed but still be precise. companies can now make any adjustments to inventory or recieve information as it is coming in, as opposed to weekly reports for example. This allows companies to be more productive for example: if i company needs to cut down or add to their shipment (like the example) they dont have to wait until the next shipment to either recieve more or return some.
ReplyDeleteFor a clothing store online (not wholesale or bulk) I feel this application doesnt really apply. if customers want to order for example another shirt, they can simply do so. If an order needs to be canceled or adjusted they can call customer service.
This compares to similiar ERP systems as an 'newer' version, I think companies will follow with this newer faster way of doing things. I consider it like an upgrade to other programs.
This system helps to increase business productivity by making it easier and faster for businesses to get orders. Because the information is available in real time the business can see if they are low on a product, and what products they sell more of. By having access to the information almost immediately they can begin producing their items rather then having to wait to receive orders from employees.
ReplyDeleteThis application wouldn’t be as helpful to my small business because my business idea doesn’t have a large client base and it doesn’t involve selling a lot of merchandise or processing orders. If could be used to make the artists schedules available for the business to see and clients to see, any changes would be updated in real time so clients can see what times slots are available for them to come in.
This compares with similar products from ERP suppliers by trying to provide customers with the fastest service. All of the systems are trying to improve their technology to become faster and to be able to support more information.
This SAP-HANA system will increase the productivity of a business by being completely automated. No more guess work goes into fast decisions that need to be made, such as what was explained in the article about trying to meet sales deadlines and short-notice order changes. This will increase productivity because the faster a workforce can turnover a product from producer to consumer, the more transactions can be done, resulting in more sales and revenue for the business.
ReplyDeleteFor my small-business idea for this project, I will be doing custom cakes orders online. This fast-paced system could check levels of inventory to see if we have enough supplies to create the order, it could also send the order from the computer to the bakery with no human conversation needed, speeding up the business transaction. If the system were to work properly and have no malfunctions, I could see it having a great change of increasing productivity for the business.
This ERP system is more fast-paced and considered to be a "game-changer". It is set to compete with the big ERP suppliers and to stay competitive, these new businesses will have to try and find the next big thing in terms of technology.
The new SAP HANA system will increase productivity for both businesses and their customers. It will allow businesses in a fast paced environment to keep up with things like ordering and processing customer transactions more efficiently.
ReplyDeleteThis could apply to my small business idea for a fitness class center because it would allow last minute additions to classes occuring on that day. Because of the 'real time' concept, information on classes sizes and availabilities can be updated instantly.
This is a step up compared to other existing ERP systems because it is responding to the demand for faster newer technology.
The SAP HANA system will increase productivity as it will increase the speed of purchases as well as keep them effecient. With the system being in real time it will allow businesses to keep track of purcahses and their invetory at all times.
ReplyDeleteThis sytem would be great for my small business idea as Source for Sports has a large amount of invetory and this system would allow them to keep track of it in real time. This system would also increase the speed of transactions and i can see it having a great impact on the business.
This system compares to other ERP suppliers but is an improvement as it has the capability of doing things faster thanks to new technology.
Scott
Although my small business will not need such an advange system to keep track of the small amounts of inverntory we have on hand, it would be nice to keep track of repeat customer transactions.
ReplyDeleteThis SAP HANA system would come in very handy for a business given that it would be easier to keep track of inventory and business transactions helping the retail buyer buy the appropriate products that are most popular with the consumers. Having this technology definately helps increase the productivity of a business.
ReplyDeleteThis system helps to increase productivity as it will allow customers to customize their orders in a more fast and efficient way. Having the image of a fast paced environment in the business it will allow the business to keep u with their products as well as at the same time fulfilling customers' needs. Furthermore, by having access to the information instantly they can start to produce their items in a more efficient and professional manner.
ReplyDeleteThis application would be helpful to my business because my business idea involves having a large client base. Moreover, it involves selling a lot of merchandise and processing orders online. Having this application in my business, it will allow my business to run more smoothly and efficiently. It allow my business to reach customers faster as well be successful in accomplishing their demands.
This compares with similar products from other ERP suppliers as it is taking action and reacting to the request the latest technology. - Munzaleen