Build them up! Don’t forget how important enterprise architects are

Artificial intelligence has been at the forefront of most tech conferences since industries realized how much AI-powered software can positively impact business processes. The latest SAP Sapphire event, held in Orlando, Florida, on June 3-5, similarly covered the AI bases and how best to optimize and utilize SAP solutions. ERP Today chatted with Thomas Iseler, global strategic partnerships advisor for data management specialists Data Migration International to gauge his opinion on what users might have missed at the conference.

We quizzed Iseler about what innovations excited him the most, fully expecting an AI-leaning answer but were pleasantly surprised when that turned out to be something more.

“We are all interested in what AI can do in a meaningful way,” Iseler said. “AI is exciting […] we recently hired our first set of developers in that space. But, from a broader perspective, AI is not at the forefront of our heads. It’s more the architects [at the forefront].”

While briefly touching on AI, Iseler wanted to draw attention to the significance of DMI’s work with SAP Enterprise Architects, with DMI being a global SAP partner. SAP Enterprise Architects seems primed to be the next ‘big thing’ for SAP tech. With enterprise architects making sure the implementation of new systems is smooth for customers and with the S/4HANA takeover looming ever closer, it’s easy to see why SAP wants to focus on building up its repertoire of architects.

“We’ve been on that horse for the last 18 months already, working very closely with [Jason Porterfield, VP of enterprise architecture, SAP] to make sure that when they position solutions, they know what works and how it can be done.”

“They want to provide 500 architects for most of their new S/4 customers. That’s a big thing because it fits very neatly with our strategy,” Iseler explained, adding that DMI’s JiVS One Click is a solution specifically built to make SAP S/4HANA implementations as simple as possible.

Ultimately, the push to train more architects is a response to something the industry needed: effective and more efficient software implementation. By investing in workers who can make this process as simple and easy for the end-user as possible, firms can quickly attain business value from their new software.