How Approyo Helps You Harness the Power of SAP Innovation

Modern enterprises face relentless pressure to adapt, evolve, and deliver more value—faster. Innovation is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity. SAP innovation services provide a robust framework for driving transformative change through advanced technologies like AI, machine learning, IoT, and the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). These tools empower companies to innovate faster, operate smarter, and confidently meet rapidly changing market demands.

This article explores how SAP innovation services reshape business operations and highlights practical applications that unlock efficiency, agility, and competitive advantage. It concludes with how Approyo, a trusted SAP cloud-centric solution provider, enables organizations to harness these innovations to drive meaningful growth.

Why Innovation Must Be a Core Strategy

Organizations must embrace innovation as a fundamental strategy component to thrive amid constant disruption. Traditional systems and legacy processes cannot keep pace with the speed of digital change. SAP innovation services are designed to break down silos, simplify complexity, and empower businesses to reimagine how they work.

Failure to innovate often results in reduced agility, higher operational costs, and a widening gap between customer expectations and service delivery. On the other hand, companies that prioritize innovation benefit from faster time-to-value, improved decision-making, and the ability to personalize services at scale.

Let’s explore the evolving suite of SAP technologies that make this innovation possible.

AI and Machine Learning: From Insight to Action

SAP innovation services integrate AI and machine learning capabilities into core business functions, turning massive data into actionable insights.

How AI and ML Drive Innovation

• Automated Decision-Making: Machine learning algorithms analyze data in real time, making it possible to automate complex decision-making processes.
• Predictive Insights: These tools identify patterns and trends to help anticipate market changes, customer needs, and operational disruptions.

Use Case: A global retail chain uses SAP AI tools to personalize marketing offers by predicting customer preferences. Sales increase while marketing spend becomes more targeted and efficient.

Transitioning from data-rich environments to insight-driven operations requires more than technology—it demands a shift in organizational culture. That's where SAP's seamless AI integrations shine, bridging the gap between analysis and execution.

IoT Integration: Turning Data into Operational Excellence

The Internet of Things (IoT) transforms physical assets into smart, connected devices capable of real-time communication. SAP innovation services support IoT integration to improve visibility, traceability, and operational responsiveness.

Benefits of IoT with SAP

• Real-Time Monitoring: Continuously track equipment, assets, and processes to detect anomalies instantly.
• Proactive Maintenance: Analyze sensor data to predict maintenance needs, reducing downtime and preventing costly failures.

Use Case: A transportation company integrates SAP IoT capabilities into its fleet management system. Vehicle sensors provide updates on performance and maintenance needs, minimizing disruptions and improving delivery timelines.

SAP BTP: The Innovation Engine

SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) is the foundation of SAP innovation services. It connects data, analytics, AI, application development, and integration into a unified environment.

Key Advantages of SAP BTP

• Custom App Development: Create and scale applications quickly to address specific business challenges.
• Integrated Data and Processes: Bring together siloed data across departments to generate holistic insights.
• Business Agility: Launch new services or adapt workflows on the fly using BTP’s flexible architecture.

Use Case: A telecommunications provider uses SAP BTP to build a mobile app that integrates billing, support, and product recommendations into one interface, improving customer engagement and loyalty.

S/4HANA: Powering the Digital Core

SAP S/4HANA is a next-gen ERP suite for high-performance, real-time analytics, and streamlined business operations. It’s central to any enterprise looking to modernize with SAP innovation services.

S/4HANA Delivers:

• Real-Time Processing: Get instant visibility into transactions, finances, and supply chains.
• Simplified Architecture: Remove redundancy and lower system complexity.
• User-Friendly Interfaces: Empower users with intuitive tools and mobile-ready platforms.

Use Case: A financial institution upgrades to SAP S/4HANA to unify back-office operations and implement real-time compliance reporting. Audit preparation time drops significantly while operational transparency improves.

Transitioning from isolated legacy systems to a fully integrated S/4HANA environment empowers organizations to operate quickly, precisely, and clearly.

Empowering Innovation Through SAP Innovation Services

Driving innovation is about adopting new tools and embedding innovation into the organization’s culture and workflows. SAP innovation services provide the technologies and frameworks to make this a reality, but successful implementation requires strategic guidance.

That’s where Approyo plays a vital role.

How Approyo Supports Business Innovation

Approyo helps organizations navigate the complexity of SAP’s innovation portfolio through strategic planning, customized deployment, and continuous optimization. With over a thousand SAP environments under management, we bring real-world expertise to every engagement.

Our Core SAP Innovation Services Include:

• Cloud Transformation: From hybrid setups to full cloud migrations, Approyo enables scalable and secure transitions.
• Managed Infrastructure: Ensure your SAP environment runs smoothly with 24/7 monitoring and support.
• Security & Compliance: Protect your innovation investment with robust governance, risk, and compliance measures.
• Overwatch™ Analytics: Gain deep visibility into system health, performance trends, and business metrics.

Real-World Impact: A leading healthcare provider worked with Approyo to implement SAP BTP, integrating electronic health records with billing and compliance systems. The result? Reduced processing time, improved care coordination, and enhanced patient outcomes.

Make Innovation Your Competitive Edge

Innovation is no longer a future goal—it’s today’s competitive advantage. SAP innovation services give your organization the tools it needs to evolve quickly, operate efficiently, and respond to market changes with precision.

Businesses can turn bold ideas into scalable solutions with the right technology and partner. Approyo offers full SAP service technology with deep expertise in managed services, cloud transformation, and S/4HANA migrations. We don’t just help you adopt SAP—we help you innovate with it. Contact us today to learn how we can help you with our expansive suite of SAP services.

The Need for an Intelligent ERP System in the Utilities Industry

A radical change in the utility industry is occurring at a rapid pace. Changes in technologies, business models, standards, and the makeup of utility companies themselves require constant adaptation. Utilities must be able to respond to rapidly changing conditions, yet still comply with all standards. How does a digital core with a true single source of truth help?

Agility
A digital core is an IT architecture that offers stability and long-term reliability for core enterprise processes, yet also provides the flexibility to adapt quickly to new opportunities, challenges, and regulations. This solid foundation gives you a single source of truth, which in turn enables flexibility for innovation to accommodate things like new business models, new regulations, and business events, such as mergers or acquisitions.

Managing Big Data
Every utility company needs the computing capability to carry out complex algorithms with large data sets to support timely, real-time analysis. Everyone in the company must have access to data they need, whenever and wherever they need it. This is also true for the rest of the utility ecosystem so that suppliers can stay up to date with a company’s orders; customer service
agents can see customer history for billing, service, and consumption information; and maintenance teams can accurately monitor asset performance.

Innovation
Utilities must transform to grow profits and reduce costs by simplifying their operations. The value of the digital economy is based on how the consumer or “prosumer” (producer and consumer of energy) is served. Value creation often comes from edge solutions that are based on and coordinated by digital core solutions. It is the framework for innovation and business process optimization, connecting the workforce, suppliers, customers, assets, and the supply network.

Analysis
It is crucial to get the right information at the right time on the right device. Plant processes are supported or controlled by predictive and self-learning systems that interact with machines and business processes. Predictive analytics and machine learning (ML) accelerate the delegation of business processes and decisions from people to machines. People who need the knowledge have digital access on demand and in real time, regardless of whether they are part of the core or the extended workforce.

Stand apart in a world that never stands still – with SAP S/4HANA powered by Approyo
Your business isn't generic. Your ERP shouldn't be either. SAP S/4HANA powered by Approyo provides utility companies with industry best practices built from decades of experience – and allows them to bring cutting-edge innovation in the cloud to their core processes, be it customer engagement, predictive maintenance, or usage-based billing. So they can attain the operational excellence they need to deliver the ultimate customer experience.

• Industry Insight - A world of rapid technological change – distributed energy resources, microgeneration, batteries, microgrids, and electrical mobility – and social media adoption is forcing providers of electricity to rethink how they work, the services they provide, and their business models. The most successful companies will flexibly manage demand, enabled by insights garnered from smart technologies.
• Customer Success - SAP S/4HANA provides re-engineered and simplified business activities transforming the execution from multistep, batch-driven processes with latency in terms of key performance indicators to real-time processes with actionable insights to accelerate invoice processing, increase cash flow, and protect revenue assurance.
• Productivity Improvement - SAP S/4HANA empowers call-center agents and field workers with an end-user centric, consumer-grade experience because, for utilities, it's the call-center agents that add value to customer engagements and field workers who deliver operational excellence.
• Cost Savings - SAP S/4HANA powered by Approyo allows for real-time monitoring of asset health and can predict failure before it happens. Maintenance orders are triggered just in time, avoiding unnecessary inspections and decreasing the cost and risk of unplanned failure.

Start your path to the Intelligent Enterprise with Approyo
Bringing SAP S/4HANA and SAP Leonardo technologies together as a digital core results in a more flexible and intelligent enterprise. Approyo provides full SAP service technology with extensive capabilities in consulting, solutions architecture, hosting and managed services, in order to develop the right solution for our customers. Get started today...

Employee Spotlight: Alexandra Goudy

This is the first of many #ApproyoLife employee spotlights. Each month we will highlight a member of our team and introduce them. We want you all to be able to meet the people here at Approyo, who we are and what we do. The people behind Approyo are the foundation of this company, so we’d like to give you an eye into our world. I thought I’d go first since you know... I’ll be making the videos from here on out. So let my introduce myself!

Hello everyone! My name is Alexandra Goudy and I am one of the newest hires here at Approyo. A little bit about me, I am 23 years old, from Franklin, WI. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh back in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising. While I was there, I was a part of: Art Club, Advertising Club and Photo Club. Throughout highschool I was a part of the Whitnall softball and volleyball teams and have always enjoyed being a part of a team environment. I enjoy art, photography, movies, traveling, trying new restaurants and hanging out with friends. My friends would probably describe me as laidback and funny (not to brag or anything).

I never knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. When I was in 1st grade, I wanted to be a veterinarian. In 5th grade, I wanted to be a marine biologist. And In high school I thought I would become a nurse. So why did I think that college would be any different? I had NO idea what I was doing.

At UWO is where I found my passion. The funny thing is that I went into college having absolutely no clue what I wanted to do with my life. Eventually, I decided to major in Radiologic science....which clearly didn’t work out. I had forgotten what I was actually good at, which I can tell you were NOT science and math. I’ve always enjoyed writing and art, but I went into something that I thought would be good pay vs what I’m actually good at.

My second semester of junior year, I decided to jump blindly into the Journalism major. Even then, I wasn’t sure which emphasis I wanted to take under the major. It wasn’t until my last year when I took and advertising campaigns class and participated in the National Student Advertising Competition that I realized the field of Marketing and Advertising is definitely where I wanted to be.

During my last semester, I worked with a team for hundreds of hours to complete an advertising campaign to present at the competition in Minneapolis. I ended up taking on a large leadership role and held the responsibility of putting together and editing the plans book and presentation. We ended up taking 2nd place in our district, which was a huge accomplishment after all of the work we put into it. This experience led me to realize that I truly wanted to work in this field. It’s crazy how one class can solidify your future for you, especially after years of feeling lost.

After graduation, I moved back home, where I served as a waitress every day. For five months I was desperately looking for a job when the opportunity at Approyo arose.  The CEO, Christopher Carter had seen my post about NSAC on LinkedIn and asked me to come in for an interview. He gave me a tour of the office, introduced me to everyone and offered me the position. Not only do I get to use my degree by marketing the company, but I also get to learn more about SAP and technology as I go.

I’ve only been here for a short while, but I’m already learning so much. Although I work with the VP of Marketing, Kyle Ackerman as well as Alison Maloni who specializes in Public Relations, I am the only one who holds a marketing position within our headquarters at the Brookfield office. It’s great to be able to work with other creatives, while being independent with my own responsibilities and tasks.

My daily work includes: video, photos, audio, graphics, PR and all types of social media content and platforms. So most of the content that you see involving any pictures or videos will have most likely come from me! The office has plenty of perks, one of them being that I have my own studio! I am so grateful to be a part of an amazing team in such a relaxed yet driven atmosphere at work and I can’t wait to see where Approyo takes me!

With all of that being said, we are still looking to expand our team! We are hiring! Check out the career page on our Website for more information and make sure to  tune in next month for our next #ApproyoLife employee spotlight! #ApproyoLife

Approyo Announces Expansion of Company’s Staffing Numbers and Global Reach Strategy

Approyo is excited to announce two new hires to our growing team. The first is Alexandra Goudy as the firm’s new Marketing and Advertising Coordinator. Her responsibilities will range over video, audio, graphics and events. Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and will be deeply involved in the strategy of selecting platforms and creating Approyo’s advertising campaign.

On the sales and technology side, Approyo is onboarding  Lance Kucifer as the new SAP Sales manager for the western region. Lance brings 10 years of sales experience to Approyo and will be working with companies to assist them in their journey on implementing and using SAP to further their business processes and growth.

“As Approyo expands we will be adding human resources across the globe in order to provide a ‘follow the sun’ system of support which is the natural evolution of growth in the support vertical. I am excited about what the future holds and we continue to see that the team members that we are bringing into the fold are outstanding and second to none. We will continue to strive to expand our reach,” said Christopher Carter CEO of Approyo. “We are currently at 27 staff members and look forward to adding more talent depth as we grow the firm.”

Carter further stated, “Finding rising stars is key in our strategy to have the best and brightest employed at Approyo, and we are proud to also announce a job fair which will be held at our corporate headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin in the next few months. We are excited to be inviting several of the major universities in and around the area so we can find those star players right in our own backyard.”our own backyard.”

On-Demand: A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA

Did you miss SAP TechEd in Las Vegas? Our CEO Christopher Carter delivered a popular session at the event, A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909, to a standing room only crowd.
​
Now is your chance to learn and discuss the pitfalls, the success, and the overall upgrade to SAP S/4HANA. We will not dig into the details on failed activities but will give everyone a sense of the timing and skill set needed to be able to accomplish such a herculean task. The Approyo team has moved many different companies to S/4HANA and now is your chance to learn about real-life situations and scenarios for moving to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909 in this SAP TechEd bonus webinar.
​
View this webinar and learn more about:

• Why now is the time to migrate to S/4HANA
• S/4HANA migrations methodology and process
• Common pitfalls and successes
• Creating a successful project plan

Register to watch this recording on-demand

On-Demand: A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA

Did you miss SAP TechEd in Las Vegas? Our CEO Christopher Carter delivered a popular session at the event, A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909, to a standing room only crowd.
​
Now is your chance to learn and discuss the pitfalls, the success, and the overall upgrade to SAP S/4HANA. We will not dig into the details on failed activities but will give everyone a sense of the timing and skill set needed to be able to accomplish such a herculean task. The Approyo team has moved many different companies to S/4HANA and now is your chance to learn about real-life situations and scenarios for moving to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909 in this SAP TechEd bonus webinar.
​
View this webinar and learn more about:

• Why now is the time to migrate to S/4HANA
• S/4HANA migrations methodology and process
• Common pitfalls and successes
• Creating a successful project plan

Register to watch this recording on-demand

Approyo named to the Wisconsin Inno 2019 50 on Fire

We are proud to announce that Approyo has been named to the Wisconsin Inno 2019 50 on Fire.

50 on Fire is a snapshot at some of the biggest movers and shakers across the state’s tech communities. Winners range from innovative upstarts to publicly traded tech giants to organizations looking to make Wisconsin’s tech scene more diverse. Basically, it’s people and businesses that have had a banner year—whether that’s new funding, product launches, big hires or innovative approaches to solving problems.

View the list: https://www.americaninno.com/wisconsin/50-on-fire-wisconsin/meet-wisconsin-innos-2019-50-on-fire

About Wisconsin Inno
Wisconsin Inno is your source for local innovation. Since 2018, we’ve been covering and connecting the state’s ecosystem, producing digital media and events about the entrepreneurs, executives, startups, businesses, trends and topics that are the shaping the present and future of Wisconsin’s economy. Through a twice-a-week newsletter, daily editorial, quarterly events, directories, data and more, Wisconsin Inno is building a portal to and for the state’s burgeoning startup and tech communities.

Approyo named to the Wisconsin Inno 2019 50 on Fire

We are proud to announce that Approyo has been named to the Wisconsin Inno 2019 50 on Fire.

50 on Fire is a snapshot at some of the biggest movers and shakers across the state’s tech communities. Winners range from innovative upstarts to publicly traded tech giants to organizations looking to make Wisconsin’s tech scene more diverse. Basically, it’s people and businesses that have had a banner year—whether that’s new funding, product launches, big hires or innovative approaches to solving problems.

View the list: https://www.americaninno.com/wisconsin/50-on-fire-wisconsin/meet-wisconsin-innos-2019-50-on-fire

About Wisconsin Inno
Wisconsin Inno is your source for local innovation. Since 2018, we’ve been covering and connecting the state’s ecosystem, producing digital media and events about the entrepreneurs, executives, startups, businesses, trends and topics that are the shaping the present and future of Wisconsin’s economy. Through a twice-a-week newsletter, daily editorial, quarterly events, directories, data and more, Wisconsin Inno is building a portal to and for the state’s burgeoning startup and tech communities.

You're invited! A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909 Webinar

Back by popular demand! Did you miss SAP TechEd in Las Vegas? Our CEO Christopher Carter delivered a popular session at the event, A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909, to a standing room only crowd. The Approyo team has moved many different companies to S/4HANA and now is your chance to learn about real-life situations and scenarios for moving to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909 in this SAP TechEd bonus webinar.

A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909
Presenter: Approyo CEO Christopher Carter
Date: Wednesday, October 30
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST

Join us for a discussion of the methodology and the process used to migrate to SAP S/4HANA 1809/1909. We will discuss the pitfalls, the success, and the overall project. We will not dig into the details on failed activities but will give everyone a sense of the timing and skill set needed to be able to accomplish such a herculean task.

Don't miss out, Register today! 

Approyo Welcomes New Client Services Manager Jason Hilderbrand

Approyo is proud to announce that after an extensive search Jason Hilderbrand has been selected to be the company’s next Client Services Manager. Jason brings an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and over 4 years of extensive SAP Basis experience across a host of support dependencies including managing projects, fixing any service issues, tracking service metrics, and helping lead the professionals responsible for getting services delivered to clients.

As the Client Services Manager, Jason’s role focuses on keeping clients satisfied with the Approyo's services, while working with businesses and end-users to help them resolve issues and answer questions. Jason is the liaison between an Approyo and its customers.

“The relationship with our customers is always our first priority,'' said CEO of Approyo Christopher Carter. “Jason’s appointment only bolsters our argument that great people build long term relationships, and that's how we do business with our customers.”

SAP announces new leadership team

SAP announced that Bill McDermott has decided not to renew his contract and is stepping down from his position as chief executive officer. In activating the company’s long-term succession plan, SAP Executive Board Members Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein have been appointed co-chief executive officers, effective immediately, with the approval of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE. McDermott will remain in an advisory capacity until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition Read the full announcement on www.sap.com.

“SAP would not be what it is today without Bill McDermott,” said Professor Hasso Plattner, chairman of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE. “Bill made invaluable contributions to this company and he was a main driver of SAP’s transition to the cloud, which will fuel our growth for many years to come. We thank him for everything he has done for SAP.

“Every CEO dreams of being able to transition a company to its next generation from a position of significant strength,” said McDermott. “When you look at where we were and where we are, I simply could not be prouder of what this company has achieved over the past decade. I am thankful for the opportunity to lead one of the world’s finest companies. Now is the moment for everyone to begin an exciting new chapter, and I am confident that Jennifer and Christian will do an outstanding job. I look forward to supporting them as they finish 2019 and lay the foundation for 2020 and beyond. To every customer, partner, shareholder and colleague who invested their trust in SAP, I can only relay my heartfelt gratitude and enduring respect.”

With the formal endorsement of the Supervisory Board, the company activates its leadership succession plan, designed to preserve continuity and empower its next-generation leaders in advance of the formal kickoff to calendar year 2020.

“As they have already demonstrated, Jennifer and Christian complement each other perfectly and will be strong co-CEOs, a leadership model that is time-tested at SAP with multiple prior instances of success.” Plattner added.

Morgan and Klein bring decades of experience in the enterprise applications software industry. Both serve on the Executive Board. Morgan, who joined SAP in 2004, most recently served as president of the Cloud Business Group, overseeing Qualtrics, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass, SAP Customer Experience and SAP Concur. She was named an Executive Board member in 2017.

"We are sad to see Bill go. He was a fantastic leader but it also is great to know who is taking the helm at SAP. Jennifer is a fantastic leader and will lead the organization with Chris in the right direction and keep building upon what Bill has built as a base over the last 10 years," added Christopher M. Carter, CEO of Approyo.

Read the full announcement at www.SAP.com 

SAP Fiori 101 (Updated - 2019)

SAP Fiori is a framework that provides the porting of applications on mobile devices and was released in 2013. It enables applications to be used on desktop computers, tablets and smartphones. SAP Fiori supports HTML5. The initial release had few applications to start and gradually increased to complete the SAP Business Suite.

SAP Fiori is the UX of the Intelligent Enterprise that changes the way you work. It equips designers and developers with a set of tools and guidelines to create apps for any platform faster than ever – providing a consistent, innovative experience for both creators and users. SAP Fiori enables you to turn new ideas into great apps as quickly as the market demands.

Three types of Fiori apps:

• Transactional apps - which allow users to perform SAP transactions on mobile devices as well as desktops. For instance, there is a transactional app for creating a leave of absence request and another for approving a purchase order.
• Fact sheets - which display information about key business objects in SAP. For example, there is a fact-sheet app for viewing a central purchase contract; it allows users to also drill down into related entities, such as vendor contacts, items under contract, and terms.
• Analytical apps - which allow users to display key performance measures and other aggregate information about the business.

SAP Fiori 2.0
SAP Fiori 2.0 was released in October 2016 and is the leading design for all SAP applications providing a harmonized user experience across on premise and cloud solutions. A new visual theme – named Belize – comes along with light and dark flavors. Using SAP S/4HANA, the UI Theme Designer allows you to adapt the theme to your corporate identity.

SAP Fiori 3 - September 2019 update 
SAP has chosen to deliver the SAP Fiori 3 innovations in a stepwise approach. With SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1908 and SAP S/4HANA 1909, the very first step becomes available to end users: the new Quartz theme as a successor of the Belize theme used with SAP Fiori 2.0, and the new shell header bar, which also replaces the viewport introduced with SAP Fiori 2.0.

Designed and developed by all SAP product teams, SAP Fiori 3 offers a more consistent and integrated experience across the entire SAP portfolio. This helps decrease training time, increases application effectiveness and provides consistency of use across devices from anywhere. Embedded artificial intelligence in SAP Fiori 3 provides intelligent home pages that show everything a user needs to focus on, and supports proactive business situation handling, which offers explanations, insights and proposed actions.

The new SAP Fiori 3 theme “Quartz Light”
The new Quartz theme is lighter and more neutral, to blend more into the background, giving application content the center stage. It is simple and minimalistic, making it easy for customers to theme it to their brand.

Approyo Welcomes Brandon Paulos and Femi Shah

Approyo is proud to announce that we have expanded our team again, this time welcoming Brandon Paulos and Femi Shah to our headquarters in Wisconsin.

Both Brandon and Femi join the Approyo team after previously working in the summer internship program as members of the Approyo Service Delivery team. Brandon and Femi will now be Jr. SAP Basis Administrator, working with our customers and partners to manage and support their SAP needs.

Brandon says his big draw to Approyo was the opportunity to work with developing and new technologies in a fun work atmosphere.  And Femi added that she is excited to be part of a fantastic team and culture that supports learning and development.

 “We are pleased to add Brandon and Femi to our growing top-notch team in Wisconsin. We are proud to be based in Wisconsin, where there is an exponential amount of growth in the technology sector,” says Christopher M. Carter, CEO of Approyo.

Approyo Among “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America” For Second Year in a Row According to Entrepreneur Magazine

Entrepreneur Magazine recognized Approyo, a leading enterprise SAP HANA Solutions Provider headquartered in Milwaukee, as one of the “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America” on its 2019 Entrepreneur 360™ List, the most comprehensive analysis of private companies in America. This is the second year in a row that Approyo has been honored by Entrepreneur Magazine for its impact, innovation, growth, leadership, and value.

“It is an honor to be recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine for the second consecutive year,” says Christopher M. Carter, CEO of Approyo. “2019 has been a great year of growth for the team at Approyo and this recognition further validates our success in the SAP ecosystem. Thank you to our team, partners and customers.”

"Every entrepreneur knows that a healthy business isn't just about growth. It's about being well-rounded—growing your culture and your systems as strongly as you grow your revenue," says Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. "That's why we're excited to celebrate these companies with our fifth annual Entrepreneur 360. The companies that make the ranking have pushed boundaries with their innovative ideas, fostered strong company cultures, impacted their communities for the better, strengthened their brand, and grown impressively as a result."

Honorees were identified based on the results from a comprehensive study of independently owned companies, using a proprietary algorithm and other advanced analytics. The algorithm was built on a balanced scorecard designed to measure five metrics reflecting major pillars of entrepreneurship — innovation, growth, leadership, impact and business valuation.

For additional details on the E360 List and the companies recognized, visit: entrepreneur.com/360

About Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
For 42 years, Entrepreneur Media Inc. has been serving the entrepreneurial community by providing comprehensive coverage of business and personal success through original content and events. Entrepreneur magazine, Entrepreneur.com, GreenEntrepreneur.com and publishing imprint Entrepreneur Press provide solutions, information, inspiration and education read by millions of entrepreneurs and small business owners worldwide. To learn more, visit entrepreneur.com.

Approyo Announces Promotion of Tim Reiss to Vice President of Service Delivery

Approyo is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Tim Reiss as Vice President of Service Delivery.

Mr. Reiss has solid leadership experience with a highly customer-oriented focus. He has broad experience in all SAP delivery activities and developing quality service delivery teams.  As part of his role, Mr. Reiss will develop and implement new delivery policies for the organization and work closely with our clients to ensure their satisfaction.

Prior to Approyo, Tim held a variety of senior positions including Managing and supervising SAP Basis teams and service delivery for Virtustream and Symmetry. 

“Tim is a highly experienced SAP Basis executive, with a solid track record of building and leading high performing teams, as well as a strategic focus on world-class customer care,'' said Christopher M. Carter, CEO of Approyo.  “He has been a great asset to our company over the past year and his skills are exactly what Approyo needs to best leverage the opportunity presented by the market.”

Mr. Reiss had this to say regarding his new position leading the team at Approyo, “It’s exciting times ahead, we have a number of customers in production to support the ever-increasing demand for SAP Basis.” Mr. Reiss continued, “I’m looking forward to the challenges on this journey. I know with the support of Approyo's highly skilled engineering specialists, we’ll continue to lead the way with innovative solutions and firmly establish Approyo as a trusted partner in the SAP market.”

SAP Releases SAP S/4HANA 1909

With the 1909 release of SAP S/4HANA, SAP continues to focus on delivering leading-edge value in three key areas: intelligent automation, insight and prediction, and next-generation best practices. Intelligent automation, insight and prediction, next-generation processes: SAP S/4HANA 1909 is the Intelligent Enterprise Foundation and brings many new and innovative capabilities to the market. View the complete announcement on www.SAP.com

Foundation of a Digital Core

• An architecture that delivers a scalable foundation to transact at the highest possible automation
• A system of intelligence that supports and steers the business using embedded analytics, simulation, prediction, and decision support to run LIVE business
• An end-to-end experience that can be faster implemented, consumed, and adapted
• An open architecture to allow connectivity and adoption of micro-services

What makes the Digital Core intelligent?

• A digital age UX: Conversational UI´s and natural language processing allows us to target a hands-free ERP by 2020.
• Automation of business processes: Automation mainly addresses companies´ bottom lines and helps to reduce costs. We strive for an automation of 50% of all ERP business processes within the next 3 years.
• The next generation of business processes: We provide a streamlined architecture and a technology that did not exist before. We aim to increase the top line by providing an infrastructure which allows us to completely rethink value creation and service tasks.

While the list of new capabilities in SAP S/4HANA 1909 is extensive, it is important and consider the big picture. In 2017, the number of SAP S/4HANA innovations was 966, in 2018 it was 2,389, and now, in 2019, it stands at 3,312: an increase of almost 3.5 times! User experience (UX) innovations have gone from 646 to 1,048, and to now 1,496 — up by more than double in three releases.

Major SAP S/4HANA 1909 Highlights from SAP

• In finance, improvements in the continuous closing process will drive increased process efficiency and faster insights into your business. Integration of SAP Analytics Cloud with financial planning provides quicker, clearer insight so you can run your business more effectively. 
• In manufacturing, intelligent robotic process automation (IRPA) helps deliver predictive material resource planning (pMRP) so you can better serve your customers while reducing inventory costs.
• Predictive analytics now helps improve sales forecasts and delivery performance. Added blockchain capabilities make supplier quotes more secure.
• Improved integration across all lines of business drives end-to-end processes that lead to improved customer-centricity.

View the complete announcement on www.SAP.com

Start your path to the Intelligent Enterprise and SAP S/4HANA with Approyo
Approyo provides full SAP service technology with extensive capabilities in consulting, solutions architecture, hosting and managed services, in order to develop the right solution for our customers. We are already helping our customers start the move the SAP S/4HANA 1909. Get started today...

Join the Approyo Team at SAP TechEd Las Vegas

lass="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> SAP TechEd is just around the corner and if you are looking for an educational session that can help ease your entry to SAP S/4HANA, you must add Approyo CEO Christopher Carter's session to your agenda today! Plus our CTO Sean Gilmour will be on-hand at the event and sharing the stage with Dell.
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A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809
Wednesday, September 25   
9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Session ID: CAA221
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Join us for a discussion of the methodology and the process used to migrate to SAP S/4HANA 1809. We will discuss the pitfalls, the success, and the overall project. We will not dig into the details on failed activities but will give everyone a sense of the timing and skill set needed to be able to accomplish such a herculean task.
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Integrate SAP Edge Services with Dell Gateways for IoT
Tuesday, September 24
2:00 p.m - 2:30 p.m
Session ID: DS98061
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This demo session shows customers and partners how to minimize efforts for integrating IoT gateways together with SAP Edge Services, into SAP landscapes using a Dell Gateway for IoT with SAP software. Find out how these precustomized IoT gateways can be delivered preinstalled, pretested and prevalidated through SAP Edge Services. Approyo CTO Sean Gilmour will be a special guest for this session.

Meet with the Approyo Team!
Our experts will also be on-hand throughout the show. To secure your 1:1 meeting with an expert and learn why "Approyo > Bacon", click here.

We look forward to seeing you at TechEd!

SAP S/4HANA: The Speed and Power of Simplification

SAP S/4HANA eliminates the complexities of legacy ERP databases, giving organizations a vastly simplified digital core with access to business-critical data in real time. The “S” in SAP S/4HANA is a nod to SAP's legacy business suite. SAP S/4HANA is optimized for SAP HANA, which supports a data model that simplifies the business computing environment dramatically. To take full advantage of this design, SAP S/4HANA was created to reimagine and recode the business suite from the ground up.

REUNIFICATION
Traditionally, the typical enterprise computing environment has been split between online transactional processing (OLTP) and online analytical processing (OLAP). This split is a compromise made long ago: each system gets a copy of the original transactional data, commonly in a different data model, with each optimized for the type of workload (OLTP versus OLAP) in that system. This compromise, though, comes at the cost and complexity of managing two separate environments and moving data between them. Because SAP HANA can support performing analytical calculations and transformations on the fly, organizations can now bring OLTP and OLAP together again. Gone are the complex “helper structures” (indexes and data aggregate tables) that are used to overcome system performance issues running at the speed of disk. Now, with a simplified data model and the speed of in-memory processing, organizations can perform analytics on all data (live and historical) in a single environment – in the moment, as needed.

SIMPLICITY
By redesigning ERP for SAP HANA, the SAP S/4HANA reduces the number of tables dramatically across a wide range of functions. Take, for instance, finance and controlling. While in the past, data was structured in subledgers (accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, asset accounting, cost center accounting, and so on), today they run on a single universal journal. This universal journal brings together postings related to finance (FI) and controlling (CO) in one single source table. The integrity of financial data is guaranteed by design, eliminating reconciliation effort between FI and CO and ensuring that every-one can always access the most current data. Teams are aligned and more effective because the complexity has been removed. Forecasting is faster and more accurate. Key performance indicators such as days sales outstanding (DSO) are avail-able in real time on a granular level. Profit center reporting, profitability analysis, and other real-time analytics performed on top of the universal journal become a reality.

As much as this simplification helps SAP, it also helps our customers. The SAP Tax Compliance application, for example, helps to streamline tax compliance through an automated tax control framework and now runs in SAP S/4HANA instead of a separate system that requires data replication. This application provides an enterprise-wide repository of compliance checks and enables corrections continuously during the current declaration period, freeing tax specialists from searching for anomalies. This simplification to a single source of truth supports new benefits – such as a comprehensive enterprise search. Now business users can search for master data and documents across different LoBs and across systems for a holistic view of the enterprise with zero latency in a modern user interface. At the same time, a built-in authorization framework helps to minimize administrative overhead and enable single sign-on so that users can work across LoBs in a secure fashion, without impediments.

INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY FOR THE INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE
A simplified data model is imperative for intelligent technologies, such as machine learning. Traditional database models that maintain acceptable performance only with added complexity simply cannot scale to meet the needs of machine learning deployments. To run simulations, train algorithms, and improve visibility into what’s coming next, technologies need a data model up to the task. SAP S/4HANA is leveraging machine learning technology in the solution itself. One example is accelerated accounts receivable. With legacy databases and complex data models, accounts receivable can be an error-prone process that crosses multiple systems to match purchase orders to invoices. With SAP Cash Application software on SAP S/4HANA, machine learning technology does the matching automatically – and gets better over time with the addition of new data.

THE DIGITAL CORE
With SAP HANA as its foundation, SAP S/4HANA serves as a digital core for the business – one that helps drive business agility, improve customer experiences, and increase business performance.

Start your path to the Intelligent Enterprise with Approyo
Approyo provides full SAP service technology with extensive capabilities in consulting, solutions architecture, hosting and managed services, in order to develop the right solution for our customers. Get started today... 

How can the Intelligent Enterprise Impact the Mining Industry?

The digital economy is disruptive. Mining companies need strategic priorities that drive transformation. SAP supports a reimagined set of E2E business scenarios to support the strategic priorities of working in a digital environment.

• Make the business more predictable, sustainable, and safer - Advanced predictive analytics and machine learning integrated with real-time information help make vast operational data more actionable. Predict outcomes or exceptions to support the right decision-making, making mining more predictable, sustainable, and safer for the workforce
• Collaborate with customers, suppliers, and workers - Transform interactions with all stakeholders into an interactive, collaborative, and responsive network to strengthen relationships, digitalize data exchanges, make the business more agile, increase profitability, and digitalize the worker.
• Enhance operational and commercial agility - Achieve real-time visibility into operations and run a mine like a factory based on advanced planning and execution to increase agility by combining IT and operational technology (OT) along the entire pit-to-customer process.
• Increase productivity through automation - Digitalize and automate manual processes and focus on value-added processes for employees while automating operations to keep workers out of hazardous environments.

Supporting next practices in mining with intelligent ERP
Transformation in the mining industry is occurring at a rapid pace. Changes in technologies, business environment standards, and the need for agility require constant adaptation. Mining companies must be able to respond to rapidly changing conditions yet still comply with all standards. How does a digital core with a true single source of truth help?

Mining companies must respond to rapid change
A digital core is an IT architecture that offers stability and long-term reliability for core enterprise processes yet also provides the flexibility to adapt quickly to new opportunities, challenges, and regulations. In today’s environment, mining companies cannot continue with old ways of working, so they need to change how they operate. This impacts the industry and its IT –the backbone of modern business –which has to be agile to ensure compliance. Support for mergers and acquisitions is also required to ensure swift adaptation to changing markets.

Mine smarter, not harder
The ability to respond quickly is an essential part of managing a mining business. To do this, simulation, prediction, and analytical capabilities are important components. For example, this can be the simulation of profitability scenarios to identify the best method of mining or to determine the best time to sell a mine.

Generate additional value from data
While overall processes in mining do not change much, the speed of business is disruptive. Mining companies need the computing capability to carry out complex algorithms with large data sets to support timely, real-time analysis. The base data comes from sensors that enable precise digital twins of equipment and processes. In a mine, data sets will be available that can be used by machine learning to improve equipment efficiency and availability. This provides more-reliable information for all related processes. For example, mine production output can be planned and executed more reliably.

Addressing innovative opportunities
In the commodity business, you have to differentiate yourself. Mining companies must improve customer interactions as well as increase operational efficiencies to gain a competitive edge. This impacts every facet of business, including end-to-end (E2E) processes across departments and even company borders. Collaboration and sharing of resources will be part of the new operating models –from customers to mine operations.

The Intelligent ERP
Bringing SAP S/4HANA and SAP Leonardo technologies together as a digital core will result in a more flexible and intelligent enterprise. To achieve next-generation business processes, mining companies need an intelligent ERP solution. For example, machine learning can help in daily business by helping ensure the correct spare part is ordered by using image recognition to identify the correct version. Early adopters have already begun this journey to gain the competitive edge for a top seat in the next-generation mining business.

Start your path to the Intelligent Enterprise with Approyo
Approyo provides full SAP service technology with extensive capabilities in consulting, solutions architecture, hosting and managed services, in order to develop the right solution for our customers. Get started today... 

Top Reasons to attend SAP TechEd Las Vegas

SAP TechEd is the single best technical training program of the year offered by SAP. The experiences and content offered at this event are in alignment with both my personal development needs AND the interests of our organization’s development, growth, and success.

Network
Your SAP Community, your peers, innovative customers,  and the technology experts you trust. All in one place for you to make purposeful connections. A unique opportunity in a great community.

Further your SAP Career
Attend for the information, training, and education you need today. Then future-proof your career with essential skills for your role in your organization’s intelligent enterprise.

SAP Knowledge
Seven tracks. 32 Learning Journeys. Over 600 sessions.  SAP experts and customers delivering best practices,  how-to tips, and advice. Get insight into the innovation and new technologies that will put you at the front of the pack.  Collaborate with SAP technology gurus to get the answers you need. One-on-one engagement, demos, sessions, and hands-on experiences foster brain-storming,  problem-solving, and actionable solutions.

SAP Strategy
Look to the future with product road maps to get answers to your questions about what comes next.  Discuss – and even influence – future product functionality through direct contact with strategists.

Attend our session
Approyo CEO Christopher Carter will be speaking at SAP TechEd in Las Vegas on Wednesday, September 25 from 9:30am - 10:15am PST. His session, A Real-Life Journey on the Upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809, will look at what it takes for a company to migrate or upgrade to SAP S/4HANA 1809.