SAP Innovation Awards: Celebrating 10 Years of Innovation

It’s human nature — as well as the nature of this magnificent planet — that change is constant. But sometimes, change can be perceived as bad. We see and feel this in the form of climate change, supply chain issues, and sustainability challenges, just to name a few. But are these problems insurmountable? No. Rather, we see these as opportunities to innovate and make positive changes.

This is why I hold the annual SAP Innovation Awards very dear to my heart. This program celebrates and honors the world’s best innovators and disruptors that utilize SAP solutions to help the world run better. To see the power of SAP technology brought to life by organizations to serve different use cases is very fulfilling.

A decade of innovation

They say time flies when you’re having fun. And that’s certainly been the case with these awards. It’s hard to believe, but the SAP Innovation Awards will be celebrating its 10^th anniversary in 2023 — and in style! With more categories and winners, the 2023 event will be bigger and better than ever before. Hence, more chances for you to win and share your innovation journey with the world. Winners are celebrated globally with an exclusive event at SAP Sapphire Orlando 2023, a trophy, a celebration kit, and many amplification and promotional opportunities. So, submit your story now, and don’t miss out on this great opportunity.

To honor this incredible milestone, I’d like to share some of my favorite submissions over the years.

GENYOUth fought food insecurity

GENYOUth partnered with SAP and Clockwork Inc. to launch the SAP4Kids initiative. The purpose here is to help families find food and other resources — connecting organizations offering support with the people that need them the most. With the use of SAP Extension Suite, the SAP4Kids initiative helped over 10,000 visitors to find over 36,000 feeding sites and other resources across 50 states and the District of Columbia. I can’t stress how important this initiative was as a precedent for similar projects in the future.

NTT DATA’s AI Learning Helper

There are many reasons why some children can’t attend school. But homeschooling has become the most viable alternative — despite it being very time- and energy-consuming for students, teachers, and parents. Imagine having a ‘learning friend’ that is available 24/7, anytime and anywhere. NTT Data developed the ‘AI Learning Helper’ that helps children learn to read through AI disciplines like micro expression and body language detection, emotional feedback, summarization algorithms, and Q&A generation, to name a few. This great innovation would help children’s learning processes become more efficient and fun.

XANTAS cuts medical error to save patient lives

A medical error led by incorrectly interpreted lab diagnostics results could prove to be fatal to a patient’s well-being. XANTAS uses SAP HANA technologies in hospitals as a basis for the clinical decision support system AMPEL, which detects critical conditions for physicians and nurses to ensure that patients are attended to. AMPEL has proven its effectiveness, as there was a 20% reduction in the progression of acute kidney injury and 21% more cases with timely control for severe hypokalemia. This way, more lives would be saved, as prevention is always more effective than reaction.

The future is ours to make

These are great examples of intelligent enterprises that separate themselves from the competition with never-ending innovations and great adaptations.

Who knows what the Innovation Awards for 2023 will bring? I personally look forward to seeing new and inventive solutions addressing supply chain, energy management, and inflation challenges. That is why real-time data and decisions are more relevant than ever. The potential is endless, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s innovative thinking come to light at the Awards. 

So, come on and join us! Submit your innovation now, and let’s continue to make the world a better place for all.