How do HR professionals ensure that they consistently hire and develop talent with the rights skills to lead their organization towards success?
Meet Pulsifi, an AI-driven predictive analytics and people data platform jointly integrated with SAP SuccessFactors, that helps you understand each person’s suitability to a role by harnessing the power of data and organization psychology.
Pulsifi is a graduate of SAP.iO Foundry Singapore: Intelligent Enterprise (2019) Cohort and SAP AppCenter partner.
Business as usual. For some, this is a welcome relief. On the contrary, for many underrepresented founders, when VCs utter that phrase, it’s not always welcome news. Venture capital funding bias is a very real, and very big problem in tech.
Quite candidly, as a first-generation immigrant and woman working with startups for over a decade, it’s very hard to overlook the fact that in 2020 women and people of color continue to be in the large minority when it comes to receiving VC (venture capital) funding and support.
This must change.
Don’t just take my word for it – let’s look at the numbers.
According to Pitchbook, “While overall US venture capital investments in 2020 are on par with previous years […] Investments in women-led companies this year are on pace to be the worst since 2017.” When it comes to black founders, VC performance in Q3 2020 was just as bleak.
t’s no surprise that grocery stores have done particularly well during the pandemic. Everyone needs to eat and stock up on dry goods. What is surprising is the way the pandemic is changing our buying habits.
People are spending less time in stores, but when they do go, they buy more. There is less human contact as people shop more online and have goods delivered. And supermarkets have become more transactional with less focus on merchandising as people want to get in and out quickly.
During a discussion about the new era of grocery retail sponsored by SAP as part of the The Retail Summit, experts from a home delivery food kit business and an unmanned grocery retailer shared insights and new developments.
Corona cohorts
Robert Grieg-Gran, Co-Founder of Mindful Chef, UK’s highest rated home-delivered recipe box, recounted how the team sat down to make some strategic decisions at the start of the pandemic. Before Covid-19, the company was delivering 12,000 fresh food boxes a week, each containing 5 or 6 meals. When the crisis hit, people stopped eating out, and cooking at home was the only option. Panic buying emptied supermarket shelves, supply chains were disrupted, and competitors were closing their doors. Suddenly, Mindful Chef was delivering 35,000 boxes per week.
“We asked ourselves, what could we do differently, so people could access fresh food when they need it most,” Grieg-Gran explained. The team was determined to keep their doors open throughout. This meant dropping the menu, increasing the supply chain lead time, and making lots of last-minute substitutions.
“Was the service amazing? No. Was the supply chain perfect? No. But we thought it was important for our customers to get something, rather than us to just shut our doors,” says the chef from Devon. “We added new packing staff, expanded our relationships with our warehouse and delivery partners to scale the business, and maintained ownership of our end-to-end fulfillment process.”
The strategy paid off. People who signed up in March have become repeat customers. “We call them our Corona Cohorts,” says Grieg-Gran with a grin. “They come back because they know they’ll get what they want. After all, food is still a very intimate thing. You’re going to put it inside your body, so you need to trust the people you buy it from.”
Technology and data analytics play a key role in the business. Mindful Chef’s customers expect the team to curate options, so they don’t have to think about what to cook. Data science makes it possible to give each customer the best recommendation because they won’t see menu options they don’t like. The company uses machine learning models to figure out what customers like based on their purchasing histories.
Find out how Clarity, a cloud-based visual asset inspection platform that is integrated with SAP’s Intelligent Asset Management suite including the Asset Intelligence Network (AIN), is able to help asset-intensive companies reduce unplanned downtime by 60%, planned downtime by 30%, AND increase inspection and maintenance efficiency by more than 80%.
Hybird is a graduate of SAP.iO Foundry Singapore: Industry 4.0: SAP S/4HANA & Digital Supply Chain (2020) Cohort.
Watch to find out more….
Imagine a world where businesses execute strategies without worrying about securing data. Now imagine a world where fast paced cybersecurity capabilities enable trusted data to become a source for growth. Guess what? Both are possible today.
A lot of ink has been spilled over data protection and now that National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is here, it’s high time we underscore the importance of secure data becoming a growth driver.
According to a 2020 Accenture report, on average, it makes sense for organizations to look beyond their four walls to protect their ecosystems since cybersecurity programs actively protect only 60 percent of an organization’s business ecosystem. Considering 40 percent of breaches come via this route, organizations don’t have the luxury of being too complacent. This may be why 2019 saw $10 billion in privacy and security company investments at an all-time high, according to Crunchbase. Let’s take a closer look at what’s driving this.
Addressing security gaps
While enterprises are overburdened with privacy laws (GDPR and CCPA), complex attacks, and increasingly sophisticated attackers, means cybersecurity startups are more proactively addressing the need for data protection. This is accomplished by providing best of breed point solutions to address security gaps not easily addressed by slower incumbent security solutions offering broader suites of often poorly integrated features. In the process, they are also helping manage enterprise IT complexities, minimize risk, comply with new regulations and allow for more nimble business processes that can expand opportunities beyond traditional industry boundaries and drive revenue growth, including the pursuit of new digital business models.
Speaking of new business models, enterprises are either already operating on-prem or considering how they can move to the cloud. By aligning with cybersecurity startups, enterprises can focus more on what they are good at while also gaining the agility to align and refine strategic planning to make a more secure transformation to the cloud.
How to thwart evolving threats
Let’s face it. Technology and the threats that often keep IT departments and executives alike up at night are both consistently evolving. As a result, cybersecurity startups often times have more laser-focus when it comes to attracting top talent to tap next-generation technologies (AI, machine learning, blockchain, etc.) to solve specific security problems which can be complimentary to existing security solutions. Thus, startups can help enterprises securely scale, be more relevant in the market and be more responsive when it comes to vulnerabilities/threats tapping the latest innovation.
Having more openness toward outside innovation in today’s volatile global economy should further validate the breadth of opportunity for cybersecurity innovation. Why? There is clearly a need for simple and effective ways to create, enforce, and monitor our security policies/controls across multi-cloud and even hybrid environments. Ideally, this functionality can help businesses aggregate vast amounts of data more quickly, remain more agile and avoid downtime which can hurt operations, reputation and revenue.
Make no mistake. We need to move the typical thought process on security away from the notion that cyberthreats are only an external issue. In fact, it’s quite the opposite case and yet another reason cybersecurity innovation must continue to evolve.
Verizon’s 2019 Insider Threat Report found that 57% of database breaches include insider threats and the majority, 61%, of those employees are not in leadership positions when they compromise customer data. This only strengthens the idea that making sure your digital operations are secure, scalable, compliant and interoperable is crucial not just your IT department but to compliance officers as well as those in sustainability, procurement, finance and strategy alike. Thus, collaborating with security startups is more important than ever in a world being forced to increasingly operate remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I would be remiss not to mention that data is increasingly valuable, and the backbone to AI, so tapping next-generation cybersecurity technologies is no longer a nice have. It’s a requirement to secure data and leverage it for growth opportunities. At least it should be for the modern enterprise that will witness over 500 billion connected things by 2030.
Impact of data and analytics
Due to the advancement of the internet of things, data is being used like never before in human history. The ability to safeguard data privacy, create new intelligent applications for IoT and also use data to predict next generation applications opens the door for startups to help manage complexities in IoT systems, especially as cloud computing moves closer and closer to edge computing.
This is why SAP.iO Foundry Berlin just kicked off its Data & Analytics cohort and why SAP.iO is proud to accelerate cybersecurity innovation through companies such as BigID, a SAP.iO Fund portfolio company focused on helping organizations know their data for privacy, protection and perspective. We have also recently welcomed LISNR, a startup focused on contactless authentication using ultrasonic sound verification, to our SAP.iO Foundry New York Fall Cohort.
The TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award ranking has become a benchmark in Switzerland’s startup ecosystem. The innovative solutions of Switzerland’s TOP security startups 2020 ensure that digital data, networks, and digital assets are protected, secured, and trustworthy.
PXL Vision was named to the list for the second year in a row. PXL Vision is a graduate of SAP.iO Foundry Berlin’s 2019 FinTech Global Risk & Compliance cohort.
PXL Vision’s software enables the digital identification of people thanks to the use of artificial intelligence. All it needs is a smartphone and a passport. In the Swiss home market, SwissID, banks, and large telecommunications providers are already customers. The multi-award-winning ETH spin-off gained seed funding of CHF 4.6 million this year.
SAP invests in a lot of promising startups, and it’s sometimes hard to keep track of all of them. E-3 Magazine has selected the most interesting companies to showcase in our SAP Startup Spotlight Series. In this article, we will take a look at ARpalus.
E-3 Magazine talked to ARpalus about what its solution has to offer, how it relates to existing SAP systems, and what’s next for the company.
ARpalus helps CPG companies and retailers optimize their in-store operations and product availability using real-time computer-vision on tablets and smartphones to monitor store availability issues such as missing products or out of stock planogram compliance. Let’s assume, for example, that a retail chain with 200 stores generates annual revenue of US$5 billion, and at any given time, there is a 5 percent out of stock (OoS). If this chain’s assortment is 40,000 SKUs, 5 percent means 2,000 SKUs that are constantly missing from the shelves. Let’s assume that this OoS problem leads to a 2 percent loss of sale; this translates to a huge loss of US$100M in potential revenues. At ARpalus, we believe that the unique combination of computer vision and augmented reality is key to a more efficient and automated retail space. Perfect retail execution eliminates manual or semi-manual methods that are commonly used today among CPGs and retailers. At first, we help our customers get visibility regarding the daily stores’ operations by the granularity of a shelf, category, SKU, store, or geographical location. This helps us better understand the trends inside the organization and to then generate recommendations. In a later stage, we generate recommendations directly to employees’ devices, based on data from nearby stores – all in real time.
Imagine a world where supply chains are flipped upside down, a world where we send files, not parts? A world that empowers the end consumer to produce what is needed on-demand through cloud based technology, including recycling on site in a circular transition?
I recently chatted with CEO of Ivaldi Group, Espen Sivertsen, to talk about the future of digital supply chains using digital distribution, on-demand additive manufacturing, industrial sustainability, and the power of diversity in technology. Espen is currently part of the SAP.iO Foundry bootcamp and shares observations he’s gathered from Silicon Valley and beyond, that diversity fuels innovation (read that again). The segments Ivaldi serves in digital distribution include maritime, industrial, mining, energy (gas turbines and power plants), and automotive.
COI Energy was selected as a winner of the New York State 76West Competition for their work to improve building energy performance and grid optimization with software-as-a-service solutions.
76West is an unparalleled competition focused on growing entrepreneurs and attracting resources from the U.S. and around the world to build clean energy businesses and jobs in New York State’s Southern Tier region. Administered by NYSERDA, the 76West Competition was launched in 2016 as a $20 million four-year initiative to grow the clean energy ecosystem in the Southern Tier with funds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Clean Energy Fund. Due to its significant positive impact for the region, the competition is being funded this year by Empire State Development through the Southern Tier Soaring Upstate Revitalization Initiative. The Competition supports technological and other innovation initiatives to meet New York State’s climate and decarbonization goals.
Henkel’s open innovation and collaboration platform, Henkel dx Ventures, will host its second Xathon, a female ideation hackathon. This year’s main partner is “Global Digital Women”. The hackathon aims to empower female tech talents to develop and shape their entrepreneurial mindset and ideas. It will take place on November 20-22, 2020. The application period is now open and closes on October 30. Interested participants can apply at www.henkel.com/digital-business/xathon-2020.
With the Xathon, Henkel wants to advocate female entrepreneurship, promote innovative ideas and drive gender diversity in the start-up and tech scene. In total, 60 female talents will get the chance to participate in this year’s event. Further partners of the Xathon 2020 are accelerateHer, SAP’s early stage venture arm SAP.iO and MVP Factory.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Xathon is going to take place as a virtual event.
SAP invests in a lot of promising startups, and it’s sometimes hard to keep track of all of them. E-3 Magazine has selected the most interesting companies to showcase in our SAP Startup Spotlight Series. In this article, Kevin Becker, co-founder and CMO, will introduce Dotaki.
Kevin Becker is co-founder and CMO of Dotaki. After a degree from a top-tier business school, Kevin has worked in market finance before turning to marketing consulting. He is passionate about new technologies and the way they can enhance business performance.
That’s why he founded Dotaki with Benoit Allibe, a researcher in psychology and machine learning. Together, they are dedicated to providing the e-commerce industry with a disruptive way of serving their online customers.
Our customers are large (>20M€ online turnover) B2C online merchants. Thanks to Dotaki, they can bring empathy to their online experience. Dotaki’s artificial intelligence (AI) is able to recognize two types of people among the visitors of a website: Rationals and Emotionals. Dotaki then adapts the website’s interface to these personality types. For instance, Emotionals get a lot of reassuring messages, whereas Rationals get more direct calls to action (as they value efficiency over reassurance).
This generates an increment of 5 to 10 percent additional online revenue. Dotaki’s customers typically get a x100 ROI between the additional incremental revenue and Dotaki’s cost.
Analytics Insight has announced ‘The 10 Most Influential Women in Technology 2020’ in its October magazine issue. The issue is the fifth volume focusing on cutting-edge solutions.
The magazine issue recognizes ten trailblazing women who have revamped the technology landscape and brought a formidable change into the society using disruptive offerings and solutions.
Joanna Riley is the CEO and Co-Founder of Censia. Prior to founding Censia, Joanna was the Co-founder and CEO of 1-Page, a SaaS solutions provider in the Talent Acquisition sector. In 2014 she led 1-Page to a successful IPO and onto the S&P/ASX 300 by 2016.
Censia is an SAP Endorsed App and available on SAP App Center
SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announced that SAP.iO Foundry Paris kicked off its new accelerator program focused on procurement. Over the next 10 weeks, SAP will accelerate eight startups selected for their innovative approaches to supply management, user experience and process automation.
The startups will have access to technical integration guidance, curated mentorship, and exposure to SAP technology, and they will join Ariba Network, the world’s largest B2B sales network of 4.6 million business partners in 190 countries. This will help SAP to provide customers with solutions that complement its SAP S/4HANA and SAP Ariba offerings.
“Procurement is an essential part of companies’ operations that can prove to be a real economic lever,” SAP.iO Foundry Paris Director Sébastien Gibier said. “We have been able to observe various areas of improvement in the sourcing process that can guarantee companies greater efficiency, transparency and security. The eight selected startups will create innovative solutions that complement those of SAP and bring more value to our customers.”
The SAP.iO Foundry Paris cohort members are the following:
This is the fifth program at SAP.iO Foundry Paris and marks its second anniversary.
With their start-up “Presize.ai” Tomislav Tomov (28) and Leon Szeli (26) want to change online clothing shipping. Because clothes that are ordered online cannot be tried on beforehand, there are tons of returns. Using artificial intelligence, the founders from Munich want to enable customers to order in a size-appropriate manner. The aim is to reduce returns. The team was able to convince investor Carsten Maschmeyer in the show . He negotiated a deal worth 650,000 euros for 15 percent of the company’s shares: It was the second-highest single deal that the show has ever existed.
With “Presize.ai”, the Munich founders have developed an app that helps users find the right dress size. The smartphone camera measures the entire body with just one turn of the body and creates a 3D model. The user then receives an individual code. This means that the user in the retailer’s online shops is suggested the items of clothing that really fit him.
Today at “Die Höhle der Löwen” on Vox: “Presize”, a body-scanning software with which you can try on fashion virtually and avoid returns.
An unbelievable statistic: customers send back every second item of clothing that is bought online. One of the main reasons: You can’t try on the pieces online. What doesn’t fit becomes a return. This is not only a rather annoying additional expense for online shoppers, but also a high financial loss for online retailers. Not to mention the damage that the many packaging materials and the pointless shipping and return shipping mean for the climate.
Tomislav Tomov (28) and Leon Szeli (27) want to solve this problem: The two inventors have developed a smartphone body-scanning software that measures the human body with the mobile phone camera within a minute. The software uses it to calculate a 3D model of the body, the measurements are precisely determined and converted into a size recommendation.
