It had all the earmarks of a battle for the collective eyes and ears of the attendees heading to SAPPHIRE NOW Madrid this November. They’d be going in droves to discover how SAP supports companies across 25 industries as well as the business roles or lines of business (LoBs) within their organizations. The challenge? To produce a range of compelling blogs, videos, and tweets reflecting the dizzying array of activities planned across SAP’s extensive Industries and Line of Business campus.
Let’s call it BlogQuest 2012: SAPPHIRE NOW Madrid Edition. And I will be your host - or to use the official event moniker, your Social Media Ambassador for Industries/LoBs. I gave myself the challenge at the outset to craft a pair of “teaser” blogs that would effectively bookend the campus topics:
- Blog #1 would be called What's My Line (of Business)?, in homage to the long-running game show the United States, whereby blindfolded panelists were tasked with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations. SAP has so many innovative offerings for LoBs, and this seemed an obvious route to go blog-wise
- Blog #2 would be entitled SAP – Captain of Industries. Few would argue that SAP is doing yeoman’s work at the helm of 25 “industry ships”. A blog detailing the myriad solutions on offer for industries seemed like a given
But when I learned how much would be on offer across this campus, I realized the challenge would be bigger than I’d initially imagined. There’s a lot in store – way more than could be encapsulated in two “teaser” blogs. BlogQuest 2012: SAPPHIRE NOW Edition was looking less like a sure thing. How could one humble Social Media Ambassador possibly cover so much?
There will be targeted microforums, theater sessions, presentations and panels featuring customers aplenty, demonstrations of solution innovation from across the entire SAP portfolio, and test-drive areas featuring hands-on demos showcasing scenarios of value to specific industries and lines of business. Here’s just a sampling of what customers and partners had to look forward to on the campus:
- Supply Chain Management panel discussion entitled “Discover How the Supply Chain of the Future is Driven by Demand”, featuring Kraft Foods and other RDS customers
- Procurement will have a strong Mobility focus in a demo theatre session, as well as in a test-drive area called, “Engage and Mobilize Users: New Shopping Cart and Mobile Apps in Procurement”
- Health Sciences will hold a panel discussion on the exciting topic of “Big Data in Health Sciences: Genome to Population Health”, and a microforum featuring Novartis discussing its site roll-out strategy
- HR presentation on how to “Increase Employee Engagement with Innovations for Human Resources”, featuring new ways to streamline delivery of services via role-based access to HR data and processes
- Energy, Resources and Sustainability will play host to a number of customer-driven sessions, including the “Minimize Operational Risk and Energy Use and Maximize Product Safety” panel discussion with Solvay, Ferrero, and Clariant
But then I realized that in this quest, there will be no losers and no one would stand alone. Content will be abundant, and in the end, anyone who follows our Industry and Line of Business social media activities at SAPPHIRE NOW Madrid will win. I will do my best to cover these areas (in cahoots with a merry band of social media champions who in their day jobs are also subject matter experts) to bring you the best and brightest moments from the campus. Follow me before and during the event @Amsterdamsel
