Swiss companies invest in Big Data and Internet of Things
Big Data, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning are the top 3 digitization topics among members of the German-speaking SAP User Group e. V. (DSAG). (DSAG). SAP users have planned or already started projects in these areas. This was revealed by the DSAG Investment Report 2019. When it comes to digitization efforts in their companies, respondents are more skeptical than they were a year ago. A trend that is also evident among Swiss organizations. According to the report, 69 percent of Swiss respondents assess their company as not very far along in this topic. In the previous year, the figure was 54 percent.
DSAG member companies continue to invest in IT in general. At 31 percent (DACH 40 percent) of the Swiss companies surveyed, the budget is increasing by an average of around 13 percent compared to the previous year. (DACH 16 percent). SAP investments are similar to general IT investments. They increase at 25 percent of Swiss companies (DACH 42 percent), by an average of 16 percent (DACH 27 percent). "A certain reluctance to invest on the part of many Swiss companies could be due to the fact that no clear strategy about the future design of the software is yet apparent," comments Christian Zumbach, DSAG board member for Switzerland. A new question this year was whether the budget for software-supported business processes is provided by and is the responsibility of the business department. In 39 percent of cases (DACH 28 percent), the business department is largely in charge. In 44 percent (DACH 41 percent) of companies, the IT department continues to be responsible for IT budgets. They thus follow the traditional division of responsibilities.
Big Data is top
Among the current trend topics, more than half of Swiss companies (53 percent) are investing in Big Data (DACH 46 percent) and 44 percent in the Internet of Things (DACH 43 percent). Artificial intelligence projects are on the agenda of 25 percent (DACH 32 percent). Robotics Process Automation is on the agenda of 11 percent (DACH 23 percent). 17 percent of respondents have no projects planned on these topics (DACH 19 percent). Multiple answers were possible here. "Big Data, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning have arrived in Swiss companies. For DSAG, this is an incentive to continue to work intensively on these topics in 2019," comments Christian Zumbach, DSAG Executive Board Switzerland.
S/4HANA on the rise
The main investments in the Business Suite are declining. Only around 3 percent of Swiss companies are planning high investments for 2019 (DACH 10 percent). In contrast, 11 percent are planning high investments for S/4HANA (on-premise) (DACH 14 percent) and 8 percent for S/4HANA (cloud) (DACH 3 percent). "Here, a new understanding seems to be emerging with regard to S/4HANA, even if it is not yet as pronounced," comments Christian Zumbach. The trend is also evident in the switch from ERP 6.0 to S/4HANA. This year, 3 percent still want to switch (DACH 5 percent). For 33 percent, the switch is an issue in the next three years (DACH 39 percent). From 2021/2022, 31 percent are planning to do so (DACH 30 percent). The number of those who have not yet made a decision has risen to 28 percent (+ 13 percent), but has fallen to 16 percent in DACH (- 9 percent). "The fact that the number of undecideds has risen so much could indicate that many Swiss companies are examining additional alternatives before taking a concrete path," Christian Zumbach interprets the result. On the other hand, the number of those who want to stay with SAP ERP 6.0 has fallen further to 3 percent (DACH 6 percent). This is 9 percent less than in 2018 (DACH -7 percent).
Digitization: Focus on existing business processes
In connection with investments for digitization efforts, DSAG member companies continue to differentiate between existing business processes and new business models. The focus on existing business processes (very important and important) has increased further in Switzerland by 7 percentage points (DACH + 5 percentage points to 90 percent) compared with the previous year to 94 percent. Investments in new business models are rated as important by 69 percent of respondents in Switzerland (DACH 68 percent). "The still very high importance of existing business processes shows that companies are still very intensively engaged with their ERP system," Christian Zumbach summarizes.
Source and further information: www.dsag-ev.ch
