DECEMBER, 20208 This quote is daunting and exciting at the same time. The speed at which technology is being developed and demanded by consumers imposes immense challenges as well as opportunities for companies and their CIOs. The transformation to the Intelligent Enterprise is no longer a choice, it is the backbone of today's' corporate strategies. CIOS ARE IN THE DRIVER SEAT TO PROPEL COMPANIES TOWARDS THE DIGITAL FUTURE. What CIOs generally share is that the current IT reality still differs from the headlines and the technology buzz. THE ROAD TOWARDS THE INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE "Change has never been this fast and it will never be this slow again." Bill McDermott, CEO SAP SE We are managing some very common difficulties: broken business processes across the value chain, various platforms with unaligned data sources, multiple infrastructure layers with high TCO, just to name a few. So, what will accelerate IT towards the digital augmented future? It is the Intelligent Enterprise, flanked by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Virtual and Augmented Realities. WHAT DOES INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE ACTUALLY MEAN? The purpose of IT organizations is to deliver and run the Intelligent Enterprise. What do I mean by that? Let me use a comparison that has been made before and that is the perfect metaphor: the autonomous car of the future. Over the last century, the core parts of a car have not changed. It is driving a lot faster today, but the essential functionality and operation remain the same: wheels, transition, motor, steering wheel, gas and break paddles, and a driver, all that is still required. For more than 100 years, cars have been fully dependent on humans to function. We were at the helm of every single operational decision, from maintenance, to speed, what route we take and checking the oil. The advances of technology have dramatically altered that dependency. Modern automobile technology now processes all internal and external data input such as weather, GPS, and maintenance without human intervention. It can find and make decisions, it alarms the driver when needed, and it notifies the driver about necessary maintenance, such as tire pressure. The complete autonomous car of the future is just a matter of time. HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO THE CORPORATE ENTERPRISE? When looking at the car industry in the context of the corporate enterprise, I can see a lot of parallels. In comparison to a century BY FLORIAN ROTH, CIO, SAP SE [ETR: SAP]IN MY OPINION
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