I spent the better part of last week at SAP Ariba Live in Las Vegas with fellow Ardent Partners’ analysts Andrew Bartolini and Matthew York and wanted to share my thoughts and impressions of the event. The conference was well attended with over 3,200 participants, making it the largest procurement or spend management event in North America. Overall, the feedback from the customers and partners that I spoke with was generally positive and many noted that they liked the direction the company is heading. From my perspective, there were two main themes that permeated throughout the event – ‘The Network is Back’ and ‘Business with a Purpose’ – I discuss each plus the AP sessions I attended (to read more on AP check out our site dedicated to ePayables – Payables Place)
The Network is Back!
Don’t call it a comeback, it’s been here for years…
From a competitor’s perspective (recall that I used to work at Basware), SAP Ariba had appeared to move its focus away from the Network in recent years and towards its applications and the user experience (my Ardent colleagues also agreed). This year’s event, however, showed a renewed emphasis on the network and away from the SAP Ariba solution set and associated services. I believe that this was by design and not simply because SAP Ariba’s new President, Barry Padgett had spent the past few years leading the SAP Network Group.
From the main stage to the breakout sessions, SAP Ariba professionals of all ranks discussed opening the SAP Ariba Network to more SAP applications and, more importantly, to non-SAP applications (via APIs) so that more global users can access and leverage the network. For a network to be open, it needs to provide an open API that enables others to access the platform. So it is important to dig deeper into the details of how this will work. SAP Ariba has realized that by opening up its platform to other providers, they can exponentially grow the size of their network along with the number of suppliers accessing it and transactions going across it. This is a significant shift in thinking for SAP Ariba, and one that we are seeing more uniformly from other network/platform providers (like Tradeshift), perhaps because they are all beginning to see a looming threat from Amazon Business.
Part of the shift away from applications was the message that which (or what company’s) application was being used was less important than the ability to complete the activity while leveraging the power of the network. So as was noted several times, SAP Ariba no longer cares if users are connected to the network via SAP Ariba applications or those from Fieldglass, Concur, or rival firms like Oracle and Coupa. It is now much more about making sure that SAP supports all internal applications seamlessly and that the network enables them.
Business with a Purpose
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was discussed from the very beginning of the conference to the end. From the main stage on Day 1, to the Marketplace show floor, to the conference sessions, “Business with a Purpose” was on display. Diversity, slavery, ethics, sustainability, and environmental impacts on the global supply chain were all topics of conversation. With all of the applications now available from 3rd party providers and SAP Ariba, CPOs and enterprises now have many more tools and options available to help them decide who they want to do business with as they build ethical and sustainable supply chains.
For its part, SAP Ariba is also participating in an “Autism Works” program with the goal of having 1% of its total employees on the autism spectrum. The company has also partnered with a non-profit scholarship organization, Step Up for Students, to help give disadvantaged families, or those with children with special needs, access to funds to support educational needs. One participant in the program, Kate Swingle, gave an extremely moving and passionate discussion of her experience raising an autistic child and how important the Step Up program has been to her family.
During the event, SAP Ariba also announced a partnership with EcoVadis, the provider of a CSR analysis system that tracks 21 criteria across four themes of the environment, fair labor practices, ethics, and supply chain, that will include an integration of EcoVadis’ business sustainability ratings into the SAP Ariba eProcurement systems.
Accounts Payable and Payments, Still Here
Accounts Payable and Payments were not a major emphasis at the event but the team charged with packaging and marketing these solutions assured Andrew and I that they are still a big focus for SAP Ariba. Speaking with my Ardent Partners colleagues who were also in attendance, and have attended many of the previous SAP Ariba Live events, they agreed that there seemed to be less content and sessions focusing on AP and Payments than in previous years. However, the AP focused sessions that were on the agenda were well attended. One SAP Ariba AP customer success session I joined had well over 100 people in attendance and another session on ‘Why procurement should care when suppliers get paid’ had more than 50 attendees.
Every time I went by the ‘Invoice to Pay’ demo pod on the Marketplace floor there was a line of attendees waiting to speak to the experts. The interest in Accounts Payable and Payments is there, I have a feeling that there will be more content and sessions on these areas in future events.
Final Thoughts
Working for an Ariba rival for more than fifteen years, I often wondered what happened at these SAP Ariba LIVE shows. My impression is that this conference is an impressive and massive undertaking, much larger in scope than anything else in our industry, and that the team was able to execute a very successful event. With every user conference, there is always a blend of customer stories, company vision, and yes, company aspirations and hype. The customer case studies were generally strong. The vision was clearly communicated. But, there is more to examine related to what an “open” SAP Ariba network really means, and of course the direction of the AP and Payment offerings in both the short and mid-term.
Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage in the coming months.
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