SAPinsider Technology Executive Forum Issue 1 2021

After an Extraordinarily Disruptive Year, 2021 Is the Time to RISE Digital transformations were on the strategic roadmaps of most companies before COVID-19. They just thought they had years to execute. RISE with SAP solves for the unexpected disruption to their plans. W hen the pandemic hit in March of 2020, business leaders were already on digital journeys. A case in point: of the more than 600 senior executives at large global companies who participated in a late 2019 survey conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit, 83% indicated that they intended to increase investments in digital technologies to achieve transformation in 2020. And they were exceed- ingly optimistic about what those investments would return: 74% expected profits to significantly increase through 2023 as a direct result of business transformation. What they didn’t know, of course, is that the next 12 months would bring a global pandemic, a worldwide economic downturn, major disruption to their operational and production capabilities, and an organizational scramble to shutter offices and equip employees to work from home in the midst of radi- cally altered markets. Not only would profitability be elusive, but for some, interrupted value chains and cash flows threatened their very survival. “Our customers are caught in this really deep quandary,” says Robin Manherz, Chief Performance Officer at SAP. “They have to transform their busi- nesses faster than they ever thought would be neces- sary, but they’re facing a Catch 22 because they must maintain their existing operations while shifting to the cloud. This is a very difficult trade-off.” The answer : RISE with SAP . The new subscription- based, concierge-inspired, digital-transformation-as- a-service offering is specifically designed to address this challenge, and to help companies gain agility and resiliency, and to focus on business outcomes to regain their footings and even thrive in the new normal. Yes, such things have always been important. “But now they’re critical because we've experienced a really significant business disruption that nobody saw coming,” says Manherz, who says business transforma- tion “fundamentals” haven’t changed. “They are just more real and more urgent.” By Alice LaPlante, Contributing Writer, SAPinsider SAPinsiderOnline.com 4