SAP set to ride the mobility wave
Enterprise software leader SAP is making a big comeback to GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK 2012 with significant participation in the Mobile Apps and Content pavilion. SAP’s return to the show is also an affirmation on how mobility is changing the face of transactional applications in the enterprise.
In his role as the Director of Line of Business, SAP MENA, Deniz Kilyar says the new stage for the industry is the mobile enterprise era, where all the users in a corporation will not be limited by the location or space and be directly connected from the back end system to where the action is.
Enterprise mobility is a critical priority for CIOs today, thanks to the huge productivity gains and employee satisfaction. Analysts predict mobile devices soon become the primary platform for accessing applications and data, and business processes are being transformed by smartphones and tablets.
With the advent of BYOD, more and more organisations are also encouraging employees to use mobile devices at work, even as applications vendor are respond to the needs of enterprises to mobilise their workforce. “The internet boom ushered in a new business productivity experience for organisations. The mobility boom in my view is the next big mega trend that can cause similar, if not a bigger impact on enterprise productivity,” Kilyar emphasizes.
SAP commits to enterprise mobility
SAP is more than committed globally to the cause of enterprise mobility and Kilyar takes the effort to explain why in our chat.
“Mobility is an overarching and transversal technology trend that has broad and deep impact across both the enterprise and consumer markets. It impacts how companies run their business and how we as individuals work and play. We are still at the early stages of this trend, which means there is a tremendous market opportunity for companies who can help enterprises and consumers realize the benefits of this new mobile enabled world. SAP, as a leading enterprise software vendor, is at the forefront of this mobile evolution, and this is why mobile is one of SAP’s key strategic markets.”
Director of Line of Business, SAP MENA, Deniz Kilyar
He says the mobile market is still an emerging and fragmented market. “There are three types of vendors in mobility market: device manufacturers, pure-play niche vendors and system management vendors. SAP is the largest player in the last segment and, there are no other clear leaders.”
With enterprise application development changing fundamentally as a result of mobilization, Kilyar says transactions systems are now becoming more collaborative.
“When you look at the evolution of the enterprise applications development you will see different stages which determined the impact they made to the business processes and productivity increase. There was a time when EA were just integrating the functions within the walls of an enterprise. With the internet becoming a platform for EAs, extended applications were developed around the core functions which enabled corporations to communicate between each other through their EAs. Moreover, it added great flexibility for user access.”
Talking strategy, Kilyar is quick to add that SAP will continue to develop products to meet the mobility mandate of enterprises and estimates the overall enterprise mobility market that is addressable to be around $39B by 2015, growing at a CAGR of 53%.
This market itself has segments including: Mobile Device Management, Mobile Application Development Platforms, Mobile Messaging Gateway, Mobile Enterprise Apps, Mobile Consumer Apps, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and SAP has a complete offering at the forefront for all these segments.
Taking centre stage at GITEX
SAP is also gearing up to unveil its core ERP software running on the HANA in-memory database by the end this year, as it makes its much awaited comeback to the region’s biggest technology show. SAP’s investments will primarily be focused on expanding the company’s footprint in the region, accelerating its innovation offerings, as well as up-skilling market talent. Additionally, part of the spend will be dedicated towards establishing an SAP Training and Development Institute that aims to certify 2000 new consultants within the next four years, tripling our existing consulting capabilities, and further support the localisation of solutions to meeting customer needs.
“SAP recently announced a four-year plan worth AED1.65billion (US $450 million) to up-skill local talent and drive sustainable innovation and growth in the Middle East and North Africa region, and GITEX represents a perfect platform for us to discuss our latest innovation agenda,” says Kilyar.
Kavitha Rajasekhar, is well established Technology Editor and Content Strategist
brings to the table over 13 years in enterprise IT writing and market development
experience across Middle East and India. During her career, Kavitha has held many key roles including Director CIO Programmes and Managing Editor of IT at leading publishing house CPI in Dubai, where she managed the portfolio of technology magazines and successfully delivered a strong events and conference. She currently runs her independent content practice. You can write to her at kavitharajasekhar@eim.ae
