So that’s that. The 2015 UK & Ireland SAP User Group conference is over. It’s been a while since Basis Technologies last joined as an exhibitor, so what did we take away?
Change is in the air
The tone of this year’s conference was resolutely forward-looking. SAP pushed hard to drive home the benefits of S/4HANA and convince attendees that a shift to the cloud is a foregone conclusion.
Whether or not you believe the sales and marketing hype, topics like digital transformation and the internet of things obviously resonated with many visitors. If I had a penny for the number of times I heard someone say that they don’t want to be the next Kodak…
Recognition of the problem
Whilst some companies aren’t yet ready for a paradigm shift in the way they manage their SAP estate – something SAP themselves acknowledged – it’s clear that many businesses now appreciate the impact and opportunity that the new digital economy might bring, and are starting to plan accordingly.
The keynote theme of digital transformation was consistent with what we’ve heard from SAP and our customers in other parts of the world.
Not just ‘kicking the tyres’
The Basis Technologies team found a receptive audience for conversations about the way in which our tools and the concept of DevOps can help to accelerate and manage delivery of SAP change.
It was apparent that many attendees had a real practical understanding of change control issues and were actively looking for solutions rather than just ‘seeing what’s out there’.
That interest was reflected in a fantastic turnout for our presentation on DevOps for SAP, where Bhavdeep Magar from BP explained how Basis Technologies have helped to improve BP’s SAP change management process. The slides will be available for UKISUG members in due course and they’re well worth a look.
It’s not (just) what you know…
The visitors we spoke to came from a wide array of industries, emphasising that many of the problems and disrupting influences being felt in the SAP world are not specific to particular verticals.
There was a large number of decision makers and influencers from both IT and broader business roles, chiming with one of the key ideas behind DevOps – namely that IT, Operations and business owners should all work together towards change.
Only there for the sausages?
Finally, it was hard not to feel a little sympathy for the oompah band at SUGFest on Monday evening. They started playing to a full house but it certainly didn’t end that way. The band were great, so it appears the SAP audience aren’t especially into brass or Teutonic drinking songs. Presumably they were mainly there for the sausages.
Thanks once again to everyone that took the time to come and speak to us on the Basis Technologies stand. It was great to meet you all.
If you want to find out more about our products you can book a free demo of our DevOps toolset. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.
To learn more about how we have helped BP to deliver complex SAP projects faster to secure a safer business, read this eBook. It explains everything you need to know about continuous delivery.
