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Revolutionize business landscape with SAP BTP Transformation Strategies

Posted on by stridely

From its origins as the SAP Cloud Platform in 2013 to its recent transformation into the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) in January 2021, SAP has been a trailblazer in tech innovation.
Originally, the SAP Cloud Platform was designed to equip businesses with the agility, scalability, and innovation needed to tackle modern challenges head-on. As technology evolved, SAP remained committed to staying at the forefront.
Last year, the platform underwent a significant rebranding and emerged as the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). SAP BTP boasts extraordinary features that promise to revolutionize how businesses approach digital transformation.
Before diving into strategies, it’s essential to grasp key concepts:
1) Comprehending SAP BTP
2) Understanding the Digital Experience
Let us understand the basics first then we will dive into the strategies.

Learn More: https://www.stridelysolutions.com/insights/blog/a-guide-to-adso-functions-in-sap-bw4hana/

What is SAP BTP?

Picture a versatile cloud-based toolbox that empowers you to effortlessly build, extend, and enhance your SAP applications. That’s the essence of SAP’s Business Technology Platform (BTP) – a comprehensive ecosystem comprising tools, services, and solutions, all conveniently bundled together.
But what sets BTP apart from conventional software? It’s not just a solitary system; it’s a rich portfolio of interconnected products and services that work in harmony. This means you have the flexibility to choose precisely what you need and pay only for the services you use.
With SAP BTP, you can swiftly build and expand your SAP applications, seamlessly integrate with other systems, and even create new applications, whether in the cloud or on-premises. BTP ensures smooth communication with SAP ERP through approved APIs, ensuring seamless workflows.

Understanding Digital Experience

When we delve into the realm of digital experiences within the context of cloud transformation, it’s easy to become engrossed in the visual aspects – the user interfaces and how they shape our perception. However, the heart of the digital experience extends far deeper. It revolves around a fundamental reevaluation, a complete reimagining, and the fine-tuning of what happens beneath the surface, all with one central aim – to craft a seamless and frustration-free journey for end-users.

With SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), we embark on a transformative voyage, revolutionizing the digital experience in ways that truly resonate:
1. Revolutionizing Business Processes: SAP BTP empowers businesses to completely rethink their operations, nurturing an environment ripe for innovation and the discovery of new applications that enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
2. Unleashing the Power of Automation and AI: In this arena, we harness the magic of automation and artificial intelligence, automating tasks prone to errors and those that devour precious time. The outcome? Smoother operations and heightened productivity.
3. Simplifying Complexity: We deconstruct intricate transactions into user-friendly mini-applications. This simplification acts as a beacon, dispelling confusion and reducing the cognitive burden, resulting in more intuitive interactions.
4. Craftsmanship of User-Friendly Interfaces: SAP BTP allows us to artfully design intuitive, streamlined screens. This translates to fewer clicks, happier users, and an overall enhancement in efficiency.
5. Consistency and Responsiveness: Our commitment to a consistent, responsive design framework ensures a seamless experience across a myriad of devices, providing users with reliability regardless of their access point within your system.
SAP BTP transcends superficial aesthetics, driving a profound metamorphosis in the very core of processes. It’s about creating a more enriching and fulfilling digital experience for users, where everything flows seamlessly and just works, effortlessly.
Learn More: https://www.stridelysolutions.com/insights/blog/usage-and-features-of-sap-s-4hana-that-can-make-retail-management-easier/

Optimizing SAP BTP Transformation: Five Strategic Moves

In your SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) journey, strategic moves can make all the difference. Here are five key strategies to elevate your transformation while keeping things concise:
1. Streamline and Enhance Workflows:

  • Rather than a basic migration, delve into workflows, transactions, and business processes. Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
  • Collaborate with SAP Implementation Partners to innovate and automate processes using AI and Cloud services.

2. Simplify Tasks with Custom BTP Apps:

  •  Don’t hesitate to revamp old tasks and workflows during your Cloud transition. Analyze how tasks are completed, eliminating unnecessary steps.
  •  Leverage BTP’s flexibility to create tailored solutions that meet specific needs. This simplifies workflows and enhances accessibility, especially on mobile devices.

3. Unified User Experience Across Devices:

  •  To enhance adoption and user satisfaction, standardize user journeys and ensure solutions are accessible on various devices.
  • Consider integrating SAP Mobile Start and SAP Fiori UI for consistent, personalized mobile experiences. SAP support can guide third-party integration via APIs.

4. Automate Tedious Processes:

  •  Identify and automate manual data entry and repetitive tasks to eliminate errors and inefficiencies.
  • Utilize SAP Support and user-friendly visual automation tools. BTP’s AI services like Business Entity Recognition and Document Information Extraction can automate tasks like document scanning and data extraction.

5. Rapid Development with Templates:

  •  Speed up development cycles using pre-designed Fiori templates tailored to industry-specific needs.
  •  Leverage the new SAP build release to create BTP mobile apps and web pages without extensive technical expertise. These templates clarify business processes and expedite your transition to SAP BTP.
    Implementing these strategies empowers you to extract the full potential of SAP BTP, streamline operations, and elevate the digital experience for both users and your organization.

Learn more: https://www.stridelysolutions.com/insights/blog/next-generation-sap-managed-services-what-all-your-enterprise-can-avail/

Wrapping Up

SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) offers a wealth of transformative potential. However, to harness its power effectively, choosing the right partner is paramount. Stridely stands as your trusted implementation ally.
With a strong track record of successful SAP implementations and a commitment to tailor solutions to your unique needs, Stridely is your ideal guide. Our SAP BTP experts possess deep knowledge in both SAP solutions and the intricacies of SAP BTP components.
Start your journey towards digital experience with Stridely as your transformation partner.

 

How to use RSO in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service

Posted on by stridely

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern business, where making things run smoothly and keeping customers happy are top priorities, finding better ways to improve field service operations has become a real puzzle to solve. Companies are always on the hunt for fresh and clever ideas that don’t just make their work easier but also create more enjoyable experiences for their customers.
If you find yourself at the crossroads of these aspirations, eager to enhance your Field Service operations while simultaneously saving costs, then look no further than the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Resource Scheduling Optimization add-on.
In this blog post, we will explore the work order scheduling in D365 Field Services, how RSO works, and what are its benefits, shedding light on how it can empower your business to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

Work Order Scheduling in Dynamics 365 Field Service

Dynamics 365 Field Service provides several ways to schedule and assign work to be done to technicians. This can be manual, suggestive, semi-automatic, or fully automatic.
Manual Scheduling: Creating bookings manually or dragging Work Orders onto the Scheduling Board. While quick, this method lacks checks for technician suitability and optimal routing. Urgent matters might necessitate this approach.
Scheduling Assistant: Filter resources by skills and roles for precise work order matches, optimizing resource allocation.
However, when dealing with the management of a relatively large team of technicians and numerous tasks, these alternatives prove to be suboptimal for achieving the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in work scheduling. Moreover, these options are limited to scheduling one job at a time. Additionally, the complexities involved in selecting the right personnel for each task or determining the most efficient sequence of tasks are likely to involve multiple variables. Consequently, numerous incorrect decisions may arise, leading to their associated repercussions.

Resource Scheduling Optimization (RSO) Add-on

Enter the Resource Scheduling Optimization (RSO) Add-on. RSO can be activated for projects involving Field Service, Customer Service, and Project Service Automation. Think of it as a completely automated resolution for calculating the most optimal work schedule for all tasks. This is based on various factors, including job locations and the technicians assigned to them. In essence, it takes a list of jobs and technicians, and utilizing configurable parameters within its settings, makes well-informed decisions to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Learn more: Microsoft Azure Logic Apps: Everything a Business Needs to Know

How RSO works?

RSO offers a realm of configurability that empowers businesses to tailor their scheduling with precision. Here’s a glimpse into how RSO operates and elevates your scheduling game:
Configurable Optimization Goals – RSO’s strength lies in its adaptability. Administrators can define optimization goals and their priorities. Imagine aiming to maximize work hours while minimizing travel time – RSO lets you set both goals and rank one over the other for optimization.
Optimization Scope and Intensity – Customization continues with the optimization scope. Decide how many days RSO should peer into the future and which work orders it should optimize. You control the optimization’s speed – a swift schedule adjustment or a more intensive optimization process, depending on your needs.
Goal Configuration: The heart of RSO’s decision-making lies in configuring the Goal. This includes setting the engine’s effort level, and determining how intensely RSO calculates optimal schedules. Additionally, RSO leverages AI and historical traffic data from Bing Maps to calculate travel times, refining the accuracy of your technicians’ routes.

Resource Scheduling Optimization (RSO) Add-on

Source – Microsoft

Learn more: Business Transformation with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform

Running RSO: Your Way

Flexibility is paramount. Choose when RSO runs its magic – as scheduled or on-the-fly. If a last-minute work order emerges, trigger RSO to optimize promptly, including the new task and pending ones.
1. Defining the Scope: RSO operates within a defined scope. Set job and technician criteria, along with the scheduling timeframe. System views assist with the selection process, ensuring precision.
2. Optimization Execution: When RSO initiates, it retrieves the specified views’ records and sends them to its Azure-based engine. This keeps your Dynamics 365 environment unaffected by the optimization process.
3. Creating the Optimized Schedule: RSO’s engine formulates the optimized schedule for tasks and technicians, aligning them seamlessly for optimal efficiency.
4. Working with Existing Bookings: RSO respects your existing bookings. If needed, it can rearrange them. However, the optimizer adheres to your defined Booking Status rules – a ‘Canceled’ booking is disregarded, while an ‘In Progress’ booking remains untouched.

Running RSO: Your Way

Source – Microsoft

Achieve Optimal Sequence with Auto Scheduling

RSO isn’t just about scheduling tasks—it’s about sequencing them intelligently. By setting requirement dependencies, RSO ensures tasks are tackled in the right order, enhancing efficiency and outcomes.

Guided Scenario: Optimized Sequence in Action

Imagine a scenario with three requirements: “Task 1,” “Task 2,” and “Task 3.” “Task 2” should follow “Task 1,” and “Task 3” should follow “Task 2.” By defining these dependencies, RSO ensures seamless sequencing, adhering to the start and end times of predecessors.

Configuring Requirement Dependencies

Here’s how to set up requirement dependencies for optimal auto-scheduling:
1. Create Requirements: Begin by creating the requirements that need to be sequenced.
2. Define Predecessors and Successors: Navigate to the requirement that should precede another. Add the next requirement as a successor, specifying the dependency type as “StartAfterEnd.”
3. Run RSO: Once your requirements and dependencies are set, run RSO. It respects these dependencies automatically, without requiring additional constraints or objectives.
RSO guarantees that successors start after the end of predecessors. Even if tasks span multiple days, RSO optimizes sequencing while respecting operational scope.

Achieve Optimal Sequence with Auto Scheduling

Source – Microsoft

Benefits of using RSO

Incorporating Resource Scheduling Optimization into your Dynamics 365 Field Service operations is a strategic move that not only enhances operational efficiency but also significantly improves customer satisfaction and your company’s overall bottom line
Automated Scheduling: The RSO system takes care of the bulk of scheduling tasks, allowing dispatchers to focus on handling exceptional cases and urgent situations. This more streamlined approach saves time and enhances the overall efficiency of operations.
Scalability: With RSO, dispatchers can effectively manage a larger pool of resources, enabling your business to expand into new territories or offer additional services without overwhelming your workforce.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: RSO’s increased efficiency leads to more predictable arrival and completion times for service appointments. It also smoothly arranges substitute technicians for urgent scenarios, ensuring a higher level of customer satisfaction.
Technician Efficiency and Cost Reduction: RSO matches work orders with technicians based on their skills, optimizing their utilization. This results in fitting more appointments within regular working hours, ultimately driving revenue and reducing overtime expenses.
Reduced Travel Time and Costs: By optimizing routes and providing step-by-step directions, RSO minimizes travel time for technicians.
Improved Customer Retention: RSO prioritizes higher-priority work orders, helping you sidestep penalties related to service level agreements (SLAs) and ensuring that you meet customer service commitments. This improved service delivery contributes to better customer retention.

Learn more: Dynamics 365 Customer Voice – What it is and what makes it good for your Organization?

Embrace Efficiency with Resource Scheduling Optimization

By automating scheduling, RSO liberates your team from mundane tasks, enabling them to concentrate on delivering exceptional service. Benefits like automated scheduling, optimized technician utilization, and cost reduction make RSO a game-changing solution. As your technicians operate more efficiently, costs decrease, and customer satisfaction climbs to new heights. And as your business grows, RSO remains a dependable partner, ensuring seamless operations.

At Stridely Solutions, we are dedicated to helping you tap into the potential of RSO and Dynamics 365 Field Service, propelling your business toward unparalleled accomplishments. Don’t miss out on the future of scheduling—connect with us today and usher in a new era of field service management, all made possible by Resource Scheduling Optimization.

Oracle CPQ Cloud: Streamlining Sales and Empowering Businesses

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In today’s competitive market, businesses strive to enhance their sales processes, improve customer experiences, and drive revenue growth. Oracle CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) Cloud emerges as a powerful solution that empowers organizations to achieve these goals seamlessly.

This blog will delve into the functionalities, benefits, and significance of Oracle CPQ Cloud, while also highlighting how Stridely Solutions can assist companies in leveraging this technology for their success.

Understanding Oracle CPQ Cloud

Oracle CPQ Cloud is a cutting-edge software solution that revolutionizes the sales process. It provides an intuitive platform for sales teams, enabling them to create accurate product configurations swiftly, automate pricing decisions, and generate professional proposals and contracts. By integrating flawlessly with other enterprise systems like CRM and ERP, Oracle CPQ cloud enhances collaboration, streamlines workflows, and ultimately boosts customer satisfaction.

Key Features and Capabilities

Configuration Excellence: Oracle CPQ cloud simplifies complex product configurations by offering intuitive tools that guide sales representatives through the process. With dynamic configurators and rule-based validations, accurate and error-free configurations are easily achieved, ensuring customer expectations are met.

Pricing Automation: Manual pricing decisions are time-consuming and prone to errors. Oracle CPQ Cloud automates pricing calculations, taking into account various factors such as product features, customer segments, and discounts. This ensures consistent and optimized pricing strategies across the organization, increasing profitability.

Quote Generation Efficiency: Generating professional quotes and proposals is a critical aspect of the sales process. Oracle CPQ Cloud streamlines this task by automatically populating product information, pricing details, and terms and conditions. This accelerates the quote creation process, allowing sales teams to respond quickly to customer inquiries.

Seamless Integration: It integrates effortlessly with existing CRM and ERP systems, leveraging the power of data and enhancing customer service. By synchronizing customer information, product data, and sales activities, organizations can gain a 360-degree view of their customers, enabling personalized interactions and targeted sales efforts.

Also Read: Oracle Cloud – The Unskippable Necessity of Future-ready Businesses

Benefits of Oracle CPQ Cloud

Increased Sales Efficiency: By automating time-consuming tasks, eliminating errors, and accelerating quote generation, Oracle CPQ Cloud empowers sales teams to focus on building customer relationships and closing deals. The streamlined sales process enhances productivity and enables sales representatives to handle higher volumes of leads and opportunities.

Enhanced Customer Experience: Oracle CPQ Cloud provides a smooth and personalized buying experience for customers. With accurate product configurations, real-time pricing, and professional proposals, customers can make informed decisions quickly. The improved experience fosters customer loyalty, satisfaction, and repeat business.

Reduced Costs and Errors: Manual sales processes are often prone to errors, leading to costly mistakes and rework. Oracle CPQ cloud minimizes errors by enforcing business rules and ensuring accurate configurations and pricing. By reducing human intervention, organizations can decrease operational costs and improve overall efficiency.

Agile Adaptation to Market Changes: In a rapidly evolving market, businesses must be agile and responsive. Oracle CPQ Cloud enables organizations to adapt swiftly to market changes by easily modifying product configurations, pricing strategies, and quoting templates. This agility allows businesses to seize new opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.

Also Read: All that you need to Know about Oracle ASCP (Advanced Supply Chain Planning)!

Stridely Solutions: Empowering Businesses with Oracle CPQ Cloud

Stridely Solutions is a leading provider of technology solutions that assist businesses in transforming their sales processes. With expertise in Oracle CPQ Cloud implementation, Stridely Solutions helps organizations harness the full potential of this powerful tool.

The Stridely Difference includes:

  • A global team of Oracle CPQ consultants that have successfully completed hundreds of deployment projects.
  • Cost-effective Services for Oracle CPQ installation.
  • Oracle CPQ Cloud specialists are available to help you interface your CPQ system with your ERP and other financial systems.
  • Pre-built migrations and integrations.
  • Pre-built industry solutions.
  • Offshore and onshore delivery capabilities.

Conclusion

Oracle CPQ Cloud stands as a game-changing solution that enables businesses to streamline their sales processes, enhance customer experiences, and drive revenue growth. With its powerful features like configuration excellence, pricing automation, quote generation efficiency, and seamless integration, Oracle CPQ Cloud empowers sales teams to deliver accurate product configurations, optimize pricing strategies, and generate professional proposals and contracts.

In conclusion, Oracle CPQ Cloud, coupled with the expertise of Stridely Solutions, presents businesses with an opportunity to revolutionize their sales processes, boost efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and achieve sustainable growth in a highly competitive market. Embracing Oracle CPQ Cloud as a digital channel is a strategic move that can propel businesses toward success and establish a strong foundation for future growth.

Know your customer better with Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement

Posted on by stridely

In today’s hyper-competitive world, building and nurturing strong relationships with customers is paramount. According to a study by PwC, 73% of customers consider customer experience an essential factor in their purchasing decisions.

Moreover, currently, companies of all sizes encounter certain challenges such as effectively managing business and customer relationships, segmenting campaigns, automating marketing processes, and efficiently communicating with potential customers to generate value. Moreover, personalized services are essential for fostering loyalty and gaining recommendations.

Discovering a tool in the market that effectively incorporates all these business aspects poses a significant obstacle. Well, your search ends here!

Introducing – Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, a cloud-based platform that brings integration of ERP and CRM features along with the modern cloud, designed to efficiently handle these areas and beyond.

Also Read:  Business Transformation with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform

Picture this: A dynamic tool that combines sales, marketing, and customer service all in one place. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE) is the superhero solution that does just that. It is an exceptional platform renowned for its powerful capabilities and user-friendly interface, enabling businesses to streamline data integration, obtain valuable predictive insights, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Now, we understand your skepticism, as many software providers make similar claims. However, we urge you to give us a chance. In this blog post, we will delve into the compelling reasons why investing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE is truly worthwhile.

Overview of the Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Apps

D365 Customer Engagement consists of four essential applications: Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, and Field Service.

Sales – D365 Sales enables sales teams to proactively monitor consumer preferences, market trends, and competitors. By providing actionable insights, it keeps sales teams ahead of the game.

Marketing – With deeper insights into buyer behaviors, D365 Marketing empowers teams to nurture leads, enhance marketing messaging, and foster enduring customer relationships.

Customer Service – By centralizing customer data and utilizing AI-driven analytics, D365 Customer Service reduces time spent searching and enhances the ability to connect with customers effectively.

Field Service – Equipped with real-time data, D365 Field Service enables quick dispatch of the appropriate resources to the right location at the right time. It provides the necessary tools for achieving success on the first attempt.

Also Read: Managing Employee Lifecycle with D365 Human Resource for Enterprises: Learn why and how to do it?

Gain Customer Insights for a Deeper Understanding of your Customer

Imagine your company is a mobile app developer catering to a wide range of users. However, you lack precise information about their preferences and usage patterns.

With Customer Insights, you can consolidate, manage, and analyze customer data in a single location. This data can include app usage data, user behavior, in-app purchases, and feedback. By leveraging this information, your company can create comprehensive customer profiles and tailor the app experience to individual users.

For instance, Customer Insights may reveal that a significant portion of your users are interested in fitness and health-related features. Armed with this knowledge, you can personalize the app by highlighting fitness trackers, workout plans, and nutritional advice for these specific users.

Additionally, Customer Insights allows you to employ predictive analytics to forecast user engagement, identify potential churn risks, or predict future feature demands. This enables your team to proactively address user needs, improve customer retention, and drive app usage.

Manage Customer Relationship Efficiently

Personalized customer service: Collect and manage customer data in one place to offer high-quality, relevant customer service. Automate email marketing and create segmented campaigns based on customer interests and behaviors.

Efficient lead and sales management: Track leads, manage sales activities, create quotes and proposals, and prioritize sales efforts with tools provided in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement.

Improved customer service efficiency: Manage customer service cases, automate responses, handle service level agreements, and measure customer satisfaction, enhancing overall customer service efficiency and experiences.

Streamline Sales and Marketing Alignment for Enhanced Customer Engagement:

Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables you to leverage the same data model and transaction processing platform used in other Microsoft applications. This allows your teams to seamlessly extend their use of Dynamics 365.

One of the key strengths of model-driven apps in Dynamics 365 is their extensibility. Multiple business apps can be utilized concurrently on the same tenancy, instance, and database. This enables professionals across your organization to leverage applications tailored to their specific needs while easily exchanging information and processes with colleagues working on different aspects of the business.

With a unified platform, administrators, customizers, and developers only need to learn one platform, and customizations become universal. As all the expected data is stored in a single central repository, there is no need for complex data mappings or database interfaces. Both sales and marketing teams can collaborate seamlessly throughout the entire customer journey, with shared client, lead, and account information.

By leveraging Dynamics 365, your company can streamline the entire customer lifecycle, from lead discovery and nurturing to opportunity qualification and closing. This multifaceted solution replaces the need for multiple single-purpose programs and delivers consistent business value at every stage of customer interaction, from acquisition to retention.

Also Read: An all-inclusive View of Dynamics 365 and how it helps in Boosting Digital Selling

Leverage artificial intelligence for improved efficiency

Envision a scenario where your company deals with a high influx of customer emails containing frequently asked questions and technical support inquiries. Currently, these emails are handled manually by your customer service team, leading to potential errors and delays in response times.

By harnessing the capabilities of AI Builder, your company can develop customized AI templates capable of automatically recognizing and categorizing customer questions and requests within emails, ensuring they are directed to the appropriate customer service team. This implementation significantly reduces response times and enhances overall customer service efficiency. This streamlines response times and improves efficiency by directing them to the right customer service team.

Let’s Summarize

In summary, the benefits of D365 CE stem from its ability to centralize customer data, providing easy access for all teams. With consolidated data, finding customer profiles, preferences, and case histories becomes effortless, saving valuable time for other essential tasks and improving the overall customer experience.

Moreover, D365 CE offers a comprehensive 360-degree view of customers, enabling better anticipation of their needs and personalized interactions. AI-driven insights further enhance understanding by fine-tuning existing knowledge and maintaining strong customer relationships.

For instance, conversation insights provide valuable cues about customer sentiments, allowing appropriate responses and effective communication. Relationship health notifications aid in managing customer relationships, ensuring everyone receives the necessary attention and care.

To get expertise in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, you can rely on Stridely Solutions. Our team is capable, experienced, and reliable. With years of experience, we can consult you for perfectly deploying this new efficiency for your business and making it work in your favor. Contact us today.

Simplifying IoT Solutions for Enterprises: The Stupendous Power of Azure IoT Central

Posted on by stridely

The profusion of intelligent appliances in homes and work locations has completely reshaped the way we live and work. We now have the capacity to program many of the gadgets we utilize on a daily basis to function at highest productivity levels, autonomously, owing to the Internet of Things (IoT)technology. However, creating IoT solutions can be intricate and time-consuming, requiring outstanding application advancement. Azure IoT Central is a fully automatic Software as a Service solution that hastens and simplifies the execution and administration of IoT solutions. It reduces the intricacy of IoT development and decreases costs by presenting a managed service to configure, secure, and monitor cloud-connected devices and their data feeds without writing code.

Also Read: How Cloud Analytics Boosts Business ROI: Drive Growth and Profitability

What is Azure IoT Central?

Microsoft Azure Internet of Things (IoT) Central is a cloud service accessible via a web browser that allows the user to create, manage, and monitor IoT solutions without the need to build infrastructure. It provides preconfigured templates for common IoT scenarios like asset tracking, remote monitoring, and predictive maintenance, which can be customized to suit unique business requirements. IoT Central saves enterprises time and resources that would otherwise be spent developing and maintaining an IoT platform from scratch. The service handles all the underlying IoT components including device management, data collection, analytics dashboards, and integrations with other Azure services.

How to Develop an IoT Solution Using Azure IoT Central

Building an Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and managing connected devices at scale can be a complex endeavor. Azure IoT Central is a fully managed IoT SaaS that simplifies the process for IoT solution development and device management. The basic steps for developing an IoT solution using IoT Central are:

  • Create an IoT Central Application
    The first step is registering an Azure IoT Central account and creating an application container that will hold all relevant assets including devices, device templates, rules, and dashboards.
  • Define Device Templates
    IoT Central has default device templates for common scenarios but custom templates can be created to meet specific needs. Templates define the telemetry, properties, and commands supported by devices.
  • Connect Devices
    Once templates are ready, devices connect to the IoT Central application using various connectivity protocols including MQTT, HTTPS, and AMQP. Devices can connect directly or through an IoT hub.
  • Configure Rules and Alerts
    IoT Central allows setting rules and alerts to automate actions based on device data. Rules can trigger alerts through email, SMS, or other notification channels when certain conditions occur.
  • Visualize Data with Dashboards
    IoT Central’s drag-and-drop dashboard designer allows creation of custom dashboards to visualize device telemetry using charts, gauges, maps and other visualizations to monitor performance and identify trends.

Advantages of Adopting Azure Central

There are several benefits of utilizing IoT Central for quickly deploying IoT solutions, including:
Low-code Programming: IoT Central offers a low-code platform for creating and deploying IoT solutions, which decreases the time and cost of IoT development. It enables enterprises to directly connect their devices to the cloud.
Preconfigured Templates: IoT Central provides preconfigured templates for common IoT scenarios, which lessens the time and effort required for IoT solution design.
Simplified Device Management: IoT Central handles device connectivity, data management, and visualization, streamlining IoT solution management.
Integration With Other Azure Services: IoT Central allows integration with other Azure services like Stream Analytics, Power BI, and Azure Functions, enabling advanced analytics and automation.

Also Read: Rehost, Replatform, and Refactor – Which Application Migration Strategy to Choose and When?

Comparison between Azure IoT Hub and Azure IoT Central

Comparison Factors Azure IoT HubAzure IoT Central
FlexibilityProvides more flexibility for customization.Limited flexibility due to SaaS nature.
Level of Technical SkillsRequires software development skills and knowledge.No coding or cloud skills needed for configuration.
CostPayment based on total number of messages per day.Pay-per-device payment model.
MaintenanceUser is responsible for maintenance.Microsoft handles all maintenance.

 

Also Read: Why you can choose Azure over AWS?

Final Words,

Azure IoT Central aims to simplify the process of building and managing IoT solutions for enterprises. IoT Central provides pre-configured templates, low-code configuration, pay-per-device pricing model, and device management capabilities that allow businesses to focus on their core competencies rather than investing time and resources in building an IoT platform. For organizations just starting their IoT journey or those seeking a rapid way to deploy solutions at scale, Azure IoT Central can help accelerate IoT adoption and time to value.

Stridely’s IoT experts can assist organizations in leveraging Azure IoT Central to:

  • Evaluate their specific IoT use cases and requirements
  • Select the appropriate IoT Central templates and customize them
  • Connect devices and set up rules, alerts and dashboards
  • Integrate IoT Central with other Azure services and internal systems
  • Monitor performance and continuously improve the IoT solution
  • Train users and provide ongoing managed IoT services

Our experience in implementing various IoT solutions across industries using Azure IoT Central can help you overcome common challenges and accelerate your IoT initiatives. We adopt a consultative approach to understand your objectives and customize recommendations to maximize the benefits from your IoT investments.

Automate Invoice Processing using RPA

Posted on by stridely

Invoicing, a crucial aspect of business operations, often proves to be a time-consuming process involving manual data entry, record-keeping, and excel spreadsheets. Unfortunately, such methods are prone to human error, resulting in inefficiencies.
Did you know that manual data entry errors can cost businesses an estimated 5-7% of their annual revenue? The traditional approach to invoice processing is not only inefficient but also susceptible to human errors that can have a significant impact on a company’s bottom line.
Fortunately, there is a solution that can enhance profitability and optimize high-volume office operations: the integration of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) into financial services transactions.
By leveraging RPA and OCR, organizations can automate repetitive tasks and extract crucial information from invoices with remarkable speed and accuracy. In fact, studies have shown that RPA can reduce invoice processing times by up to 80% and increase data accuracy by over 90%.
With RPA and OCR technologies, billing and invoicing functions can be automated with unrivaled accuracy, operating tirelessly 24/7. This automation not only streamlines office operations but also boosts profitability. Real-time generation of work orders as orders are completed reduces processing time, leading to improved customer satisfaction. Additionally, streamlining accounts payable and accounts receivable functions through automated invoicing and reconciliation tasks enhances accuracy, reduces human error, and overall improves the efficiency of finance and accounting departments.

Also Read: SAP S/4HANA with Intelligent RPA: Advantageous are Uncountable!

Challenges with traditional invoice processing

Invoice processing, the bane of many businesses, comes with its fair share of challenges when using traditional methods. The reliance on manual data entry introduces the risk of errors and is a time-consuming process. Paper-based processes further complicate the workflow, making it difficult to track invoice status and resulting in inefficiencies. The lack of real-time visibility hampers the timely resolution of discrepancies.
Retrieving and analyzing invoice data becomes a tedious task, impeding decision-making processes. Scalability becomes a concern when handling large volumes of invoices, leading to delays and increased staffing needs. Compliance and audit risks are heightened due to inconsistent processes and documentation.
Here is a list of challenges businesses face with traditional invoice processing methods:

  • Manual data entry
  • Paper-based processes
  • Lack of visibility
  • Inefficiency and delays
  • Difficulty in data retrieval and analysis
  • Limited scalability
  • Compliance and audit risks

How RPA helps in invoice processing

Unlike physical robots, RPA utilizes digital software bots that operate existing systems through user interfaces, mimicking human workers. This unique approach makes RPA a faster and more cost-effective solution compared to traditional software integrations that require APIs and extensive programming.
When it comes to invoice processing, RPA bots follow a series of steps to efficiently handle the task.
Identify Invoices – Firstly, they are trained to locate invoices from various sources, such as vendor portals, email accounts, or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems.
Extract data – Once an invoice is identified, the RPA bot scans it and extracts relevant data using advanced cognitive capabilities like computer vision and Natural Language Processing (NLP). This allows the bot to accurately copy the data into other applications and systems, such as ERP or accounting software.
Match invoices with other relevant documents – RPA bots are capable of matching invoices to related documentation like purchase orders or receipts of goods. They compare line items and validate the information, even sending notifications to vendors if any discrepancies are found.
Approval – The bots can route invoices for approval, ensuring that the appropriate manager reviews and approves the payment. In some cases, RPA bots can even handle routine payments without the need for human intervention.
Posting payment to the system – Finally, RPA bots seamlessly post the approved and paid invoices to the system, ensuring accurate data and creating a detailed audit log throughout the entire process. By automating these steps, RPA eliminates errors, improves efficiency, and enhances the overall invoice processing workflow

Also Read: 10+ RPA and Machine Learning Use Cases that might Interest your Enterprise

What are the benefits of invoice automation?

Invoice automation offers several benefits that can greatly improve business operations. Here are some key advantages of implementing invoice automation:

  • Streamline Team Communications

Invoice automation eliminates the need for manual communication and coordination among team members involved in the invoice processing workflow. Automated notifications and reminders can be sent to relevant stakeholders, keeping everyone informed about the status of invoices, approval requests, and payment deadlines. This streamlines communication, reduces delays, and ensures a smooth workflow.

  • Improve Cash Flow

With invoice automation, businesses can expedite the processing of invoices, leading to faster payment cycles. By reducing the time, it takes to generate and process invoices, organizations can accelerate their accounts receivable collections and improve cash flow. This provides greater financial stability and flexibility for the business.

  • Reduce Costs

Manual invoice processing can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, requiring significant human resources. Invoice automation reduces the need for manual data entry, paperwork, and repetitive tasks, resulting in cost savings. It frees up employees’ time to focus on more value-added activities and reduces the risk of errors, which can lead to additional costs.

  • Improve Accuracy

Human error is a common challenge in manual invoice processing. Invoice automation minimizes the risk of errors by automating data entry, validation, and reconciliation processes. Advanced technologies like optical character recognition (OCR) ensure accurate data extraction from invoices, reducing the likelihood of mistakes. This leads to more accurate financial records and reduces the need for costly corrections.

  • Accelerate Financial Close

Invoice automation can significantly speed up the financial close process. By automating tasks such as invoice reconciliation, data entry, and validation, businesses can reduce the time it takes to complete financial close activities. This allows for faster reporting, analysis, and decision-making, enabling organizations to gain insights into their financial health in a more timely manner.

  • Strengthen Governance and Controls

Invoice automation introduces robust governance and control mechanisms into the invoice processing workflow. Automated systems can enforce compliance with internal policies, regulatory requirements, and financial controls. By standardizing and automating processes, businesses can ensure consistency and accuracy in invoice handling, reducing the risk of fraud, errors, and non-compliance.

Also Read: RPA: A Blessing in Disguise for Accounting & Finance Industry

Final Thoughts

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a valuable tool for automating the invoice processing workflow. The automation of manual tasks in the invoice process frees up valuable time for employees to concentrate on higher-value activities. Additionally, RPA streamlines the workflow, resulting in faster processing times and increased customer satisfaction.
By integrating RPA into your invoice process automation strategy, you can optimize resource allocation, reduce errors, and minimize processing delays. This not only leads to cost savings but also improves overall operational efficiency.
If you are considering implementing RPA for invoice processing automation, our experts are available to discuss your specific requirements and provide guidance tailored to your organization’s needs. Take the first step towards a more streamlined and efficient invoice processing system by reaching out to our team today.

Accelerate Insights: Real-Time Analytics and Business Intelligence with Microsoft Fabric

Posted on by stridely

Real-time analytics and business intelligence have transformed how companies use data to gain insights and make decisions. These capabilities have provided companies with huge competitive advantages.

Microsoft has recently announced a new platform called Microsoft Fabric which they describe as a unified data analytics platform. It provides a range of capabilities under one roof like data engineering, data science, and data governance.

The best part is that Microsoft Fabric can be accessed from any cloud platform. Whether companies use Azure, AWS, Google Cloud or any other cloud service, Microsoft Fabric can plug right in and help to get the most from all organizational data. This type of cross-cloud support means even more flexibility and choice for businesses using the platform.

Also Read: Microsoft Azure Logic Apps: Everything a Business Needs to Know

Maximize Your Data Potential with Microsoft Fabric’s Advanced Capabilities

Microsoft Fabric is a cloud platform that combines various cloud services into a single environment. It allows users to manage and govern data, discover insights from data, and analyze data stored in a data lake.

  • Data Factory

It provides more than 150 connectors to cloud and on-premises data sources, drag-and-drop experiences for data transformation, and the ability to orchestrate data pipelines. It implies that it can seamlessly connect to a broad range of data sources, transform data into a format that is appropriate for analysis, and subsequently transfer data to numerous destinations.

  • Synapse Data Engineering

It enables great authoring experiences for Spark, instant start with live pools, and the ability to collaborate. Eventually you can use Spark to process large datasets quickly and can cooperate with other data engineers on your projects.

  • Synapse Data Science

It provides an end-to-end workflow for data scientists to build sophisticated AI models, collaborate easily, and train, deploy, and manage machine learning models. This means that you can use Synapse Data Science to build machine learning models that can be used to make predictions, identify patterns, and gain insights from data.

  • Synapse Data Warehousing

Synapse Data Warehousing provides a converged lake house and data warehouse experience with industry-leading SQL performance on open data formats. Also, it enables storing diverse data formats such as structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. Moreover, one can promptly and readily run SQL queries on this data. Synapse Data Warehousing is a capable instrument that helps augment the versatility and scalability of data examination.

  • Synapse Real-Time Analytics

Synapse Real-Time Analytics enables developers to analyze data streaming in from Internet of Things devices, telemetry, logs, and other sources as it is generated, instead of after collection. This allows for the analysis of massive volumes of semi-structured data with high performance and low latency, meaning real-time decisions can be made using the data. Synapse Real-Time Analytics acts as a potent tool, improving business agility and responsiveness by facilitating the analysis of data as it is created.

  • Power BI

Power BI in Fabric provides industry-leading visualization and AI-driven analytics that enable business analysts and business users to gain insights from data. The Power BI experience is also deeply integrated into Microsoft 365, providing relevant insights where business users already work. Which suggests that Power BI enables you to build interactive dashboards and reports that help you visualize your data to derive meaningful insights from it.

  • Data Activator

It provides real-time detection and monitoring of data and can trigger notifications and actions when it finds specified patterns in data—all in a no-code experience. Which implies that Data Activator enables you to observe your data for modifications and to act when preconfigured conditions are satisfied.

Also Read: Utilizing the Power of Big Data Analytics for Oil and Gas Industry

What issues is Microsoft Fabric striving to address?

  • The complications of structures owing to the advancements and innovations in the field of data, AI, analytics, and databases.
  • The segmentation of data owing to the surge in the volume of data stored in multiple systems.
  • Numerous products that necessitate comprehensive integration and numerous teams and skills to manage them.
  • Security administration, possessing multiple products implies that security must be managed across all of them.
  • Complicated cost administration, numerous organizations have migrated to the cloud during the past few decades, and most PAYG (pay-as-you-Go) models are challenging to comprehend.

Let’s dive into some of the key benefits of Microsoft Fabric

  • Unified platform: Microsoft Fabric is a unified platform that brings together all the data and analytics tools that organizations need. This enables organizations to easily craft, and control solutions based on data analytics while also helping to strengthen cooperation between data scientists, data engineers, and business users.
  • Accelerated time to insights: Microsoft Fabric can help organizations to accelerate their time to insights by providing a single platform for data preparation, analysis, and visualization.
  • Improved data governance: Microsoft Fabric can help organizations to improve their data governance by providing a centralized repository for data assets.
  • Reduced costs: Microsoft Fabric assists organizations to reduce their costs by providing a pay-as-you-go pricing model.
  • Increased agility: Microsoft Fabric can help organizations to increase their agility by providing a cloud-based platform. With it organizations quickly adapt changes which business are needed and help them to improve their disaster recovery capabilities.

Also Read: Big Data for Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) Industry: How and Why Businesses Need it?

Conclusion

Microsoft Fabric can accelerate insights and enhance decision-making capabilities. Stridely Solutions has expertise in helping businesses design and execute real-time analytics and business intelligence strategies with Microsoft Fabric. We can maximize the value and ROI (Return on investment) of Microsoft Fabric for your organization.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we have a proven track record of delivering successful Microsoft-based solutions. Our deep understanding of Microsoft technologies like Microsoft Fabric alongside our data analytics expertise positions us well to maximize the benefits of Microsoft Fabric for your business.

Leveraging Stridely Solutions’ services and Microsoft Fabric together can provide a powerful combination for successfully extracting real-time insights from your data.

Let us know how we can help accelerate your analytics journey.

Enhance your E-commerce Potential with SAP Commerce Cloud’s Headless Architecture Features

Posted on by stridely

The world of e-commerce is experiencing exponential growth, with a projected market value of $27.15 trillion by 2027, boasting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.7%. The widespread adoption of online browsing and purchasing, especially through mobile devices, has fueled this remarkable expansion, and recent events, such as the global pandemic, have further accelerated this phenomenon.

Among the myriad factors driving the remarkable growth of e-commerce, the delivery of exceptional user experiences and top-notch customer experiences (CX) stands out. This is particularly true in the retail industry, where establishing an omnichannel presence and providing a unified experience for customers are crucial for success.

In the face of such complexity, the need for Headless Commerce architecture becomes increasingly apparent. This architecture enables businesses to implement efficient CX strategies that cater to users across multiple channels, devices, and interfaces, all without compromising backend functionality.

However, in the realm of headless commerce, there isn’t a single centralized platform to manage it all. Instead, there is a multitude of disparate sources that must be unified to ensure a seamless customer experience. It is here that the power of SAP Commerce Cloud Composable Storefront (also known as Spartacus) truly shines.

Also Read: Dynatrace for SAP Hybris – The Arrival of the Commerce Cloud Monitoring Age

In this blog, we will explore the headless e-commerce architecture in SAP Commerce Cloud. We will delve into the features, benefits, and functionalities of this architecture, highlighting how SAP Commerce Cloud leverages headless principles to enable businesses to create outstanding e-commerce experiences. Let’s dive in and discover how headless architecture and SAP Commerce Cloud combine to provide a robust foundation for modern e-commerce success.

What is Headless e-commerce architecture?

Headless e-commerce architecture, at its core, involves the separation of the frontend from the backend. Unlike traditional monolithic architectures, where the presentation layer is tightly coupled with the underlying system, headless architecture allows businesses to break free from the limitations of predetermined frontends. With headless architecture, companies gain the freedom to design and tailor their desired front-end experiences to meet their unique brand identity and customer needs.

What sets headless architecture apart is its lack of rigid guidelines for content presentation. Unlike traditional architectures that prescribe specific rendering methods, headless architecture provides flexibility by decoupling content delivery from its presentation. Instead, it relies on APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to connect the frontend and backend, enabling content to be delivered to any device, anywhere, while ensuring a seamless and engaging user experience.

APIs serve as the bridge between the front end and backend, facilitating smooth communication and data exchange. By utilizing APIs, businesses can leverage the vast array of possibilities offered by headless architecture. They can tap into the power of SAP Commerce Cloud’s backend capabilities while crafting captivating frontends that resonate with their target audience. This dynamic approach empowers businesses to adapt to changing market demands swiftly and deliver personalized experiences that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Key Features of Headless Architecture

  • Use APIs to Connect Frontend and Backend

By leveraging APIs, the headless architecture enables seamless communication between the frontend and backend systems. This allows for flexible and modular development, where different components can be developed independently and integrated using APIs.

  • Multi-Channel Experience

With headless architecture, businesses can create and manage digital experiences across multiple channels, such as websites, mobile apps, social media platforms, IoT devices, and more. This ensures a consistent and engaging user experience across various touchpoints.

  • Easy Integration with Open-Source, Custom-Built Technologies, and Third-Party Systems

You’re not limited to a specific set of tools anymore. Headless architecture lets you easily integrate open-source, custom-built, and third-party systems. It’s like having a toolkit that adapts to your needs. Choose the best tools available and build the ultimate e-commerce machine!

Also Read: FedEx Integration in SAP Hybris eCommerce – Everything you need to know about it.

  • Support for Multiple Frameworks and Languages

Headless architecture is framework-agnostic, meaning it supports multiple frontend frameworks and programming languages. This provides developers with the freedom to choose the most suitable tools and technologies for their specific requirements and expertise.

  • Content Creation, Editing, and Management for Marketers and Creators

Headless architecture makes it a breeze to create, edit, and manage composable content. Imagine building content like Lego blocks, where you can easily assemble and personalize it across various channels. Let your creativity flow!

  • Composable Commerce

Flexibility is the name of the game. Headless architecture supports composable commerce, allowing you to customize your e-commerce experience to meet your unique business goals. Mix and match different commerce capabilities like product catalogs, shopping carts, and payments.

With its flexible, scalable, and future-proof nature, headless architecture is the secret sauce for building remarkable e-commerce experiences that captivate your customers.

Headless Commerce Benefits

  • Headless architecture allows developers to utilize the frontend framework of their choice, empowering them to build highly customized digital experiences.
  • By decoupling the frontend and backend, headless implementation adds an extra layer of security, protecting platforms from potential malicious attacks.
  • Headless architectures often receive regular updates, reducing potential risks and vulnerabilities compared to traditional CMS platforms.
  • Brands have complete ownership and control over their site architecture with headless commerce.
  • Improved conversion rates and lower customer acquisition costs are possible with optimized user experiences in headless commerce.
  • Enables businesses to achieve infinite scalability in hosting resources, allowing them to handle increased traffic without incurring substantial costs.

The SAP Commerce Cloud Advantage

SAP Commerce Cloud offers several key benefits that make it an exceptional e-commerce solution:

  • Leveraging Frontend Frameworks:

SAP Commerce Cloud as a headless e-commerce solution allows developers to leverage their preferred frontend frameworks. This flexibility enables them to utilize modern frontend technologies, such as React, Angular, or Vue.js, to create highly interactive and visually appealing user interfaces.

  • Extensibility:

It offers extensive extensibility features, allowing businesses to customize and tailor their e-commerce experience. It enables users to configure and customize pages and components, adjust configurations, create custom themes, and utilize dependency injection to customize business logic.

Also Read: SAP Hybris Migration to Commerce Cloud Version 2 — The Process, Advantages, Cons and more…

  • Upgradability and Regular Updates:

It is designed to be upgradable, providing template-based code generators and scripts to handle upgrade tasks efficiently. This ensures that businesses can stay up to date with the latest enhancements and fixes without the hassle of extensive manual adjustments.

  • Performance:

SAP Commerce Cloud prioritizes performance optimization to deliver fast and responsive websites. It incorporates mechanisms like above-the-fold loading, server-side rendering, deferred loading, lazy loading techniques, and caching to enhance speed, improve user experience, and boost search engine rankings.

  • Decoupled Architecture:

SAP Commerce Cloud follows a decoupled architecture, allowing frontend and backend teams to work separately and independently. This separation enables increased productivity, scalability, and specialization by leveraging separate deployment and release cycles. It also offers flexibility to connect with other systems through connectors.

Conclusion

Adopting a headless e-commerce architecture with SAP Commerce Cloud brings numerous benefits, including extensibility, upgradability, performance optimization, and a decoupled architecture. However, to fully leverage the potential of SAP Commerce Cloud, partnering with a trusted SAP Commerce Cloud Services Provider like Stridely Solutions can enhance the implementation process and maximize the benefits.

As a leading SAP Commerce Cloud Services Provider, Stridely Solutions offers expertise in designing, developing, and managing SAP Commerce Cloud solutions tailored to businesses’ unique requirements. With our in-depth knowledge and experience, we can assist you in leveraging the extensibility and customization features of SAP Commerce Cloud, ensuring a seamless integration with existing systems and third-party technologies.