Digital Enterprise Transformation: A Business-Driven Approach to Leveraging Innovative IT

The integration of technological innovations, such as In-Memory Analytics, Cloud Computing, Mobile Connectivity, and Social Media, with business practice can enable significant competitive advantage. In order to embrace recent challenges and changes in the governance of IT strategies, SAP and its think tank - the Business Transformation Academy (BTA) - have jointly developed the Digital Capability Framework (DCF).

Digital Enterprise Transformation: A Business-Driven Approach to Leveraging Innovative IT by Axel Uhl and Lars Alexander Gollenia outlines the DCF which comprises six specific capabilities: Innovation Management, Transformation Management, IT Excellence, Customer Centricity, Effective Knowledge Worker, and Operational Excellence.

In cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), Queensland University of Technology (Australia), University of Liechtenstein (Principality of Liechtenstein), and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), SAP and the BTA have been validating each capability and the corresponding maturity models based on analyzing several ‘lighthouse’ case studies comprising: SAMSUNG, IBM, Finanz Informatik, The Walt Disney Company, Google Inc., HILTI AG. Digital Enterprise Transformation presents how these companies take advantage of innovative IT and how they develop their digital capabilities. On top the authors also develop and present a range of novel yet hands-on Digital Use Cases for a number of different industries which have emerged from innovative technological trends such as: Big Data, Cloud Computing, 3D Printing and Internet of Things.

About the Editors

Axel Uhl is Head of the Business Transformation Academy and a member of the Business Transformation Services Leadership Team within the Services Division of SAP. Dr Uhl is a professor at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. Prior to joining SAP, he held senior management positions at Novartis, KPMG, DaimlerChrysler and Allianz.

Lars Gollenia is Head of the global Business Transformation Services at SAP and a member of the SAP Services Delivery Executive team. Lars is the co-founder and sponsor of the Business Transformation Academy, a leadership network comprising leading academics and selected executives. He has held positions in the management consulting space. Gollenia is a Graduate in Business Administration from the Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena, Germany and he studied Strategic and International Management at Harvard University, Boston.