In their insightful talk at the Next Generation SAP Enterprise Architect Forum 2024, Bob Cummings and Dean Milne, (both long-time SAP veterans) championed a transformative approach to SAP implementations, advocating for the early integration of automation and AI technologies. They highlighted the necessity of front-loading projects with early visibility of the customer’s working system utilizing comprehensive customer data to tailor solutions precisely to each enterprise's unique needs.
Cummings and Milne underscored the importance of leveraging SAP Best Practices and the SAP Clean Core as a foundation while embracing innovation and customization through automation. He emphasized collaboration with consulting and technology firms as crucial for scaling this approach, ensuring that more enterprises can benefit from efficient, automated implementation. This paradigm shift aims to reduce traditional implementation challenges, such as the late visibility of the final working system and avoid project delays and budget overruns, promising a future where SAP projects are more predictable, adaptable, and successful.
Quote
"As history shows, Automation is unlikely to replace humans but will significantly amplify what they are able to do. Enterprise IT Transformations that combine Human Intelligence with Intelligent Automation will be faster and more impactful to the Enterprise. It will allow for continuous transformation without the disruption.” Bob Cummings
Key Themes
- The Historical Challenge of SAP Implementations: The talk begins by acknowledging the longstanding challenges in SAP implementations, such as high failure rates, budget overruns, and project delays. These issues are framed as persistent frustrations within the industry that have not substantially changed over decades.
- Automation and AI as a Solution: Bob Cummings & Dean Milne introduce automation and AI as pivotal technologies capable of addressing these historical challenges. The focus is on how these technologies can dramatically reduce risks, costs, and disruptions while simultaneously enhancing the value derived from SAP projects.
- Transforming Project Implementation: A significant portion of the talk details a transformative approach to SAP project implementation, emphasizing early and continuous integration of automation and AI. This strategy aims to front-load projects with early visibility of the final working system through AI-Poweredautomation to avoid the common pitfalls of time and cost overruns, scope creep and late-stage project surprises.
- Practical Application and Methodology: The methodology discussed involves taking a comprehensive inventory of customer data and processes, then applying automation and AI through an "automation hub" to rapidly configure and customize SAP systems according to specific enterprise needs. This approach is designed to yield a working, testable system early in the project lifecycle, enabling early adjustments and reducing the risk of late-stage failures.
- Collaboration with Consulting Firms: The model also involves a collaborative effort with consulting firms to scale the approach, suggesting a shift in the traditional consulting model towards one that leverages automation and AI to enhance efficiency and outcomes.
- Customer-Centricity and Customization: A recurring theme is the focus on deeply understanding and integrating customer-specific requirements and data from the outset, using automation to tailor the SAP system to the unique needs of each enterprise.
- Best Practices and Standardization: The talk touches on leveraging SAP Best Practices as a foundation, while also highlighting the need for customization and adjustment based on individual company processes and realities. This balance between standardization and customization is presented as key to achieving successful outcomes.
- Future Vision for SAP Implementations: Ultimately, the talk presents a future vision for SAP implementations where automation and AI play central roles in reducing traditional project risks while delivering greater value and efficiency. This vision includes an ecosystem where SAP systems are delivered faster, projects are more predictable, and enterprises can achieve their transformation goals more reliably. Dramatically reduce risk, while at the same time dramatically elevating the value derived from SAP systems.
Slides and Access Full Presentation: Here
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