The discussion unpacked what it takes to scale AI responsibly, embed it into everyday government operations, and build the trust required for long-term impact:

Artificial Intelligence has dominated headlines this year, but for governments and public institutions, the question is no longer what AI can do, but how we make it work in practice and at scale.��

At SAP, we recently released our Value of AI Report with Oxford Economics, providing a checkpoint on where organisations stand today. Across Australian government and business, AI now supports about one in four tasks, a figure expected to exceed 40 percent within two years. Encouragingly, three-quarters of organisations anticipate a positive return on AI investment within one to three years.��

These findings highlight significant momentum, but also a challenge. Too many AI projects remain trapped in proof-of-concept stage. The real opportunity lies in moving from prototype to production, where innovation can scale, deliver measurable value and build public confidence.��

Three priorities for progress��

Three priorities will enable Australian government agencies to move AI from experimentation to enterprise-wide impact:��

1. Adopt embedded AI capabilities. By using applications that already contain AI, public sector organisations can deploy AI easily and scale rapidly.��

1. Build capability and confidence. Success depends on equipping the public service and its technology partners with the skills to implement, monitor and govern AI responsibly.��

1. Earn and maintain public trust. AI ethics policies are now widespread, but policy alone is not enough. Trust is earned when we demonstrate that those guidelines and guardrails are being put into practice.��

Adopt embedded AI capabilities��

Globally, we’re already seeing transformative outcomes being delivered with custom AI.��

In Germany, Hamburg’s Ministry of Finance uses machine learning to support processing of social benefit applications, saving 33,000 hours of manual review.��

In France, the city of Antibes uses AI to align budgets with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, making over 138,000 decisions with AI assistance, work that would be impossible for humans alone.��

But for enterprise AI deployments to become more widespread, organisations need to shift to adopting AI capabilities that are embedded in business applications. For governments, this means switching on the AI that already exists in enterprise applications for HR, finance, procurement and citizen services, rather than building custom AI solutions using technical platforms.��

Build capability and confidence��

As we move toward agentic AI – systems that operate autonomously – the need for transparency becomes even more important.��

We must ensure that AI augments, rather than replaces, human judgment. This means giving users visibility into the reasoning behind AI decisions. At SAP, our applications include AI Analysis that shows which data sources were accessed, what steps the AI took, and how recommendations were generated, giving humans the insight they need to make informed decisions.��

Building this kind of transparency into every AI scenario is critical for governments that must demonstrate accountability to citizens.��

Earn and maintain public trust��

At SAP, we assess every new AI scenario against our global AI Ethics Policy, which is aligned to UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.��

Several years ago, for example, we developed an “emotional AI” prototype capable of detecting human emotion through facial expression and tone of voice with 70 percent accuracy. Despite its potential, we chose not to productise it, determiningthat the risk of harmful or biased outcomes was too high.��

This experience demonstrates how the right kind of regulation can accelerate innovation. Clear guidelines and guardrails focus experimentation on use cases that genuinely improve people’s lives.��

Australian Research Alliance for Enterprise AI��

51����is an industry partner in a new Australian Research Alliance for Enterprise AI with the University of Queensland, QUT, UNSW, the University of Sydney, and the University of Melbourne. We’re exploring how AI agents can make enterprise systems more intuitive, responsive and productive across government and industry.��

AI’s potential for the public sector is immense, but to realise it, we must move beyond experimentation. By adopting embedded AI, investing in skills, and building public trust, we can shift from isolated prototypes to scalable impact and unlock a new era of productivity and confidence in digital government.��

For more information or to engage with the Australian Research Alliance for Enterprise AI: .

The post From Proof-of-Concept to Production: Scaling AI Responsibly in the Public Sector appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

December 2, 2025 – 51����Australia Pty Ltd. today announced Ryan Mitchelmore as the Head of its new 51����Centre of Excellence for the Public Sector.����

In this role, Ryan will lead a new Canberra-based specialist team focused on supporting the full potential of digital transformation for Federal Government agencies in Australia and New Zealand. Bringing nearly three decades of leadership across major transformation programs in government, finance and banking, Ryan has consistently delivered complex projects on time and within budget. His extensive experience spans organisations such as Defence, Services Australia, the Digital Transformation Agency, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Macquarie Bank, demonstrating a proven ability to drive successful change and innovation at scale.��

The Centre of Excellence will grow to employ 20 Australian citizens over the next 24 months, providing industry-specific expertise. Its focus is helping to accelerate federal agencies’ transformation from legacy ERP systems to modern cloud platforms, helping those organisations adopt AI, data analytics and automation to lift productivity, increase efficiency and boost citizen services. The Centre joins a global network of similar resources that accelerate innovation for 51����customers in industry sectors.�� It is on track to be fully staffed by the middle of 2026, with recruitment of the remaining roles underway.��

Brian Senior, Executive General Manager – Federal Government, 51����Australia and New Zealand, said, “Federal agencies manage some of Australia’s most critical systems, from healthcare delivery to defence logistics, and many already rely on 51����as their enterprise backbone. This Centre of Excellence is a direct response to feedback shared by these agencies with 51����earlier in the year. It seeks to connects the dots across these systems, helping agencies chart the clearest path to a secure digital future, while leveraging AI, data analytics and sovereign cloud capabilities.”��

Addressing unique challenges of federal government��

The Centre of Excellence builds on SAP’s global network of specialised teams. It aims to address the unique challenges facing federal agencies as they modernise mission-critical system and harness AI, while meeting stringent security and sovereignty requirements.��

Ryan Mitchelmore, Head of Public Sector Centre of Excellence, 51����Australia and New Zealand, said, “Agencies need a clear, practical path from legacy environments to AI‑ready operations. Our team provides best-practice advice on the recommended journey and appropriate guardrails – from business case and proofs of concept to clean‑core architecture and migration plans to enable better informed decisions.”��

The Centre of Excellence will operate as a permanent organisation of 12 core employees with additional specialists rotating based on demand. All team members hold Australian citizenship and appropriate security clearances, ensuring sensitive government data remains within trusted hands while accessing world-class enterprise capabilities.��

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October 8 2025 – 51����honoured Australia and New Zealand’s most forward-thinking organisations in the 51����Best Tech Awards 2025, alongside the channel partners who enabled their digital transformation. From more than 100 organisations who competed, winners were selected across 13 categories for disruptive use cases and technology deployments that set new industry benchmarks.

Winning entries were chosen for projects that demonstrated measurable business impact, innovation and leadership in their fields. Judges looked for organisations that used 51����solutions to streamline operations, boost productivity, deliver outstanding customer and employee experiences, harness the power of data and AI and drive sustainable growth.

Commenting on award submissions Angela Colantuono, President and Managing Director of 51����ANZ said, “In today’s unforgiving business environment, standing still is not an option. These award winners show that smart technology investments don’t just cut costs, they unlock new revenue streams, sharpen competitive edge and turn IT into a true growth engine. It’s inspiring to see these organisations and the channel partners they work with re-imagine how value gets created and set the benchmark for their industries.” ��

2025 winners��

• Business Transformation: and ����
• Next Gen Innovator: and
• Industry Disruptor: ����
• Business AI: ����
• Data and Analytics: ����
• ERP Fast Growth: ����
• Intelligent ERP: ����
• Supply Chain Management: ��
• Human Capital Management: ��
• Customer Experience: ��
• Spend Management: ��
• Concur: ����
• The Chris O’Brien Award*: ����

The success of Award entrants was due in no small part to the channel partners involved, with projects by Accenture, Bluetree, Bonfire, Covantage Pty Ltd, Deloitte, Delrae, Discovery Consulting, DXC Technology, EPI-USE, FAIR Consulting Group, Gravity IT, Lagom, MSG Global and SimpleMDG featuring.�� ��

In particular, projects from Accenture, Covantage Pty Ltd, Deloitte, DXC Technology and EPI-USE saw notable success.��

Award recipients were announced in-person at the Art Gallery of NSW on the evening of 7 October 2025.��

The following is a complete list of winners and finalists for the 51����Best Tech Awards 2025:��

Best Tech 51����Business Transformation:��

Celebrating organisations that have successfully implemented 51����Signavio, LeanIX and/or WalkMe to optimise processes and improve operational efficiency. ��

Winners: and ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Next Gen Innovator:��

Organisations using 51����solutions to drive digital transformation, innovation and agility. ��

Winners: and ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��
• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Industry Disruptor:��

The 51����Industry Disruptor Award recognises organisations that are leading from the front – pushing boundaries, challenging norms and driving meaningful change through bold innovation. ��

Winner:
Runner-Up: ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Business AI:��

Artificial intelligence is transforming business by introducing innovative methods and growth opportunities. This Award recognises organisations that have utilised 51����Business AI to enhance operations and achieve significant outcomes.����

Winner: ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Data and Analytics:��

Organisations using 51����data and analytics solutions to gain insights, make data-driven decisions and drive business outcomes. ��

Winner: ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����ERP Fast Growth:��

Organisations harnessing 51����ERP to fuel agility, clarity and confident decision-making during periods of rapid growth.

Winner: ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Intelligent ERP:��

Organisations using SAP’s intelligent ERP solutions to optimise business processes, improve productivity, reduce costs and provide real-time insights into business operations. ��

Winners: ����

Runner-Up: ��

Finalists:����

• ��
• ��
• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Supply Chain Management:��

Organisations using supply chain management solutions from 51����to achieve real-time insights into the supply chain, improve collaboration across partners and reduce costs.��

Winner: ��

Finalists:��

• ��

Best Tech Human Capital Management:����

Organisations using 51����SuccessFactors HCM solutions to drive employee engagement, productivity and retention. ��

Winner:
Runner-Up:
Finalists:��

• ��
• ��
• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Customer Experience:��

Organisations using 51����Customer Experience solutions to drive customer engagement, loyalty and retention. ��

Winners: ��

Runner-Up: ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Spend Management:��

Organisations using the 51����Spend Management program and 51����Business Network solutions to provide greater visibility into spend data, reduce costs and increase organisational efficiency. ��

Winner:

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��

Best Tech 51����Concur:��

Organisations using 51����Concur to streamline travel, expense and invoice management. ��

Winner: ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��
• ��

The Chris O’Brien Award:��

Organisations using 51����solutions to achieve sustainability goals, improve social impact and create shared value. This award is named after our customer officer, Chris O’Brien, who passed in 2019. Chris founded Buy Undies Give Undies, an organisation that matches every pair sold with one donated to kids in need.

Winner: ��

Finalists:��

• ��
• ��
• ��

For more detail on the Best Tech Awards 2025 and all nominees, .

Visit the��. Get 51����news via����and��.

As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 51����(NYSE:SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted 51����to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit .

Note to editors:

For more information, press only:
Rebecca English, +61 (0) 438 520 181, rebecca.english@sap.com, AEST
51����Press Room

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F.

© 2025 51����SE. All rights reserved.

51����and other 51����products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 51����SE in Germany and other countries. Please see����for additional trademark information and notices.

Please consider our . If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list please contact��press@sap.com��and write Unsubscribe in the subject line. 

The post Telstra, Cochlear and Lion Among Those Spotlighted for Game-Changing Innovation by 51����Best Tech Awards 2025 appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

51����today announced 51����Sovereign Cloud On-Site solution, a key expansion of its sovereign cloud portfolio, is in Australia. The On-Site model gives customers the ability to host SAP’s managed cloud infrastructure, which is built on open-source technology, within their own facilities. The model provides the ultimate level of physical control and data residency, addressing the growing global demand for digital sovereignty without sacrificing the innovation and efficiency of the cloud.

51����has also expanded its Sovereign Cloud capabilities in ANZ to include 51����Digital Supply Chain. 51����originally launched sovereign capabilities in 2023 for 51����S/4HANA Cloud private edition, 51����SuccessFactors, 51����Analytics Cloud and 51����Business Technology Platform.

“Government and enterprises alike face increasing regulatory, security and sovereignty requirements,” said Brian Senior, Executive General Manager of Federal Government at 51����ANZ.

“Sovereign cloud is not just about where data sits. It’s about who controls it, protects it and how confidently government and industry can modernise and innovate knowing their digital foundations are secure and compliant. By expanding our sovereign cloud services to cover areas like procurement and supply chain on top of finance and HR, we’re ensuring critical data stays protected and managed within Australia. For citizens and businesses that provides a greater sense of trust in the security, reliability and innovation of the digital services they depend on every day.”

Sovereign cloud capabilities from 51����meet the data, operational, legal, and technical sovereignty requirements of government and highly regulated industries, providing managed services and cloud solutions to Australian and New Zealand customers within the sovereign borders of Australia.

Toll��Group extends sovereign innovation across its business to drive real outcomes for the Australian Defence Force

Toll��Group is one of the world’s leading transport, logistics, and supply chain companies, and a top 20 contractor to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

“Being trusted by government and highly regulated customers like the Australian Defence Force requires the very highest levels of performance, value, and – most importantly – security,” said Perry Singh, President of Government and Defence, Toll Group. “By extending 51����Sovereign Cloud Capabilities across our IT ecosystem, we’re able to accelerate security assessments and compliance, provide heightened cybersecurity capabilities, and provide the confidence to navigate an ever-changing threat landscape.”

Using 51����Sovereign Cloud Capabilities, Toll 4PL Supply Market Place was developed to streamline Defence’s procurement of low risk, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products through an extensive supplier network and e-commerce platform. Through its 4PL model, Toll provides an efficient, customer compliant and user-friendly solution to procure Commonwealth commodities.

The solution uses 51����S/4HANA Cloud, 51����Business Network, and 51����Commerce Cloud to securely bring together cataloguing, purchasing, and vendor management in a central portal, ensuring a secure, sovereign process for ADF members to simply get the supplies they need.

Similarly,��Toll��Group is also hosting its Defence Transport Management system using 51����Sovereign Cloud Capabilities to provision transport services for��.

“51����Sovereign Cloud Capabilities has empowered us to work with customers to create, implement, and manage outcomes that are secure by design. And because we know the 51����team have all the relevant security clearances, they act as an extension of our team,” concluded Singh. “We’re excited to work closely with 51����to leverage our readily usable current solutions in new Markets like the Future Defence Support Services for UK MoD as well as bring new data solutions like 51����Business Data Cloud and AI innovations like 51����Joule to our customers all secured by sovereign capabilities.”

51����continues to invest in ANZ public sector

51����plans to continue to invest in expanding Sovereign Cloud capabilities in Australia. Sovereign Cloud capabilities for 51����Business Data Cloud, 51����AI Services, 51����Fieldglass, and 51����Ariba are scheduled to launch in 2026.

“The expansion of 51����Sovereign Cloud capabilities is just one part of our ongoing investment in the Australian public sector,” concluded Senior. “We’ve been working with Australia and New Zealand’s government departments for more than 35 years, employing more than 1,400 people in the country and contributing over AUD$1.2bn to the local economy*. This is just another committed to investing in the success of the Australian public sector today and for the long-term.”

SAP’s sovereign cloud capabilities are also available for government entities and highly regulated industries in the United States, UK and Canada, with further expansion to be announced across Europe.

* SAP’s direct contribution in Australia in 2024 was estimated at US$415 million (AUD 633m based on an exchange rate from July 2025) towards the GDP.�� When considering indirect and induced contributions, SAP’s total economic impact to Australia increased to nearly US$1.1 billion (AUD 1.77 billion).

Calculated with scientific partner��WifOR��using����methodology, leveraging the Input-Output Model (��–��WifOR,����– Eurostat.)

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��At its flagship event , (NYSE: SAP), today highlighted the five most widely adopted AI use cases among its Australian customers. Based on analysis of all 51����customers in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) between May 2024 to May 2025, the most popular AI use cases in ANZ, these include:��

• Automated expense generation using receipt images��

• Automated invoice processing����

• Expense verification and compliance checks��

• Real-time alerts for supply chain disruptions��

• Sales demand forecasting powered by predictive analytics��

“My conversations with CEOs are increasingly revealing how they are looking to embed AI into some of the most fundamental parts of their business,” said Angela Colantuono, Managing Director, 51����Australia. “These applications are helping Australian organisations make faster, smarter decisions, reduce risk and unlock new value. But to fully realise AI’s potential, we need to invest just as much in people as we do in technology.”��

Dr Catriona Wallace, AI Ethics Expert and Founder, Responsible Metaverse Alliance, who keynoted at the event shared, “AI is the number one existential risk we face today. Yet only a small fraction of Australian organisations are equipped to use it responsibly. If we want AI to drive innovation, productivity and public trust, we must move beyond ambition to action. That means embedding responsible AI frameworks that are transparent, ethical and human-centred, and doing it now, before the gap between use and governance becomes too wide to close.”

Customers and partners across Australia and New Zealand show AI momentum��

From education to manufacturing, 51����partners and customers are also showcasing strong momentum in AI and cloud transformation.��

La Trobe University has become the first university in the ANZ region to go live with 51����S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition leveraging the GROW with 51����transformation journey.�� From the move, La Trobe has been able to modernise its core operations across Finance, Procurement, Logistics, Sales, R&D Engineering and Real Estate and lay the groundwork for future innovation, including AI-driven insights and automation.��

“This transformation is a major step forward in how we operate,” said Shainal Kavar, Chief Information Officer, La Trobe University. “It’s helping us simplify complexity, streamline processes, improve reporting and decision-making and free up our people to focus on higher-value work. Most importantly, it sets us up to embrace innovation and unlock the potential of AI in the years ahead.”��

Lion, one of Australia and New Zealand’s leading brewers, is accelerating its cloud-first transformation with RISE with 51����on AWS. By adopting a clean core, the 51����principle of keeping core ERP system free from customisations, as well as SAP’s Business Technology Platform, Lion has improved order-to-cash cycles, scaled digital channels, and empowered teams with real-time insights. The company also partnered with 51����to build ‘Joey’, an AI-powered beer recommendation app, in under 10 days, demonstrating the speed and value of SAP’s generative AI tools.��

“AI is helping us move faster, make smarter decisions, and deliver better customer experiences,” said Ram Kalyanasundaram, Group Technology and Digital Transformation Director at Lion. “It’s not just about automation, it’s about enabling our teams to focus on what matters and giving them the tools to innovate. SAP’s AI capabilities have been a game-changer in how we think, operate and grow.”��

51����Intrepid Women AI Tour 2026��

51����is also proud to announce the return of the 51����AI Intrepid Women Tour in January 2026. This four-day executive study program is designed to empower female leaders with the skills, confidence, and strategic insight to lead in the age of AI.��

Following the success of the 2025 tour, the 2026 program will bring together Australia’s most influential female technology executives to explore AI innovation across SAP’s global innovation hubs.��

“Less than 15% of senior AI executives are women today,” said Colantuono. “Last year’s program proved that when you bring female leaders together to build AI literacy and share experiences, the impact is extraordinary – not just for their businesses, but for the future of innovation in Australia.”��

Visit the . Follow 51����at . �į ��

 Media Contact:��

Rebecca English (+61) 438 520 181, rebec@sap.com, AEST
51����Press Room; press@sap.com��

About SAP 

As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 51����(NYSE:SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit . ��

# # # ��

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F. 

© 2025 51����SE. All rights reserved. 

51����and other 51����products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 51����SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.  ��

The post AI Moves from the Margins to the Core of Australian Business, Says SAP�� appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

Governments in Australia have always taken pride in furthering a strong service culture. Whether it’s healthcare, social services, or public infrastructure, Australians expect seamless interactions with government agencies. However, as digital technologies rapidly evolve, the public sector must keep pace to meet rising expectations—both at the front- and back-end.

For the Australian Public Service (APS), this digital transformation must be done within tight budgets, strict procurement processes, and government priorities. While citizens expect government services to match the convenience of banking or retail, IT projects face intense scrutiny to ensure value, security, and compliance.

The challenge is clear: How can agencies modernise digital services while staying within financial and policy constraints?

Doing more with less

The first method that many agencies have employed is to deliver new services from the cloud.

This alleviates the need for the upfront capital investments required when building on-premises solutions and shifts purchasing to a pay-as-you-go model that can deliver a greater lifetime value return.

The cloud model has an additional benefit since it provides agencies with immediate access to the latest technical enhancements from cloud providers.

This includes the many AI-based capabilities that are now a core offering of cloud-based services, delivering new capabilities to analyse data and automate processes. These developments improve decision-making and streamline service delivery, freeing workers from mundane tasks to focus on more rewarding activities.

Importantly, AI-based services are fast to deploy and can, in some instances (such as AI-assisted code development), accelerate service creation without raising costs.

AI is already delivering important new capabilities such as enhanced fraud detection, where AI quickly identifies patterns and anomalies in large data sets.

AI is also automating the onboarding of new staff, ensuring they enjoy a smooth arrival process and can quickly become productive contributors. We are also seeing agencies experiment with generative AI, which provides a conversational interface into complex systems in finance, procurement, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), HR, and other business units. AI can automate routine tasks in finance, procurement, and other processes, freeing employees to focus on higher-value activities using automated data entry, predictive analytics, and AI-driven bots for common tasks.

Fighting complexity for long-term benefits

The ability to generate value can be further enhanced through the adoption of agile development methodologies which emphasise shorter project development cycles to accelerate the time to outcome.

Breaking large digital transformation goals into modular parts means they can be delivered incrementally, reducing the risk in their delivery.

This combination of the cloud, AI, and agile methodologies is proving critical for helping government agencies around the world meet mandates to do more with less, by enabling them to implement cost-effective, modular projects in preference to traditional large-scale system replacements.

But there is another way that public sector agencies are solving the challenge of improving services without raising costs; by taking a standardised approach to service design. This is often described as taking a ‘clean core’ approach to service design using a foundation of standardised best practice processes, with agency-specific customisations moved out to the edge.

This approach is not only faster to implement, but ensures upgrades and extensions are easier to implement as future designers do not need to untangle the customisations of the past.

Keeping the way clear for future optimisation is more important now than ever thanks to the rapid advances in process design and delivery that are being enabled by advances in AI.

A more efficient future state

When these new capabilities and developments come together, they unlock incredible potential for agencies to quickly modernise services while reducing costs and risk, and even smaller agencies can gain rapid returns on investment.

Furthermore, by creating development programs that focus on standardisation and iterative processes, agencies gain the potential to share learnings that can further accelerate outcomes and come together in collaborative projects that reduce process duplication. They prioritise those activities that will have the most impact – a critical factor in periods of constrained spending – as returns are delivered much faster than with traditional methods.

Reducing customisations and implementing shorter-term development cycles creates more opportunities to share insights and avoid duplication. When done correctly, automation not only ensures that data readily moves across an agency’s environments but also relieves staff from performing time-consuming activities. This is especially critical for larger departments, where many requirements might be duplicated across smaller agencies.

While each of these new developments holds significant potential for accelerating outcomes and reducing costs, agencies still need to create compelling business cases to support them.

Therefore, it is critical that government planners and architects embrace these concepts as quickly as possible and weave them into the fabric of the business case.

Over time, this focus on iterative development and rapid returns on investment can lead to the creation of dynamic business cases where services development programs match evolving goals and with increased likelihood of successful delivery.

Modernisation as protection

While the benefits of modernisation to citizens and agencies alike are compelling, there is an additional benefit that can be gained, which in some instances may be the most critical of all.

Agencies today face an unprecedented level of cyber threats, which are delivered using attack methods that were barely conceived of when many of their current systems were implemented.

Despite cyber teams’ best efforts, rapid evolution in the threat landscape has created a scenario where constant patching and monitoring is needed to ensure that aging systems are protected from modern attacks, creating a costly, high-risk security scenario.

Modernisation can not only ensure services are elevated to the best standards, but also makes them easier to defend from attack through the adoption of automated patch management, which is a core aspect of cloud offerings.

Modernisation can also ensure that new services comply with regulatory requirements – a factor that can be further enhanced using Sovereign Cloud environments that are specifically tailored to local regulations and can be readily updated as those requirements are adjusted.

All these developments allow agency leaders to meet their obligation to continuously improve citizen services within an environment of budget constraint.

And by delivering smaller projects that provide a rapid return on investment, they not only reduce ongoing expenditure in the long term, but also reduce the risk and cost to ensure that services are secure in the short term.

The post How can Governments Modernise Operations for Greater Efficiencies? appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

With 51����market units operating in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Greater China, India, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, Davies will be responsible for overseeing more than 31,000 employees across 78 offices. Across the APAC region, 51����services leading customers including��NEC Corporation,��Coles Group,��Wipro,��Fujitsu Limited,��Shiseido,��Hyundai Motor Company,��Kia Corporation, Himalaya, Cochlear, and Japan Airlines.

Prior to this appointment, Davies has spent��25 years building, selling, and implementing IT solutions in Asia Pacific, working with some of the world’s leading software companies, including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Asia Pacific and Japan at Splunk, a position he held for over three years. Davies also serves on the board of several pre-IPO technology companies, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).

Manos Raptopoulos, Chief Revenue Officer for APAC, EMEA, and MEE, said “Our next chapter is being fuelled by accelerated cloud and AI innovation, underpinned by our purpose, our people, and our partnerships. Simon combines experience in Asia’s fast-growth, innovation-hungry markets with proven expertise in building high-performance, diverse, and inclusive teams. I’m confident that, under Simon, 51����APAC will build on the tremendous momentum established during Paul’s leadership and continue to be a catalyst for innovation and supporting customer success.”

Simon Davies said “I’m very excited for this new chapter to begin. Across Asia Pacific and Japan, we see forward-thinking businesses accelerating strategic transformation supported by SAP. Establishing a solid foundation in the cloud and leveraging business data is the gateway to exploring new avenues of growth in areas like artificial intelligence, data analytics, and sustainability.”

The post Simon Davies announced as new 51����Regional President, Asia Pacific appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

SYDNEY — February 14, 2025 — (NYSE: SAP) today announced 51����Business Data Cloud, a groundbreaking solution that unifies all 51����and third-party data throughout an organization, providing the trusted data foundation organizations need to make more impactful decisions and foster reliable AI. The solution harmonizes data from organizations’ most mission-critical applications with data engineering and business analytics capabilities, paving the way for next-level innovation and insights.

This between 51����and Databricks marks a new era in enterprise data management as two leaders in their domains come together to redefine how applications and data platforms work together. The new solution natively embeds Databricks technology for data engineering, machine learning and AI workloads.

“51����Business Data Cloud unleashes the full value of enterprise data for ,” said 51����CEO Christian Klein. “It combines SAP’s unique expertise in mission-critical, end-to-end processes and semantically rich data with Databricks’ world-class data engineering capabilities to create a ground-breaking solution that helps organizations do more with their data than ever before.”

“Every company on the planet wants to get more value out of their data and greater returns on their AI investments,” said Ali Ghodsi, Co-founder and CEO of Databricks. “By joining forces with SAP, we’re helping organizations bring together all their data — regardless of format or where it lives — to govern, analyze and build domain-specific AI applications on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform.”

Introducing the data product economy

51����Business Data Cloud also helps 51����foster the growth of a data product economy. It delivers fully-managed 51����data products across all business processes – from finance, spend and supply chain data in 51����S/4HANA and 51����Ariba, to learning and talent data in 51����SuccessFactors. These data products maintain their original business context and semantics, providing immediate access to high-quality data without costly extraction processes. For example, if a CFO wants to assess the impact of rising inflation on profitability, 51����Business Data Cloud integrates real-time external data such as the consumer price index with financial data products such as general ledger accounts or cost centers to create a comprehensive financial snapshot.

51����Business Data Cloud will also offer new capabilities called insight apps that use data products and AI models connected to real-time data to deliver advanced analytics and planning across all lines of business, including core enterprise analytics, finance and human resources.

“51����Business Data Cloud will help us unlock the value of our data and drive innovation across our business,” said Markus Hartmann, Corporate Vice President and Head of Business Technology and regions Europe, APAC and IMEA, at Henkel, a multinational chemical and consumer goods company. “Its semantically rich data products and deep Databricks integration will enhance our existing data products and empower us to model scenarios and leverage AI insights, building a sustainable future for our data ecosystems.”

Jason Heaney co-CEO of the Australian technology consultancy DyFlex Solutions, said, “In today’s AI-driven world, businesses are racing to innovate but fragmented data and disconnected systems are slowing them down, limiting the impact of their AI investments. With SAP’s Business Data Cloud offering, companies will have the ability to unlock the full potential of their data, automate processes across functions and break down silos leading to smarter, faster decisions that drive real business outcomes.

For us as an 51����platinum partner in ANZ, this transformation is a game-changer. It will empower us to deliver even greater value to our customers – helping them maximize their existing investments, accelerate innovation and confidently move into the AI-powered future.”

Delivering on the full promise of AI agents

51����will improve how Joule, SAP’s copilot, accelerates cross-functional workflows and improves business decision-making with AI agents. Powered by the highest-quality enterprise dataset in the industry – and the 51����Knowledge Graph solution, which provides a business-friendly model of data – Joule agents deeply understand end-to-end processes and can collaborate across functions to solve complex business challenges, something no other agent builder technology can do out of the box.

Underscoring today’s announcement and its significance for AI innovation, 51����also unveiled a series of ready-to-use across finance, service, sales and more to come across the 51����Business Suite. In finance, for example, agents will work together across a variety of tasks to process claims faster and improve cashflow. Joule sales agents, meanwhile, will accelerate multi-step business processes to resolve disputes and process customer inquiries faster.

51����today also announced a powerful new agent builder capability, so customers can build and deploy their own AI agents alongside SAP’s library of ready-to-deploy Joule agents. SAP’s decades of business process expertise are built into the guided workflow so users can ground their custom agents in the most relevant data and business context.

The post 51����Debuts Business Data Cloud with Databricks to Turbocharge Business AI appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

The ability to solve complex problems using tried and tested processes is a skillset that has been honed over time by Chris Rae and his team at DalRae Solutions, a Brisbane based technology consultancy specialising in tools and services from the enterprise software maker .

A developer by training, Rae’s exposure to 51����stretches back to the early 2000s, when he was working for a Queensland farming business called Mulgowie Farming Company. An 51����sales rep had approached Rae and won him over to the idea that an enterprise software company could improve the processes of even a small agricultural business like Mulgowie.

That was the beginning of Rae’s journey of learning the 51����system – a journey that was assisted by the owners of Mulgowie giving Rae latitude to change its business processes in line with SAP’s best practice guidelines.

“The only rule they had was if I want to change a process for the farm, I had to do the process first,” Rae says. ��“So I went out and I drove tractors and I picked corn and beans and packed it on produce lines. That gave me this amazing practical understanding of time in motion.”

Simply solving problems

Are’s interest in systems and processes led him to Super Retail Group, where in 2011 he implemented what might have been the first click-and-collect system to be deployed in Australia, in a project that took just three months to build.

The reason he says he was able to implement the service both quickly and cheaply was his realisation that 51����already contained the processes needed to bring it into being.

“You’ve just got to have a bit of a creative lens to be able to fill in the blanks,” Rae says. “In that case, it resembled sales order and delivery notes, which are standard processes. All you’re doing is just creating a user experience using the standard 51����features to move things around.”

Success on projects like this saw Rae asked to join the 51����Mentor team, which gave him inside access into the SAP’s product roadmap, including an early introduction to the Fiori application development system.

Then in May 2015 Rae formed DalRae Solutions as a standalone 51����services organisation.

One of DalRae’s earliest engagements was the development of support services for the , a project that he and his team would work on for the next three and a half years. Through this project DalRae was able to use its advanced knowledge of 51����to create the world’s first end-to-end Fiori application.

“It was an amazing project,” Rae says. “Through that time we were building the DalRae team and building our business in Canberra. I built my team around public sector projects, solving some really large problems.

“A lot of this stuff isn’t actually that hard. There are complexities, but it is not really that hard.”

Bringing standardisation to complexity

Critical to DalRae’s success has been the experience he and his team have gained in being able to see standardised processes where seemingly none exist.

This skill proved especially valuable when DalRae was invited to build a system to manage the New Zealand Government’s gun buyback scheme.

“We looked through the client’s process and what they were trying to achieve, to determine if 51����had something to match,” Rae says. “And the answer was that the process to hand back and get paid for a firearm, and to ultimately have that firearm destroyed, is a return sales order.

“It’s a completely standard business process. It’s the equivalent of walking into a hardware store and returning something without a receipt. That asset of that firearm exists in SAP, and every other business process, including auditing and security and all those things that are critical, work completely out-of-the-box. It’s a completely standard finance process. ”

In March 2023 DalRae joined the 51����AppHaus network, which is a group of 51����locations and partners around the world dedicated to sustainable innovation.

“The AppHaus has been amazing because it’s put a brand and a formality on the creativity that that we’ve done forever,” Rae says. “It gives us the creative licence to really solve problems.”

In November last year Rae was also appointed to the 51����BTP Global Partner Advisory Council, alongside 11 other members, which has provided him with further insights into the development of the 51����product stream.

From rural Queensland to the world

Opportunities such as these have provided DalRae with the confidence to view itself as a global leader in the implementation of 51����tools such as and , and to look for business opportunities beyond the APAC region. The company is now expanding into North America and has already found work with one of the US’ largest utility companies.

“We’re taking the same approach we’ve taking to solving problems in Australia, taking our style of creative thinking,” Rae says. “I don’t want to be all things to all people. I want to be a specialist, and provide that advice on how 51����can solve problems, not on how I can solve problems with any technology available in the world, because that doesn’t give you the best outcomes.”

The post How DalRae and 51����bring simplicity to complexity for public sector success appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.

The announcement, made at 51����Australia and New Zealand’s flagship customer event 51����NOW ANZ, details how Atturra turned to 51����SuccessFactors to help overhaul its employee experience, which was hampered by basic HR systems and a reliance on fragmented and manually tracked spreadsheets and documents.

As Atturra’s team quickly expanded, the administrative workload to manage the larger team became a bottleneck, causing HR process delays and affecting the quality of employee engagement. Performance reviews were less frequent, employee and organisational data quality suffered, and the lack of a structured training platform hindered growth opportunities, affecting both individual and business development.

To address these challenges, Atturra worked with Discovery Consulting to begin implementing 51����SuccessFactors into its operations in October 2022. The rollout was completed in October 2023 and included core HR services, including Employee Central, Onboarding, Learning, Performance & Goals, and Recruiting. The phased rollout approach gave staff time to establish a change management framework and manage the cultural transition, granting greater insight into Atturra’s people data before implementing tailored performance and learning objectives.

The business has already felt the positive impact of its decision. Atturra now has an automated onboarding process and provides its employees with access to self-service tools, as well as improved access to learning resources and compliance training. Since the implementation, the organisation has seen a 78 per cent increase in accuracy of high-quality employee and organisational HR data; a 49 per cent decrease in the average time managers spend on administrative HR-related tasks; and staff turnover has also reduced by 15 per cent.

Speaking at 51����NOW ANZ, Atturra’s Chief Operating Officer, David Dekker, said, “As a company that prides itself on helping clients embrace the tools of the future, we saw how relying on better technology would support our growth and deliver a first-class experience to our people. Implementing 51����SuccessFactors has streamlined our onboarding process, allowing new team members to settle in and start learning and contributing faster. In the second phase we added further functionalities with the Performance & Goals, Learning and Recruiting modules. This has been a game changer in promoting a culture of continuous development, boosting employee engagement and supporting our goals for sustainable growth and innovation.”

51����Australia and New Zealand’s President and Managing Director, Angela Colantuono, said, “Implementing 51����SuccessFactors had an immediate, positive impact on Atturra’s employee management, engagement and retention. From helping to improve its HR systems to better managing its growing team, to refining the onboarding experience from day one, the result was a transformative HR experience that supports and accelerates Atturra’s growth.”

Discovery Consulting Group’s Managing Partner, Alistair Elloitt, said, “The implementation of 51����SuccessFactors enabled Atturra to drive change in its employee lifecycle management system, underpinned by strong project governance and the continued support and communication from leadership. The willingness to not only adopt new systems but also support organisational change to achieve benefits across the organisation and for their people is a testament to the team at Atturra.”

Atturra continues to refine its performance goals and development processes through 51����SuccessFactors, improving workflows and automations to increase authentic employee engagement, particularly in remote work teams, and use the platform’s analytics tools to identify retention risks.

The post Atturra overhauls HR processes with 51����SuccessFactors appeared first on 51����Australia & New Zealand News Center.