Cool Technology and the Intelligent Enterprise
The SAPience Movement
This is it guys. I finally understand how al the technologies we encounter and hear about work. I know a lot of my readers work in Corporate America and already know a little bit about what an Intelligent Enterprise is. For the rest of us, it’s a whole new concept. I can’t wait to share it with you so … this will be my final blog on the subject. I trust you’ve all enjoyed the series. Thanks for going on this journey with me. (To start at the beginning, go here.)
A few days after my confab with the “Genius of Wicker Park,” I received a postcard in the mail with the now very familiar image of da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man on the front. The genius himself personally invited me to the SAPience Forum at McCormick Place and extended the offer to all those friends he’d read about in my blogs.
Charlotte, Russo, and Donovan were very excited to attend, but naturally Rajesh Mohan was more reserved in his response. I played phone tag with Rita Davies, but she said she’d try to make it. Norman Powell and the “z-bros” were predictably enthusiastic. Lou Marino (aka Al Phaneumeric) said he’d show if there were free food. I even asked the duct tape underwear guy, but he didn’t really understand what I was talking about. I would have invited Jack, but no one could find him. And naturally I was delighted when Kay agreed to go with me.
It seemed a shame to spend a beautiful August day inside an auditorium, but nonetheless the place was packed. Naturally, Russo and I headed straight for the back row. Kay joined Charlotte who predictably sat in the front row with her recorder. I was easily able to spot the others in the crowd from my vantage point, and I was glad they could make it. Soon the lights dimmed, and Gentleman Jim Giles took to the stage.
“Welcome and thank you for joining the SAPience movement. I can absolutely promise that all of you will leave today enlightened not only about the future of industry, but about the way that the entire world will function in the very near future. This change is fundamental. You will learn how the ultimate innovation, the Intelligent Enterprise, will synthesize data, technology, and people to dramatically change the way we live our lives.”
The genius had drawn the audience in by this point. The auditorium was silent as everyone wondered if they were truly witnessing a turning point in history.
“What is SAPience?” he continued rhetorically. “It is one of the three levels of intelligence. The first level is data. You see, just as human beings take in information through their senses, businesses collect massive amounts of data on an ongoing basis through a variety of sources. This is pure information with no context or analysis.”
“However, when that data is sorted, analyzed, and represented in some fashion it becomes knowledge — the second level of intelligence. This is the level that much of the world operates on. Birds know when to migrate south. Monkeys know how to climb trees. And bees know how to make honey. Businesses operate on this level too. They know how to source raw materials, they know how to manage employees, and they know how to get their products into market. There is a level of intelligence beyond knowledge however. But before we get into that, I present to you the dodo bird.”
The image of a dodo bird appeared on the screen behind him, and he paused while he took a sip of water. “No one can say for certain how long this absurd-looking, flightless bird lived in isolation on the remote island of Mauritius, but it probably reached the height of it’s population at the end of the 16th century. Contrary to rumor however, the bird was well suited to its environment, and thrived until it was discovered and decimated by man and other invasive species. Within 100 years of its discovery, it was extinct. Could the dodo have been spared? It sounds a little silly, but if the dodos had taken up arms against their invaders or fled to some other remote island — fight or flight — they might have done just fine. Unfortunately, they lacked that next level of intelligence. The dodos had knowledge; they knew how to survive in their environment, but they lacked sapience. Sapience is wisdom. So, putting that all together, the ability to use information is knowledge, but the ability to use knowledge is wisdom.”
Then an image of an ape looking in a mirror appeared on the screen. “While the dodo lacked sapience, that’s not true of all animals. Naturally humans are the most evolved in this fashion. In fact, that’s why we’re called homo sapiens. But apes, elephants, dolphins, and a number of other animals are also considered sapient. So how is sapience determined? One basic test is self-awareness. If an animal is able to recognize itself in a mirror, it’s considered by some to be sapient. If, for example, you put a mark or something on the nose of a gorilla and show him his reflection, he will reach for his own nose and not the mirror because he is sapient.”
“But the bigger question is how many businesses have this self-awareness? Do businesses have the wisdom to truly see themselves reflected in the data and information collected through technology, and are they able to act upon that knowledge in an intelligent fashion?”
“In most cases the answer is no.”
“So, the next question is why not? Is the notion of an Intelligent Enterprise simply a metaphor, or can a business be truly intelligent?”
“Well, as I said, most businesses gather data and analyze it, so they’ve reached some level of intelligence. The problem is they run more like organizations than organisms. Even when a business runs like a very well-oiled machine, it doesn’t rise to a level of sapience. It takes more than being knowledgeable and organized to be truly intelligent. It might sound like I’m stretching a metaphor here, but this isn’t metaphorical at all. I’m talking about the philosophical principle of intelligence. Not only do organisms thrive almost effortlessly within their ecosystem, but over time they can comfortably grow, change, and even evolve to avoid extinction.”
“Intelligent Enterprises can do so as well.”
“Unfortunately, most businesses run in organized silos, unable to coordinate across the entire business ecosystem. Remarkably some companies have survived for more than a hundred years that way. Because it isn’t broken, they don’t see a need to fix it. Those companies are dodos, and invasive species (by that, I mean Intelligent Enterprises) are about to move in and drive them into extinction.”
“Newsflash — we’re all in a global marketplace now; you’re not safe on your remote little island. As technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, Big Data, advanced analytics, and blockchain become more mainstream, businesses must adapt, or risk getting left behind. Have you heard much from Kodak, Radio Shack, or Blockbuster lately?”
Then a picture of H. G. Wells appeared on the screen. “I don’t mean to be harsh, but as H. G. Wells said, ‘Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.’” Then with a knowing smile and a nod toward Charlotte he said, “Even if Wells’ idea of time-travel was fanciful, philosophically he understood the danger of not being forward-thinking.”
“So how does a company transition from being a catatonic, brain-dead, zombie enterprise to being an Intelligent Enterprise? How does a company become sapient? It’s critical to understand that the Intelligent Enterprise is more than just an automated business. This isn’t about robots replacing people; this is about enterprises operating with humanity. Just as an intelligent human being must understand his internal needs and emotions, as well as have empathy for all that surrounds him, a business must have a thorough understanding of its internal operations, partners, customers, and its duty to society and the environment.”
“SAPience begins with S-A-P. And SAP Leonardo is powering the Intelligent Enterprise. SAP is uniquely positioned to execute on this vision for their customers. They have an intimate understanding of how their customers run every line of business across 25 different industries and for over 45 years, customers have trusted SAP to be the custodians of their end-to-end business data.”
“There are challenges to becoming an Intelligent Enterprise, but SAP can help make that happen. Businesses are often sitting on mountains of data but are not able to use that data efficiently. There’s a demand from the workforce to move away from repetitive tasks and to engage in more high-value tasks that have a greater impact both internally and externally. As customers gain greater insight into cost and competitive alternatives, the need to empower customers with more intuitive products, a satisfying user experience, and competitive pricing is essential. And perhaps most importantly, disruptors are gaining momentum and reshaping industries through innovative business models. Adapt or perish. It’s critical to innovate before you go the way of the dodo.”
“Change can be very intimidating. Although I did quite well in college, I was always hesitant to start anything. I liked to study everything thoroughly first, and I would always wait until the last possible moment to write a research paper. There were many anxiety-ridden, late-night writing sessions when I was younger. But then I grew up. I grew up and I came to realize that I needed to think ahead. There’s no deadline for self-improvement and there is no better time to start than now. Self-improvement is an ongoing process that must happen today and tomorrow and every day into the future.”
“I will leave you with one last thought. I met someone recently who’s been struggling with a concept. Are we really simplifying our lives when we adopt all this new technology, or are we actually making our lives more complicated and difficult? Innovation is certainly disruptive. Technology can cause frustration and often leads to crazy conspiracy theories about how’s it’s destroying life as we know it. However, if we spend the time and energy to adopt new technology, it becomes an integrated part of our lives and yes, things are not only simpler, but better. When you join the SAPience movement, you not only improve your own life, you improve all that surrounds you.”
There was a lot more to learn that day about technology and innovation, but I think everyone left inspired. It’s intuitive to look at technology in a pragmatic fashion, but it’s also important to look at it philosophically from time to time to appreciate how it impacts our lives. I’ve spent a lot of time discussing it with my friends. It inspired Kay and me to talk a lot more about our future, and it inspired Charlotte’s show on Apple Podcast.
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Tony
Blogger Extraordinaire
DISCLAIMER: The Searching for Salaì podcast and the “Cool Technology and the Intelligent Enterprise” blog series are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
[DESCRIPTION]
Tony’s journey of discovery ends with the realization that Intelligent Enterprises integrate contributions of people, data, and technology to drive innovation.
[KEYWORDS]
SAP Leonardo podcast, Innovation, Digital Transformation, Intelligent Enterprise, Analytics, Big Data, Blockchain, The Cloud, Design Thinking, The Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning, Data Intelligence, Digital Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci, Searching for Salaì, Cool Technology
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