Every company and every industry is facing change on a scale never seen before meaning all organizations must quickly determine how to respond to and profit from all that change, in other words, formulate a digital transformation strategy and action plan. This is why the Americas' SAP Users Group ( ASUG ) is creating several series of webcasts and other content to help members in that endeavor.
Digital transformation was one of the most popular buzz phrases in 2015 and is likely to be so again this year, but how best to define it? Jonathan Becher, chief digital officer at SAP, provides an accurate definition in a recent blog:
“…every successful digital transformation has the following three elements: A new customer experience, a new business model, [and] a new value creation model.”
But that is not all that we are encountering this year. The notion of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is beginning to gain some traction – especially as over 2,500 leaders from business, government, international organizations, civil society, academia, media, and the arts participate in the 46th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. This year’s summit is focusing on this new revolution as a fusion of technologies blurs the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.
Digital Transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it Means for You
The pace of change today is also unprecedented. Get used to it – things will never move so slowly again. Whether you call it “digital transformation” or the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” these forces will greatly change our world and our lives in ways that we are only just starting to imagine and understand.
Among ASUG members, there is already much discussion about what this all means and how we can successfully navigate this world together. Not only do we have to work differently than before, but we also need to engage in thoughtful conversations and innovation to make sense of this onslaught of transformation at a faster pace and in a more coordinated fashion.
This is why we are pleased to announce our four-month “ASUG Perspectives on Digital Transformation” webcast series, starting Feb. 2.
ASUG Perspectives on Digital Transformation Webcasts -- SAP, Analysts, Partners, User Groups
We are creating a new ASUG Digital Transformation Program for our members that will serve as a “one-stop shop” for all things related to digital transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution across lines of business, industries, and technology areas. This webcast series will feature visionaries and thought leaders who will offer their insights and help you prepare to succeed in new ways in this increasingly disruptive world. To continue the conversation on this theme, we will engage members and customers during ASUG chapter meetings and SAP events and through blogs and social media.
During our first wave of webcasts, running Feb. 2 to Mar. 1, SAP executives will share their perspectives on digital transformation. Over the course of 16 webcasts over 28 days, ASUG members will hear from an impressive line-up of global leaders from SAP. At the end of the month, we will hold a special 90-minute session titled “The SAP HANA Platform – Powering the Digital Transformation” which will include a look at the results of our recent ASUG SAP HANA adoption survey.
Here are all the 16 exciting topics which will be explored:
Feb. 2: Enterprise Architecture: Architecting Your Digital Business of Tomorrow - Irfan Khan, Chief Technology Officer, Global Customer Operations, SAP
Feb. 4: Utilities: SAP’s Digital Utility Framework – Reimagine Your Utility - Henry Bailey, Vice President, Industry Business Solutions, SAP
Feb. 9: Chemicals: Digital Transformation in the Chemicals Industry - Don Mahoney, Vice President and Global Head of Chemicals, Industry Business Solutions, SAP
Feb. 11: Public Sector: Frictionless Public – Provide, Protect, and Prosper in the Digital Society - Isabella Groegor-Cechowicz, General Manager, Public Sector, SAP
Feb. 11: HR: Architecting HR to Meet the Needs of a Digitally Transformed Workforce - Mike Ettling, President, SAP SuccessFactors
Feb. 16: Asset Management: Rethinking Asset Management in the Digital Age - Achim Krueger, VP, Operational Excellence Solutions and LoB Asset Management, SAP
Feb. 17: Supply Chain: Digital Transformation in Supply Chain - Martin Barkman, VP, Head of Demand-Driven Business Planning, Extended SCM, SAP
Feb. 18: Oil & Gas: Inspire and Shape the Digital Energy Revolution - Ken Evans, Global Head Oil & Gas Industry Business Unit, SAP
Feb. 19: Finance: Digital Transformation in Finance - Thack Brown, General Manager, Global Head LoB Finance, SAP
Feb. 22: Discrete Manufacturing: Digital Transformation in Discrete Manufacturing Industries - Stefan Krauss, General Manager Industry Cloud – Discrete Industries, SAP
Feb. 23: IoT: Connect, Transform, and Reimagine – SAP and the Internet of Things in 2016 - Nayaki Nayyar, General Manager and Global Head of IoT and Innovation GTM, SAP
Feb. 24: User Experience: Digital and IT Transformation with Design - Sam Yen, Chief Design Officer, SAP and Managing Director, SAP Silicon Valley
Feb. 26: Automotive in a Digital World - Holger Masser, Global Head of Industrial Business Unit Automotive, SAP
Feb. 29: The SAP HANA Platform: Powering the Digital Transformation - Matthew Zenus, Solution Manager, Data Warehousing Solutions and SAP HANA, SAP
March 1: Digital Education for the Digital Transformation - Bernd Welz, Executive Vice President and Head of Scale, Enablement and Transformation, SAP
March 1: Mindset Matters in Digital Transformation - Jonathan Becher, SAP Chief Digital Officer and Head of SAP Digital
And That’s Not All
We will follow this first wave of digital transformation webcasts with a second and third wave delivered by analysts and SAP partners. Last, and certainly not least, you can expect ASUG CEO Geoff Scott to weigh in on the topic of digital transformation on a future webcast.
As entrepreneur and tech executive Douglas Merrill once said, “All of us is smarter than any of us.” We need to work together to bring the power of digital transformation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to our organizations. I hope that you can join us on this exciting journey.
ASUG members can register here for the first wave of digital transformation webcasts.
Non-ASUG members can register here for one or more of the Feb. 2 to March 1 series of digital transformation webcasts.
If you have any questions, please contact Paul Kurchina at paul.kurchina@asug.com.
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