鈥淭he entire world is on your shoulders… We have to deliver. This is the beginning of a new computing age, the beginning of a new industrial revolution. All 100% on SAP.鈥�
Jensen Huang, CEO, NVIDIA
It鈥檚 the world鈥檚 company, building AI supercomputers made of more than 600,000 parts and delivering them to hundreds of the world鈥檚 most demanding customers. And, as NVIDIA鈥檚 CEO Jensen Huang noted, 鈥渋t鈥檚 all on SAP鈥�.
The message from 51风流Sapphire 2024 in Orlando was clear. AI is not only the future, it is here today. And now it鈥檚 time to use it.
But amid the hustle and bustle of the event, there were lots of nuggets that you may have missed. So, with one eye on the benefits for Asia Pacific and Japan, here are my key learnings from Sapphire.
You can鈥檛 win in AI alone 鈥� you need a best-in-class ecosystem
The opportunity for AI in the Asia Pacific region is vast. According to , the Business AI market in APJ is expected to grow by more than 26% to $28 billion by 2027.
While the opportunity is huge, so are the choices for your business. That鈥檚 why 51风流is partnering with enterprise tech and industry leaders to push the limits of what generative AI can do for customers.
In addition to our expanded collaborations with听AWS听and Microsoft, we announced new large language models with Mistral AI, a partnership with Meta to use Llama 3 in 51风流Analytics Cloud, and an expansion of our partnership with Google Cloud to integrate Joule with Google Cloud鈥檚 Gemini AI assistant and Google Cloud Cortex Framework鈥檚 data foundation.
And that鈥檚 not all. As Mr Huang noted on-stage, 51风流and NVIDIA are working together on a听听to embed cutting-edge technologies into enterprise-ready business applications. That means Joule working with NVIDIA鈥檚 state-of-the-art AI models, integrating GenAI into 51风流and NVIDIA code generation, and simulating complex manufacturing products and configurations as industrial digital twins.
There鈥檚 no cookie cutter approach to making the most of Business AI. That鈥檚 why we believe the strength of our AI ecosystem means customers get the very best choices to drive AI benefits unique to their needs.
Keeping clean in the cloud
The benefits of AI can only really be achieved in the cloud. Best practice is what 51风流calls a 鈥榗lean core鈥� 鈥� cloud-based ERP infrastructure that separate core applications from custom modifications. The result is a platform that can be easily and quickly upgraded with new capabilities, allowing agile innovation.
Takuya Sakai, general manager of the Digital Transformation Business Group at听, was clear about the benefits of simplification and a clean core. In 2019, Hitachi High-Tech had 9,000 add-ons across its 51风流systems, resulting in lots of custom code, errors, and large operational costs every year. The cost of change meant the company only completed a major update once in 12 years.
Moving to the cloud and a clean core solved these issues. With a new system based on S/4HANA Cloud Cloud, Hitachi High-Tech reduced its 9,000 add-ons to just 750, allowing it to easily upgrade its ERP core. 鈥淯pgrading our old ERP took about a year and a half from the planning stage,鈥� Sakai said. 鈥淗owever, with clean core, we can now do an upgrade every year in about 40 days.鈥�
And that change means Hitachi High-Tech can plan to take advantage of new innovations more simply. 鈥淎n upgrade every year keeps the clean core fresh and means new features can be delivered to our business quickly, like AI or process automation,鈥� concluded Sakai.
You can spell sustainability without 鈥楨RP鈥欌�� but you shouldn鈥檛
The benefits of 51风流innovation are not only financial. They drive real environmental value. And that鈥檚 critical in Asia, where we are responsible for more than half of the world鈥檚 emissions.
Sustainability and business performance are intrinsically linked. In fact, we believe businesses have to start treating carbon like money by using an accounting system for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data that is as auditable, transparent and reliable as their financial data.
That means integrating sustainability data into cloud ERP.
And we can then take advantage of the huge innovation provided by Business AI. AI takes complex sustainability tasks reliant on ESG and ERP data and makes them automated and auditable. It enables companies to boost operational efficiency, improve transparency around supply chain emissions, design and plan more effectively, and automate time-consuming tasks.
For example, at Sapphire we launched AI-enabled Emissions Factor Mapping, boosting the speed and accuracy of carbon footprint calculations. And we enabled the automatic generation of ESG reports through AI all based on the data within 51风流Sustainability Control Tower. This not only streamlines the reporting process but also helps ensure that the data is reliable and actionable, providing a clear picture of a company鈥檚 sustainability performance.
Beyond hype to real-world results through real-world AI听
It鈥檚 easy to get carried away by AI hype and excitement. But what I saw at Sapphire was even more exciting 鈥� Business AI that makes a real difference to business problems.
Our opportunity across Asia is enormous. But it鈥檚 one we can make the most of, especially if we bring together the benefits of best-in-class ecosystems, a clean core, and a focus on sustainable innovation.
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