Software corporation SAP has launched a new digital innovation hub in Singapore to drive co-creation of solutions and foster local digital talent.
Called SAP Labs Singapore, the hub aims to catalyse deep technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to advance transformative digital supply chain, intelligent business network and sustainability solutions.
“[SAP] invests significantly in R&D to build solutions that not only help our customers digitally transform but create value for their businesses and the communities they operate in. Our global and diverse labs network is SAP’s unique innovation backbone and a source of inspiration, creativity, and innovation,” says Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE for SAP Product Engineering.
Besides Singapore, SAP has 20 other innovation labs globally, five of which are in the Asia Pacific Japan region.
Saueressig adds: “SAP Labs Singapore joins a network of strategic high-tech clusters, reinforcing SAP’s strong confidence in Singapore as an innovation and investment hub, its highly educated and skilled talent, and its position as a regional beacon of excellence in technology innovation and a digital future.”
Helping customers address sustainability concerns
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With increasing carbon tax and climate reporting soon to become mandatory for some industries, SAP is working with customers to ensure that sustainability is baked into their operations and part of the overall business strategy.
“[Tackling sustainability requires] changes to business processes. [This is where SAP can help] – since our software is used in processes across the entire value chain for many companies, we have embedded sustainability/environmental aspects like carbon footprint into our solutions,” Saueressig shares at a media briefing yesterday.
He continues: “This allows companies/our customers to track and trace the carbon across their processes regardless of location, empowering them with transparency and measurement capability. They can therefore analyse processes for executive sustainability dimension and make informed decisions to change processes to get a different sustainability outcome.
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Echoing him, Manik Saha, managing director for SAP Labs Singapore, says: “Sustainability is no longer just about ticking a box but also figuring out how it really impacts your end-to-end supply chain.”
“We will [therefore] work with customers to find out and address their requirements at SAP Labs Singapore. At the same time, we will tap on the expertise of our other labs that are more advanced in terms of developing sustainable solutions to bring those solutions to the local market.”
Investing in talent development
With support from Singapore Economic Development Board, SAP Labs Singapore will also hire more than 500 local skilled digital professionals by 2025, doubling its current team of product engineering professionals in Singapore.
The company plans to recruit early digital talent from Singapore’s local universities and institutions of higher learning, with a focus on software engineers and areas including AI, data analytics, cloud, and sustainability.
“By investing in a diverse local early talent pool here, SAP Labs Singapore aims to strengthen the engineering core in Singapore, and create more high-skill, high-value career opportunities and paths for Singapore residents. This will in turn spur product innovation for Singapore and rest of Asia, while delivering best-in-class solutions and sustainable products for organisations in the region,” says Saha.
