He pointed out that today the world is now at our finger tips.  "The way people interact with the world is getting smarter now because one does not need a keyboard with things like Siri and Alexa" he  said. Siri and Alexa are Intelligent personal assistants developed by  Apple and Amazon  respectively.  "This means people who are illiterate and can't read and write can still use technology". Communication is continuing with the rise of social networks, he added.  He also spoke on the age of hyper-connectivity and the  prediction that there will be about 3 to 5 billion people on social networks by 2020.

 Data, he explained  is the' new oil in our digital economy' and the basis for "Digital" everything. Data is everywhere,  with an estimation of a 4,300 per cent increase in Annual Data Production by 2020. This connects with new data demands such as real time streaming, high velocity, artificial intelligece, machine learning and a 40 per cent increase in labor productivity. Now there are new data sources for people  with 30.7 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices in 2020 and a prediction of 74.5 billion by 2025. IoTs are a network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and so on which connect and exchange data.

SAP is helping companies and cities manage with technology and data, example is the work they are doing in the Chinese City of Nanjing to manage traffic. They have built a network to help clients innovate, integrate solutions for the new world.

Pedro Guerreiro, Managing Director for SAP West Africa said SAP has 45 years of history and innovation, 100+ Innovation and development centers,150 million subscribers in their cloud user base and more.

He gave details on SAP's three products offered for all company sizes. The first is the SAP Business One which provides ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning) Software for small businesses that do not intend to expand and have few clients. ERP is a suite of business applications such as accounting,sales o? pay role. The second is the SAP Business by Design which helps one run a business on an intelligent cloud ERP software suite.The third product is the SAP S/4 HANA which simplifies complex operations for enterprise ERP for global corporations.

He also added that SAP Africa is not only in Ghana to do business but also takes up Corporate Responsiblities in various sectors such as Agriculture. In 2017, SAP dedicated 7000 volunteer hours to build capacity for 9 non-profit organisations and social enterprises in Ghana. It also partnered the Federal German Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ) to support African IT startups in a sustainable manner under the name MAKE-IT.

Speaking on Financial Services -and how the cloud opens the door to world class competitiveness for banks, Darrel Orsmoud (Head of Banking Industry Value Advisor) said the cloud has changed the way people think and that technology has made online purchases easier. He said that the cloud offers features like speed, sustainability, competitiveness, pricing models and skills to banks to improve their businesses.

He had an interactive discussion with a representative from Ecobank who spoke on why they chose SAP Ariba Solutions and the benefits it has offered to their industry.

Shabir Ahmed , Industry Advisor, Energy and  Resources SAP, also gave a brief presentation on Digital Transformation Imperatives for the Energy Industry whilst Sohil Carim who heads up Value Advisory for Public Services across Africa, spoke on public services- The future of citizen services powered by cutting edge technology. Participants also recieved presentations from other speakers on the “Role of Technology in HR Tranformation, Saving the day with Cloud ERP and more”.

About SAP:

SAP is an acronym for Systems, Applications and Products. SAP manufactures enterprise software that helps people manage and run their companies. "Our customers look to us to help them seamlessly connect people and technology in real-time. We help them re-imagine business and life to drive meaningful impact globally. With SAP HANA as the great simplifier, our customers are creating breakthroughs that solve complex, intractable problems.”

As the market leader in enterprise application software, SAP is at the center of today’s business and technology revolution. SAP helps streamline  processes, giving users the ability to use live data to predict customer trends – live and in the moment across entire businesses.