As SAP changes their Ecosystem at breakneck pace, how will their customers keep up? Are they required to keep up?If the Competitive Edge
is what you seek as a client, then it is relevant to take advantage of new discoveries Computer and Data Scientists are discovering. For this reason, an SAP Cloud strategy is moving from a would-like-to-have status to a must-have status.But as the hype around the Cloud continues and decibels increase, what is the comfort level of each client? Will clients be forced to operate in a group-thinking mode, or will they be encouraged to decide on their own?So if the SAP Cloud becomes a must-have, because cloud customers will benefit from latest discoveries which enables the customers to have greater insight into business operations; are they being prepared on the disruptive nature of Cloud Computing to their organization?For the old geezers like myself, who knew when the Mainframe was king, and Systems Programmers strut around the office like demigods, when mere mortals sit inform of their green screens coding, we are heading back to a place where we were once before. Only this time, the green screen is gone, the Wide Area Networks (WAN) have been replaced by a Global Network called the Internet, and instead of your computer(s) in a sealed-off block across the street or on a floor where normal employees dare not thread; the computers are no longer close by. They are on someone else’s Premises, and they now have responsibility for your Applications and your data. Are they really responsible for your data? Where is the water’s edge in cloud landscape? Who defines the roles and responsibilities in a Cloud Environment?One change that has not being discussed in this evolution: What becomes of the IT Department. Do they have a role to play as the Cloud gathers overhead; and if so, what roles do will they play?The advent of package software as an acceptable alternative to custom Application Development has been eating away at the IT Department for years. Will Cloud Computing be the death of the IT Department as we begin to treat Computing as a Utility? Should a manufacturing business spent insurmountable amount of resources and focus on Computer hardware and software when they do not do the same for electricity? These are two critical components of the business. In the production of the electricity is not the Operational Manager’s concern, shouldn’t this be the same for Computing? In both cases, leave the Electricity production to the Power Company, and Data Processing to the Computer Companies and pay for the service as needed. Cloud Computing is the beginning of a brave new world, as it joined itself into the companies of other utilities such as telecommunication, electricity and water.Another massive disruption as customers venture into this new SAP Ecosystem, how are they preparing business users to move away the notion of looking at the organization through the lens of what happened yesterday
and start looking at what will happen tomorrow
and take the necessary actions today? Predictive Computing will enable such informed decision making, but how are organizations being educated on understanding the power these rapid information technological changes are bringing to their fingertips?
This is the point where Client Engagement becomes critical.
