Top 4 highlights from SAP Sapphire 2023 with UX innovations 

Embracing the latest SAP UX trends and technologies is crucial for enterprises aiming to maintain competitiveness and relevance. SAP's innovative solutions offer real-time insights, streamlined application development, data management, and scalability, providing valuable tools for businesses to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing digital landscape.

How can businesses running on SAP apps stay competitive, profitable, and relevant with the latest UX trends and technological advances? The answer lies in staying aligned with the latest releases and updates from SAP. The echoes of the annual SAP SAPPHIRE still reverberate and I am excited to share the top 4 UX highlights from SAP Sapphire 2023 that will be instrumental for enterprises. In this article, we will delve into these trends and their far-reaching implications while focusing on how they harmoniously align with the principles of UI/UX design. Let’s dive in.

2023 SAP app UX trendsetters

1. Business process intelligence providing real-time insights

SAP Business Process Intelligence ( BPI) is an innovative cloud-based solution designed to provide companies with real-time insights into their business processes. With SAP BPI, organizations can analyze and optimize their end-to-end business workflows. It covers everything from order to cash, procure-to-pay, and beyond. With process mining technology, SAP BPI automatically discovers and maps out these processes, providing users with an accurate and comprehensive view of their operations.

Real-time insights for decision-making

One of the standout features of SAP BPI is its ability to provide real-time insights. With this feature, businesses can monitor their processes as they unfold, spot any inefficiencies or issues, and take immediate action to resolve them. This considerably reduces downtime and errors, making the business run smoothly.

Intuitive user experience for enhanced productivity

SAP BPI is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive. Its drag-and-drop functionality and customizable dashboards make it easier to navigate. Moreover, BPI can be easily integrated with existing enterprise applications by partnering with a UX design agency, ensuring a smooth and streamlined workflow.

Focuses on process mining and optimization

Unlike other SAP solutions, SAP BPI hinges on process mining and optimization. Process mining is a technique that involves automatically analyzing and visualizing the actual processes that take place within an organization based on its digital footprints, such as event logs from various systems. This helps to map out how the business processes are actually being executed in reality. By analyzing the data collected through process mining, SAP BPI can pinpoint bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or areas where the workflow can be streamlined or enhanced.

2. SAP low code/no code

With SAP Low Code/No Code, developers and non-developers alike can effortlessly create applications with minimal coding effort. These platforms are crafted to streamline the application development process, providing drag-and-drop interfaces, pre-built templates, and visual development tools that eliminate the need for extensive coding expertise. In 2023, SAP users are increasingly embracing these tools, revolutionizing how applications are designed and developed.

SAP’s low code/no code platform: For simplicity and speed

For app development, SAP has introduced a game-changing approach that is gaining momentum in 2023 - SAP low code/no code. But what does it mean? Let's break it down in simple terms.

Easy App building for all

SAP low code/no code encompasses a set of tools and technologies that allows both developers and non-developers to create applications with minimal coding effort. These platforms are designed to make the application development process easier by providing user-friendly drag-and-drop interfaces, pre-built templates, and visual development tools. The best part? Extensive coding expertise is not a prerequisite.

SAP Build: Visual playground for app building

SAP's low code/no code platform, SAP Build, is the key to building mobile and web applications effortlessly with its visual drag-and-drop interface. Plus, SAP Build comes packed with pre-built templates and connectors to commonly used data sources, alongside interesting features for collaboration and sharing of applications.

Enables business acceleration

By simplifying the application development process, SAP empowers teams to ideate, design, and implement their ideas faster than ever before. The newfound speed and efficiency will lead to groundbreaking solutions and enhanced customer experiences.

3. SAP Datasphere enabling seamless data synthesis

SAP Datasphere, the latest addition to SAP's lineup of data solutions, is designed specifically to address the complexities of synthesizing data from diverse sources for reporting and analytics. Representing the next generation of SAP Datawarehouse Cloud, SAP Datasphere comes equipped with powerful new functionalities, propelling data management and analysis to new heights.

Unifies data with ease

SAP Datasphere is a smart way to bring all the data together easily. It can handle data from different places and systems without any trouble. It makes sure that all the data work together smoothly, even if it comes from different sources. This saves businesses from the complicated work of managing data, making things simple and hassle-free.

Enriches data with industry insights

With SAP Datasphere, data can be easily retrieved from different industries. This means businesses can gather information from various sources and use it to make better decisions. The platform helps to enrich this data with more details, giving a wider view of things. The SAP Datasphere Marketplace makes this even easier by providing access to external industry data. This supports the business in using data to its fullest potential and helps everyone in the organization benefit from valuable insights. I

A game-changing business-centric data management

SAP Datasphere is making SAP move towards a more flexible and open way of managing data. This means it is designed to be focused on businesses and what they need. With its powerful features and ability to bring data together seamlessly, SAP Datasphere helps companies make the most of their data. This leads to smarter decision-making based on data, making the whole organization more effective and successful.

4. SAP S/4 HANA cloud ERP

SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP - the fourth trend shaking up the SAP world in 2023. It is a flexible and easy-to-use cloud-based solution that helps businesses by giving them the latest and best ways of doing things in their industry. With SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP, companies can keep innovating and growing, making progress all the time. This modern ERP is perfect for mid-sized businesses, allowing them to change their business strategies, grow smoothly without complications, and adjust quickly to achieve success.

Simplifies tedious customization

SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP comes with ready-made processes that make things easier. It simplifies the process of setting up and customizing the system. Businesses can quickly change how they work and follow the best practices used in their industry. This helps them focus on what makes them special and grow faster, opening up new opportunities for success.

Scalability without complexity

SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP has the ability to scale without adding unnecessary complexities. Mid-market enterprises can now expand their operations with confidence, knowing that their ERP solution can seamlessly grow alongside them. So, embracing new opportunities becomes a smooth journey, as the ERP system adapts effortlessly to evolving business needs.

Automated innovations

SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP keeps businesses on the latest trends with automated innovations. The latest enhancements are rolled out automatically and managed entirely by SAP, sparing enterprises the burden of manual updates. This ensures that businesses can capitalize on emerging trends without disruption.

Allows customer-specific extensions

SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP allows businesses to tailor the solution to their unique requirements through customer-specific extensions. With SAP's Business Technology Platform and a comprehensive set of APIs using side-by-side extension architecture, enterprises can enhance their ERP capabilities and create a bespoke solution tailored to their needs.

Aufait UXs’ expertise in SAP UX projects

SAP UX design projects are known for their complexity, stemming from a blend of factors inherent to the SAP ecosystem and the intricacies of user experience design. Challenges like enterprise intricacies, diverse user roles, intricate data structures, and integration hurdles stand tall. However, our focused and well-structured design strategies have enabled us to deliver several SAP design projects successfully.

To illustrate our expertise in SAP UX design, we will take you through three case studies that focus on the ways in which we enhanced the user experience of SAP apps.

1. Enhancing user experience using SAP Fiori design system

Our collaboration with a client from the insurance sector was to enhance the user experience of their SAP app. To tackle the intricacies of invoice management, we started by conducting intensive user research. Our design solution leveraged the SAP Fiori design system by using native SAP guidelines and comprehensive data visualization to achieve a simple and easy user experience. It resulted in a smoother and more efficient workflow for the insurance platform and the client’s satisfaction with the improved process was commendable.

2. Extending the SAP EAM module for a specific role-based scenario on the Mobile platform

Another SAP UX UI design project we executed was enterprise management for a business operating in an asset-intensive industry. The client wanted an SAP extension of their app for tablet and mobile platforms to streamline their workflows. The app demanded the synchronization of various maintenance processes to enhance operational excellence.

Our solution came in the form of designing a role-based SAP EAM app, a contemporary spin on the traditional SAP app. For this, we made a custom app on top of SAP and extended it to be compatible with the SAP ecosystem. This innovative app facilitated factory inspections, work order notifications, and inventory management. Its offline capabilities across iOS, Android, and Windows devices, along with seamless integration with SAP ECC and S4 Hana, garnered appreciation. The technicians' ability to access checklists, record measurements, execute work orders, and create notifications marked a significant improvement after our redesign.

3. An analytical tool on top of SAP for CXOs

We have designed a user-friendly BI tool that assists businesses in making data-driven decisions. Our team designed an intuitive user interface that transforms raw data into actionable insights on the BI platform. Importantly, we ensured seamless compatibility with the SAP system for future ease of use.

In these three case studies, you'll see how our team expertly mixed creative design skills with smart planning to meet our client's needs. These projects show how we excel at making complex SAP UX design requirements appear effortless.

What’s next? Partner with us for your next SAP UX project!

As a UI/UX design agency, we are always on the move, keeping up with the latest design trends. SAP apps? They are our playground of excitement. Imagine solving a brain-teasing puzzle while exploring new horizons - that is what working on SAP apps feels like for us.

If you are on the hunt for experts in SAP UI/UX design, let's team up and bring your ideas to life together.