SAP Plans In-Memory Applications for Sales and Marketing
SAP (NYSE: SAP) plans to launch five in-memory applications over the next year, including one aimed at sales and marketing departments.
The new applications will be based on SAP’s High-Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA) software. As part of its in-memory computing roadmap, SAP also said it will “dramatically simplify customers’ IT landscapes by reducing redundant layers and allowing customers to build applications that enable operations, planning and analytics at the same time.”
SAP said the planned applications will include “completely new applications as well as existing SAP solutions revamped with the power of in-memory computing.”
The Sales and Operations Planning application will let sales and marketing departments collaborate with operations and finance “to collectively evaluate the financial impact of their strategy on demand and supply scenarios. Supply chain management will be able to create simulations and ‘what-if’ scenarios based on detailed transactional data,” SAP said in a press release.
Intelligent Payment Broker will use in-memory computing to calculate and offer financing options on open invoices, SAP said. By analyzing current and historical data, the application will be able to propose which discounting terms should be offered on which invoices and assess their impact on customers’ liquidity.
Smart Meter Analytics will help utility companies analyze smart meter readings to forecast demand, analyze profitability of customer segments and develop new products.
SAP Trade Promotion Management will help companies develop trade promotion strategies for particular customers, with numerous products within particular time intervals.
SAP Cash and Liquidity Management will be a core process within SAP Business Suite software, helping enterprises predict inbound and outbound cash flows and manage key activities such as collections, risk management and short-term borrowing.
SAP said its in-memory computing technology will be the foundation of its enterprise software architecture moving forward, citing the recent BusinessObjects business intelligence release.
SAP said the technology “eliminates the need for data caches, aggregations or batch processing. Eventually, in-memory computing technology will help customers reduce their database usage and reliance on disks, leading to fewer layers and a simpler architecture.”
For more on in-memory analytics, see Analytics and In-Memory Databases Are Changing Data Centers
Paul Ferrill has been writing for over 15 years about computers and network technology. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering as well as a MS in Electrical Engineering. He is a regular contributor to the computer trade press. He has a specialization in complex data analysis and storage. He has written hundreds of articles and two books for various outlets over the years. His articles have appeared in Enterprise Apps Today and InfoWorld, Network World, PC Magazine, Forbes, and many other publications.