SAP Semantic Layer

SAP Semantic Layer Data Products

With SAP BDC (Business Data Cloud), the global ERP market leader plans not only to clean up its self-inflicted data chaos, but also to create the basis for a transparent, agile, and orchestrated data universe. SAP and non-SAP data will be linked and synchronized on the BDC and BTP platforms based on semantic rules.

The BDC should not only be a license provider and an end in itself, but also the basis for a digital twin. Using the SAP Knowledge Graph and a Hana vector engine, data from the ERP system could be used to create a dynamic image of the company's own ERP system.

Of course, the digital twin of an S/4 system is still a distant dream. But with BTP, BDC, Hana, Graph, and Vector Engine, SAP now has the building blocks to create a digital twin. It remains to be seen whether the project will be successful, and whether SAP will once again aspire to work with customers and partners—as was the case in the past—or whether the company will continue looking only at license revenues and the stock market price.

The world of digital twins

Forty years ago, "simulation of dynamic systems" was already part of the computer science curriculum—the early forerunner of digital twins as we know them today. A Digital Twin is a must for every company, every production facility, and every corporation. Experimentation at low cost—this is the top priority! The automotive industry performs many crash tests and aerodynamic optimizations on the computer. This involves the simulation of dynamic systems (vehicles and vehicle parts). This not only saves costs, but also time.

Siemens has created a Digital Twin of the main hall at the Salzburg Festival in order to optimize the positioning of microphones, and this software is what makes it possible to optimize the acoustics without extensive wiring. The creation of Digital Twins is a complex process that is currently carried out manually for the most part, using software libraries. The commercial use of Digital Twins in the ERP sector is in an early stage of development. The use of AI processes for graph and vector engines could accelerate this development in the coming years.

SAP Business Suite as a Glass Bead Game

The exploration and control of complex structures using insights from game theory and simulation technology is a research area of the future. This field of research is also used in the context of experience and learning. The topic of serious games is not new. However, in business administration and in the context of ERP systems, this topic remains marginal. The implementation of a Glass Bead Game for S/4 Hana could lead to an increase in the general acceptance of this ERP offering.

The new SAP Business Suite with its dedicated end-to-end processes introduces an interesting option. An upstream simulation based on a digital twin is almost inevitable. Whether SAP is ready to build an ERP glass bead game with the Hana engines Vector and Graph as well as the BDC for the new Business Suite remains to be seen.