Now that SAPPHIRE 2012 Orlando is over it might be time for some reflections about what we have experienced there, what was interesting from an EAM point of view, and how we can learn from this. Many of you might have been impressed by the great variety of solutions being presented there and all the technology innovations like mobile, analytics, in-memory, and so on, that were shown. Additionally, a lot of customers were showcasing their experiences with SAP solutions and implementation projects.
This said, what does it mean for EAM?
One of my experiences was that there is no need that implementation projects take forever. If you would like to check out how American Eurocopter (AEC) completed their project faster and below the expected budget, going live in less than 60 days, visit the 20 minute replay. You will find a very good presentation by Doug Hamilton how AEC got rid of BOSS programs (“big old spreadsheets”) and how critical it is to get the senior management buy-in and support for taking critical decisions.
So, what were my other lessons learned from SAPPHIRE this year? Let me put a few topics and hypotheses in front of you that may explain this further:
- UX: The user interface of the maintenance worker will predominantly be mobile in the future. SAP provides a dedicated user experience differentiating between the expert and the casual user.
- Visualization: Realizing the Visual Enterprise by providing 3D manufacturing and engineering data is key to efficiency, data accuracy, and reduced risk.
- HANA: The combination of technical and business data about assets within in-memory databases will change the way we are doing asset management.
- PAS55: Integration of operations, maintenance execution, risk management, worker safety, and financials is key to a holistic asset management.
- Cloud: Cloud-based applications will allow for collaboration alongside the inter-company asset management value chain.
In the following days and weeks I will go into more detail concerning these statements, trying to provide you with my insights from presentations and discussions during SAPPHIRE, happy to discuss and share thoughts with you. Please find the next blog here.
