While some consider digital transformation to be “just another fad,” the importance of what is going on in the markets, industries, and lines of business cannot be overstated. Across industries and around the world, organizations are using new technologies to reshape their business models. Revolutionary technologies such as the Internet of Things power this trend, creating opportunities that are open to anyone, anywhere, and at any time — and that are achievable at a reasonable cost.

This trend of transformation can be seen across the DSAG community. In a recent survey, more than 80% of respondents identified digital transformation as either important or very important for their organization. Furthermore, roughly the same number of respondents said that the digital transformation was important or very important for DSAG itself. In light of this overwhelming member response, DSAG is assessing its abilities to support organizations as they plunge into digital transformation.

Staying Advanced and Influential

Across the globe, organizations are learning to speed up their supply networks or introduce more agility into their business models. In many cases, this means adopting innovative approaches to serving customers, such as selling services instead of products. In order to do this, organizations need to dramatically but efficiently transform both their technology and their business processes — and in order to implement such wide-reaching change without any business disruption, organizations need help.

There is no secret about the cultural impact of these changes on the organization, from the working style between different business functions to the nature of the workforce itself. Going digital requires businesses to redefine transactional work through digital means such as artificial intelligence. It requires reshaping company structures from modular business models to ones that encompass hybrid processes and system landscapes. 

DSAG offers its members a broad range of information and roundtables to navigate the opportunities of digital transformation. Insights into successful projects, methodological assistance for business transformation, activities to increase value, and discussions with specialists are all available to members. Conferences and trade shows, too, are an excellent way for DSAG members to network and benefit from collective insights.

Partnering in the Digital Age

Successful, large-scale business transformation works only when partnerships exist between individuals, companies, and governance entities. True transparency into customer behavior and related service offerings requires the clear answers on data ownership or intellectual property that such a partnership provides.

With this in mind, DSAG collaborates with a wide range of other entities, including DSAG’s American counterpart ASUG, the SAP University Alliance, the Industry Internet Consortium, and the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech). By leveraging this network of experts, all in various stages of their own digital transformation, DSAG strengthens itself to serve its members along their journey. Meanwhile DSAG is and works to remain relevant to these organizations by combining its internal knowledge of processes, systems, and the changes associated with them.

DSAG harnesses the insights of its members and, in turn, uses those combined insights to provide its members with invaluable resources for business success in the digital age. In this way, DSAG and its member companies work together on their digital transformations and provide feedback to SAP and the ecosystem.