At a recent SAP® Innovation Forum event, delegates were focused on two clear priorities; managing and processing unstructured information, and transitioning to SAP S/4HANA®. Specifically:
- The challenges of managing and extracting value from unstructured data: IDC predicts that the total volume of data will reach 163 zettabytes by 2025—80% of which is expected to be unstructured.
- Transitioning to SAP S/4HANA: SAP has set a clear strategy that S/4HANA is the foundation for the future and applied a deadline of 2025 for the current technological platform. For some of our clients, understanding the benefits of moving to this new platform is essential in order to build a business case.
As AI, machine learning and advanced analytics become more mainstream, data has become an organization’s most valuable resource. Aligning data, content and processes is essential to becoming an intelligent enterprise, but there is a barrier to most companies achieving that: namely, their inability to incorporate structured and unstructured data within their processes.
The impact of unstructured data
IDC estimates that 37% of unstructured data can be of benefit to businesses if it is properly analyzed, leading to $430 billion in productivity gains. Just having access to this data isn’t enough, though. Organizations must have the tools to put this information into context and connect it with the people and processes across the enterprise that need it.
Intelligence is derived from information—the more value an enterprise can extract from their information, the more intelligent and accurate business decisions will be. Companies must be able to extract data from a variety of forms, including customer calls, scanned documents, spreadsheets, smart devices (IoT), text documents, presentations—the list goes on. It requires a digital platform built specifically to handle structured and unstructured data at scale.
OpenText™ bridges that gap by empowering businesses to create more efficient processes with SAP S4/HANA and include unstructured data within those processes.
Transforming HR
A good example falls within the HR function of a company. Companies using a pre-built integration with SAP® SuccessFactors® can extract key information from unstructured data to improve hiring and onboarding processes. They can reduce the resources needed to achieve this, while better understanding existing employee needs and expectations. That data includes internal HR documents, forms, emails, CVs, employee contracts and even queries and responses about potential employers on social media sites and job portals.
GDPR Compliance
Another example is in the area of GDPR compliance. All businesses must understand the extent of data they have and comply with retention and deletion policies. This must be enforced across structured and unstructured data if your business is to ensure compliance.
New technologies like machine learning help to discover and automate that information through intelligent digital platforms, such as SAP S/4HANA.
Leverage your investment in SAP with OpenText Extended ECM integrations
OpenText™ Extended ECM solutions offer the ability to extract value from unstructured data and help organizations better leverage their investment in SAP S/4HANA, on-premise or in the cloud.
As an award-winning SAP partner for over 20 years, we offer a unique way of driving value by integrating unstructured content with the SAP Digital Core, underpinned by the OpenText Enterprise Information Management platform.
Learn more about the OpenText™ Extended ECM Platform and OpenText™ Extended ECM for SAP® Solutions.
