SAP's Saphila conference is just around the corner, and according to Derek Kudsee, SAP COO for Africa, this year's conference offers a wealth of opportunities for delegates.
For Kudsee, a lot of people know SAP as an application or ERP company, but that has changed fundamentally over the last two years. SAP now has five core solutions that it is bringing to the market - applications, cloud, mobile, analytics and database technology, he says. "Between the last Saphila and this Saphila, we have three new legs upon which this company is built," says Kudsee, adding that SAP is the market leader in all but one of these areas.
"Saphila is not just for big companies, it is not just for small companies; it is for companies of all sizes that really want to engage with SAP on how to be a best-run business," says Kudsee. He adds that SAP will be discussing what it has done to become a market leader and how companies can innovate on top of SAP solutions.
This year's event is the first Saphila conference that will focus on entrepreneurship, and Kudsee encourages entrepreneurs who want to innovate on the SAP platform, specifically the HANA database, to attend. He describes the speed of HANA technology as "game changing".
Operating 100 000 times faster than traditional databases, HANA can make huge volumes of data available in sub-second times. "It is the equivalent of walking from New York to LA and it taking you just six minutes," he says. "These kinds of technologies will fundamentally change certain industries in the years to come."
As part of this year's conference, SAP will be running HANA training courses, and attendees of these courses need not be conference delegates. SAP will bus interested parties from its offices in Woodmead to Sun City to attend the HANA training at a reduced price.
Kudsee wants everyone from small technology companies and start-ups to university students to view Saphila as an opportunity to possibly become an innovator by using HANA to revolutionise their industry. "That for me is one of the hidden gems of Saphila. There is a billion-dollar opportunity for entrepreneurs to come to Saphila and learn about HANA.
"Technology like HANA is waiting for entrepreneurs to grab it and innovate on top of it, and Saphila is the starting point."
Kudsee also stresses that the networking opportunities are a big bonus of attending Saphila. "The networking through both formal and informal interactions is what this event is about. I think networking is the number one reason why anyone should sign up - content is one thing, but meeting the people behind the content and walking away from the conference with newfound contacts is worth every cent of that delegate fee," Kudsee says. "Even if you get nothing out of the content and you just attend for the parties and the networking, it is absolutely worthwhile."
He encourages non-SAP ERP customers to attend Saphila to learn more about SAP cloud, SAP mobile and SAP real-time data using HANA. "Saphila is about coming to see the cool and sexy SAP, and I promise there really is a cool and sexy side to SAP."
Saphila is SAP's flagship event and it happens every two years in partnership with the African SAP User Group (AFSUG). This year's event is taking place at Sun City, from 28 to 31 October. For more information and to register, click here.
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