How can SAP S/4HANA 1610 impact Manufacturing?

Unlock the next wave of productivity with the latest release of SAP S/4HANA. The next-generation ERP suite offers immediate insight, intelligence for better decisions, and integration within your organization and beyond. SAP S/4HANA provides the digital core you need to succeed in today’s digital world. Built on SAP HANA, the industry-leading in-memory computing platform, SAP S/4HANA can help you transform your organization, delivering a customized product or service to an audience of one, at global scale.

Use the digital core for greater insights on the shop floor.

Managing Production Planning in Your Digital Core
Cover product requirements with internal and external procurement proposals, and reduce total costs through optimal-order-for-shipment functionality that automatically optimizes orders to take advantage of transportation and capacity types.

Production planning and detailed scheduling has been integrated with SAP S/4HANA, allowing you to create production plans without relying on a separate planning instance. You can now optimize and plan resource schedules directly in the digital core, taking into account bottlenecks and other production challenges.

You can also speed and simplify production planning cycles with the use of the production scheduling board, a Web-based graphical scheduling tool that harnesses the power of production planning and detailed scheduling while simplifying and providing a visualization of the work effort.

Advanced ATP
Take advantage of the in-memory computing of SAP HANA to find mass product availability for sales, planned, and production orders, giving you new levels of visibility. Use advanced ATP for scarce product allocation based on almost any attribute – including underlying sales order, material, plant, or customer – to help ensure you maximize customer satisfaction according to your individual business rules.

You can complete back-order processing with new SAP Fiori apps utilizing requirement classifications that help you identify and fulfill the most critical orders in a timely fashion. The results can be aggregated at different levels and drilled into with complete granularity for easy identification and resolution of issues.

Helping Ensure Quality
Use integrated quality management to meet quality targets and exceed customer expectations. Quality inspection professionals including technicians, engineers, managers, auditors, and others are supported throughout the entire quality process. The simplified inspection process is integrated within the digital core to provide a seamless process throughout the value chain.

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SAP Releases SAP S/4HANA 1709

SAP released the latest upgrade to SAP S/4HANA, SAP S/4HANA 1709, on September 15. The latest release of SAP S/4HANA delivers new intelligence and innovations to help companies run live in an ever-more-dynamic and fast-paced digital world. SAP S/4HANA 1709 integrates new intelligent applications that bring SAP Leonardo capabilities for machine learning and predictive computing directly into the digital core.

Architectural evolution
The SAP S/4HANA 1709 release is now generally available. This release runs on SAP HANA 2, the second generation of SAP’s in-memory database platform, which supports scale-out and usage of active-active for added performance. This enables customers to benefit from the latest innovations in the database system.

Intelligent ERP for a Flexible Enterprise
SAP S/4HANA 1709 empowers every corner of your organization to deliver business results. SAP S/4HANA is the foundation for businesses to deploy machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios based on SAP Leonardo capabilities, unifying transactional and analytical workloads in real time and helping you stay ahead of the competition.

New Applications powered by SAP Leonardo
SAP S/4HANA 1709 integrates new intelligent applications that bring SAP Leonardo capabilities for machine learning and predictive computing directly into the digital core, providing real-time insights and business context while simultaneously freeing resources from repetitive tasks. Examples include the following:

• SAP Cash Application software learns matching criteria from your historical financial clearing data to automatically match invoices with incoming payments, allowing for greater scaling of shared service centers or redeployment of finance professionals to more strategic activities.
• SAP Fiori apps for use in contract consumption predict contract expiration or goods consumption ahead of time, supporting more effective supplier negotiations and relationships.

Ask Approyo - What new technical functions are available in SAP HANA 2 compared to the older SAP HANA versions?

Lately, we have talked a lot about SAP HANA 2.0 and how it can impact your company. We are seeing more and more deployments of SAP HANA 2.0 environments across our customers businesses and the impact it is having. And with recent updates like SAP HANA 2.0 SPS 02, now is the time to make the move to SAP HANA 2. What are some of these new functions that can help your business?

The next-generation of SAP’s in-memory platform, SAP HANA 2.0, simplifies database and data management – and makes it easier for application developers to deliver smart, insight-driven apps. The platform’s new capabilities are optimized for innovation and can help your business compete more effectively in the digital economy. And because SAP HANA 2.0 is a continuation of the existing platform, you’ll have access to a stable, highly available, and secure data environment for your applications.

Key SAP HANA 2 features and enhancements to help IT transform include:

• Database management: There are multiple enhancements for high availability and security. For example, the new “active/active read-enabled” option allows IT organizations to leverage secondary systems – previously used only for system replication – to off-load read-intensive workloads for improved operations.
• Data management: The SAP HANA-based Web application SAP Enterprise Architecture Designer allows customers to visualize the impact of new technologies on their architecture before they are implemented. In addition, a tiered storage enhancement allows the distributed storage of data by priority regardless of where it resides. These are two of the many enhancements that have been developed for enterprise modeling, data integration, and data quality.
• Analytical intelligence: SAP HANA 2 is ideally equipped to enable customers to more effectively integrate additional insight obtained by analyzing text, spatial, graph and streaming data into their applications. For example, there are new algorithms in the predictive analytics library for time series, classification, and regression analysis to empower data scientists to discover new patterns and incorporate machine learning into customer applications.
• Application development: Application developers will benefit from enhanced functions for application servers, new development tools, and development languages. In application programming, a new file processor interface enables developers to extract metadata from documents in order to gain newer, deeper insights.

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The Cloud Helpers Blog Series - In-Memory Computing

Welcome to our blog series, The Cloud Helpers. This series will focus on cloud computing topics and help you understand how the cloud can impact your business today and in the future. Today we are going to focus on In-Memory Computing.

What is In-Memory Computing?
In-memory computing is the storage of information in the main random access memory (RAM) of dedicated servers rather than in complicated relational databases operating on comparatively slow disk drives. In-memory computing helps business customers, including retailers, banks and utilities, to quickly detect patterns, analyze massive data volumes on the fly, and perform their operations quickly. The drop in memory prices in the present market is a major factor contributing to the increasing popularity of in-memory computing technology. This has made in-memory computing economical among a wide variety of applications.

SAP HANA and In-Memory Computing
SAP HANA relies on in-memory computing to quickly analyze massive amounts of data. In-memory computing is a technology that allows the processing of tremendous quantities of data in main memory to provide immediate results from analysis and transaction. The data is available for processing or analysis immediately after it is created. SAP HANA's performance is 10,000 times faster when compared to standard disks, which allows companies to analyze data in a matter of seconds instead of long hours.

To achieve the preferred performance, in-memory computing adheres to the following basic concepts:

• Keep data in main memory to speed up data access.
• Minimize data movement by using the columnar storage concept and compression, and performing calculations at the database level.
• Divide and conquer by using multi-core architecture and multi-processor servers to meet growing demands.

Some of the advantages of in-memory computing include:

• The ability to cache countless amounts of data constantly. This ensures extremely fast response times for searches.
• The ability to store session data, allowing for the customization of live sessions and ensuring optimum website performance.
• The ability to process events for improved complex event processing

Innovating with In-Memory Technology
A recent study by IDC on Innovating with Real-Time Data and Insights with SAP HANA revealed three important examples  that illustrate  some of the ways SAP HANA  and In-Memory Computing customers are changing their businesses:

• Enablement of core customer-facing services: “SAP HANA is part of a greenfield buildout of an entirely new capability that didn’t exist anywhere, and no one else is doing this with a completely new use of technology. We didn’t have an existing service that SAP HANA snapped into; we built it from the ground up.”
• Understanding and responding to business patterns. One retail organization is achieving better business results because its stores “now have better and precise knowledge of consumption and because we can keep inventory up to date with SAP HANA.”
• Customer support teams. Granular and more robust insights about customer behavior enabled more effective support of customers for the 50-person team at one organization. It noted: “We’re using a tool driven by SAP HANA that allows us to be ahead of our customers so that we’ve already spotted anything that they see. So we’ll have already found that little nugget of information and have come up with ways to address their issue.”

Top Reasons to move your SAP Applications to the Cloud

Cloud computing is an important resource that has gained growing support businesses of all sizes worldwide. These businesses are attracted to the cost-effective competitive benefits the cloud affords to smaller business. By providing access to tools that otherwise would be unavailable to them, cloud computing enables companies to become more agile, operate more efficiently and grow.

Simply put, cloud computing makes it possible for users to access data, applications, and services over the Internet. The cloud eliminates the need for costly hardware, such as hard drives and servers – and gives users the ability to work from anywhere. Over 90% of businesses are already using cloud technology in a public, private or hybrid cloud environment.

The most important reasons for customers to consider cloud-based computing:

• Fast implementation time, providing quick access to functionality
• Reduced IT efforts because both hardware and software operation and maintenance are the provider’s responsibility
• Flexibility due to subscription rather than licensing contracts and “pay-what-you-use” concepts
• Scalability to support changing business needs and supporting growth strategy

SAP Applications

SAP HANA
A business that uses next-generation applications can work better with the SAP HANA in the cloud. The platform lets you extend existing applications and build new apps in the cloud. SAP HANA is an in-memory cloud platform designed for the highly data-driven, social, mobile, and networked user. This makes it ideal for a business that takes advantage of continuously evolving data sharing trends.

Feature-packed for business
The platform has many different features that can let you build, manage, and deploy cloud-based enterprise applications to go with your existing SAP and non-SAP solutions or extend them in the cloud or on-premises. Flexible subscription models and other services for database, apps, and infrastructure enable easy access to SAP HANA’s full power.

Expand the value of your existing applications
If you have existing enterprise solutions in the cloud or running on-premises, SAP HANA offers connectivity through the cloud connectivity service. This way, you can streamline the integration of new applications with the assurance of the lowest possible overall cost of ownership.

Deploy Faster
SAP HANA in the cloud can let you build and deploy consumer and business applications fast while ensuring new functionality that meets emerging business needs. At the same time, it lets you connect with customers through more engaging experiences.

Improve ROI, decrease costs
SAP HANA in the cloud does not require up-front capital investment in software or hardware for partners and customers, resulting in a more cost-effective service with minimal risk. Once it is applied, the cloud provider will manage platform operations to minimize the cost of deploying and developing cloud applications.

SAP Hybris
SAP Hybris focuses on rapid transformation and agility across all channels, getting you close to your customers and delivering a consistently great experience at every touch point. SAP Hybris makes products that cut cost, time and complexity, freeing you up to focus on innovation and strategy. SAP Hybris covers five main areas – commerce, marketing, revenue, sales and service – and offer you the insights and flexibility you need to lead.

The ability to sell anytime, anywhere on any device
Be Productive, even when you’re offline. Spend less time on chasing down information and more time with your customer.

Easy instant access to Back-Office information
Provide a complete customer view and flexibility to create orders, quotes and service tickets on-site.

Access to real-time customer analytics and data
Look up context of their accounts and opportunities to help them engage and connect with customers in a personal, relevant way.

Predictive Analytics and Insight
See realtime-visibility and predictability into your business, enabling you to make changes in realtime and guide and coach your sales team.

SAP S/4HANA
SAP S/4HANA is a real-time enterprise resource management suite for digital business. It is built on our advanced in-memory platform, SAP HANA, and offers a personalized, consumer-grade user experience with SAP Fiori. SAP S/4HANA can drive instant value across all lines of business – no matter your industry or business size.

Reduce Support Costs
Current jobs like back-ups and performance monitoring are all covered by using a cloud provider to host SAP S/4HANA in the cloud. This allows you to focus on their business rather than managing your SAP S/4HANA system.

Improved Performance
Direct access to operational data without affecting the performance of other
operational systems.

Strategic Direction 
The demand for Cloud based tools is rapidly growing and ERP is now firmly on this journey as well. Additionally, SAP’s recent acquisitions have mainly been best of breed Cloud solutions such as Hybris, Success Factors and Concur.

Flexibility of Integration 
SAP S/4HANA in the cloud is not a one stop shop for all enterprise tools. Within the product a number of API’s are available to link to other systems such as Success Factors, Hybris and others.

Download the whitepaper: Top reasons to move your SAP Applications to the Cloud