Preparations for the huge biennial technology conference Saphila – which is to be held October 2012 in South Africa’s spectacular Sun City – are well under way, with SAP technology due to take centre stage.
Estimated to attract around 1,600 visitors, all potential partners and customers for the leading enterprise software company, Saphila 2012 will give these interested partners the chance to gain the insight of international SAP representatives and a variety of industry experts. Not only will the conference showcase the company’s latest innovations and products, it will also be an opportunity for SAP to demonstrate to its audience its intentions for the future.
African SAP User Group (AFSUG) chairman Cuan Kloppers said:
“In today’s tight economic climate, we are well aware that customers need to drive value from their existing installations for them to build a compelling business case for new technology investment. SAP’s strategy and future outlook fully recognises this, hence its recent in-memory computing innovation and advances in the mobile platform will take centre stage. In addition, customers will be showcasing their successes and experiences in lowering their total cost of ownership, while meeting increasing business demands.”
SAP certainly seems to be taking the massive surge in mobile internet users seriously. The company is strengthening its relationships with Adobe, Sencha and Appcelerator in order to forge an open mobile application development process that is effective enough to respond to the needs of the rapidly growing smartphone audience. Given that smartphone sales overtook those of PCs in 2011 for the first time ever, the popularity and widespread use of mobile internet in only going to increase.
As for in-memory computing, SAP’s innovation in this area (soon to be showcased and investigated in greater detail at Saphila) allows for data compression techniques to store vast quantities of data in RAM which can be analysed with 10,000 times the speed of standard disks. The HANA (high-speed analytical appliance) technology is said by SAP’s key executives to be an integral part of their long-term strategy and is bound to draw the attention of Saphila attendees this year.
As SAP continues to leverage key partnerships with developers and other leading industry figures, more UK companies are recruiting for SAP jobs in order to install, maintain and operate the company’s enterprise software. If its investment in mobile application development is as successful as SAP hopes, the manufacturer may open up a whole new sales channel for itself. Critically, the popularity of mobile internet for both professional and personal use means that this international market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
