Latest news with #SAPAustralia
Techday NZ
2 days ago
- Business
- Techday NZ
ANZ businesses accelerate AI adoption for innovation & growth
Artificial intelligence is becoming a core element in the operational processes of Australian businesses across multiple sectors. SAP has identified the five most widely adopted AI use cases among its customers in Australia and New Zealand, highlighting a shift from the periphery to mainstream business functions. Analysis of SAP customers in the region during the last year indicates that the most common applications of AI include automated expense generation using receipt images, automated invoice processing, expense verification and compliance checks, real-time alerts for supply chain disruptions, and sales demand forecasting powered by predictive analytics. Angela Colantuono, Managing Director, SAP Australia, addressed the growing importance of AI to business leaders. "My conversations with CEOs are increasingly revealing how they are looking to embed AI into some of the most fundamental parts of their business. 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 of the Responsible Metaverse Alliance, raised concerns about responsible AI adoption. She stated, "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." SAP's customer base in Australia and New Zealand has reported increased momentum in the adoption of AI and cloud technologies, including participants from education, manufacturing and other sectors. Universities and transformation La Trobe University has distinguished itself as the first university in Australia and New Zealand to implement SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition as part of its transformation initiative. Through this process, the university has updated its core operations, spanning finance, procurement, logistics, sales, R&D engineering and real estate, enabling further opportunities for future AI-driven developments. Shainal Kavar, Chief Information Officer at La Trobe University, commented, "This transformation is a major step forward in how we operate. 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." Commercial adoption in brewing In the commercial sector, Lion, a major brewer in Australia and New Zealand, is expanding its adoption of cloud-based technologies with SAP solutions. The company has implemented a clean core strategy for its ERP system and utilised SAP's Business Technology Platform to enhance business processes, including improvements to order-to-cash cycles, digital channel scalability, and the provision of real-time insights for teams. Lion's collaboration with SAP also resulted in the development of 'Joey', an AI-powered beer recommendation app, completed in under ten days. Ram Kalyanasundaram, Group Technology and Digital Transformation Director at Lion, said, "AI is helping us move faster, make smarter decisions, and deliver better customer experiences. 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." Building AI skills and diversity SAP has announced the return of the SAP AI Intrepid Women Tour, scheduled for January 2026. The four-day executive study programme aims to equip female leaders with knowledge, strategic insight and confidence in AI leadership. Following the previous tour's outcomes, the company will again convene senior female technology executives to explore AI innovation across SAP's global hubs. Angela Colantuono addressed the current gender gap in senior AI roles, remarking, "Less than 15% of senior AI executives are women today. Last year's programme 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."
Techday NZ
4 days ago
- Business
- Techday NZ
Exclusive: SAP's Ashley McGibbon on AI, data and the future of partner innovation
SAP is betting big on artificial intelligence, but only if it's built on a solid foundation of accurate data. Speaking to TechDay at the SAP NOW AI Tour in Melbourne, Chief Partner Officer for SAP Australia and New Zealand, Ashley McGibbon, said partners in the region were "pivoting to meet fast-growing demand for AI solutions". "In ANZ we have about 800 partners – from those building applications, to services partners, to those helping us sell and position our cloud solutions," she said. "The focus is no longer just on go-live. It's about continuous adoption." This vision is captured in SAP's "flywheel" model, which combines applications, data and AI to build momentum for ongoing innovation. Introduced this year, the concept draws on the physics principle where connected components generate increasing energy. For McGibbon, it's not just about clever technology – it's about feeding AI the right inputs. "We run mission-critical business processes, and those processes hold a treasure trove of business-critical data," she explained. "Our Business Data Cloud allows customers to harmonise SAP and non-SAP data, structured and unstructured, to feed AI with accurate business data." Without that accuracy, she warned, AI can go badly wrong. "If they can't trust the data feeding the AI, then the decisions will ultimately be wrong," she said. "It's far easier to achieve a harmonised platform with Business Data Cloud." McGibbon said SAP values partners who work quickly and with purpose, adopting a "minimum viable product" mindset to deliver rapid returns for customers. She noted a surge of AI interest at board level, with directors eager to explore how it can boost productivity, in line with the Australian Government's focus on data-driven efficiency. The response to Business Data Cloud since its February launch has been "the most reception to a new product" SAP has ever had in the region. The momentum is already visible in real-world deployments. SA Power Networks has built a generative AI app on SAP's Business Technology Platform that delivers mobile repair instructions directly to technicians in the field, saving the utility a million Australian dollars in its first year. Beverage company Lion built an app in just 10 days, a sign of how diverse industries are embracing AI. McGibbon pointed to Deloitte's recent CFO study, which found 80 per cent of CFOs in APAC prioritise automation through AI. "Everybody's talking about it," she said. For partners still making the shift to cloud and AI, McGibbon said enablement is key. SAP has opened its AI demo systems to partners, rolled out a new business AI certification, and launched "Joule for consultants" to speed up software build and implementation. She's also watching the market evolve through moves like DyFlex's acquisition of Bluetree, which expands into New Zealand and strengthens analytics capability. "It's a combination of a cloud-native partner with an analytics partner," she said. "I think they will bring AI strategy to life across all their existing cloud customers." Central to McGibbon's message is a change in how success is measured. "In the past we celebrated go-lives. For me, it's now go-begin – get the platform right, then continue that cycle of innovation," she said. Quarterly cloud updates mean partners must be ready to help customers adopt new capabilities quickly. "That's how we make the flywheel spin." She believes AI is also prompting customers to rethink design from the outset. "Customers are demanding we look at AI as part of the design, not just copying what was done before," she said. "This is the time to do it better." Early wins, she added, are often found in human capital management. "In SuccessFactors, you can use Joule to write your performance review and it makes you sound amazing," she said. "There's a lot of low-hanging fruit for existing customers." Her advice to organisations exploring AI in the SAP ecosystem is simple but firm: talk to your partners, identify the easy use cases, and above all, get your data strategy right. "You have to get that right first," she said. "Once you've done that, the world is your oyster."
