74% of enterprises likely to move applications onto the cloud in 2022: Rahul Singh, SAP

“With the return of physical events and on-ground marketing, we can see a seismic shift in how companies, brands and agencies engage with each other as well as consumers,” says Rahul Singh, Vice President and Head of Marketing, SAP India.

“Virtual meetings and seminars are great because you can attend two-three in a day quite easily without the hassle of commuting between different events, but then attendees also have the same freedom to log out of uninteresting interactions,” says Singh, explaining why a hybrid mix of on-ground and digital marketing across product categories is here to stay.

The Germany-headquartered international software corporation, which specializes in enterprise software for businesses, both digitally native as well as legacy brands making the shift towards digital, is seeing an increasing demand for cloud services as well. 

While SAP is a market leader in the SME segment, with close to 10,000 mid-market business customers in India, the company is increasingly focusing on digitally transforming micro, small, and medium enterprises in India through cloud migration assistance.

A recent IDC Info-brief on the ‘State of Indian Mid-Markets’ has indicated that 74% of enterprises are likely to move applications onto the cloud in 2022. To address the needs of this market, SAP’s ‘cloud on wheels’ initiative will provide the much-needed support for the industry to remain competitive and to stay relevant in the rapidly changing business landscape.

“The pandemic really accelerated the already growing adoption of digital products, products, and engagement. From a marketing standpoint, virtual launch events and campaigns are very attractive when it comes to cost-effectiveness, accessibility and sheer convenience,” remarks Singh, saying that on the flip side, this also means that such events have to be engaging and interactive from the very start, in order to retain the attention of an online audience.

Transformation Express and the Metaverse

SAP India launched an immersive mobile experience center in April, called the ‘Transformation Express’, to advance cloud adoption and drive business transformation for the Indian mid-market enterprises.

The ‘Transformation Express’, a mobile high-tech bus, powered with multimedia displays and interactive touch points, travelled over 7,000 kilometers across 12 cities in 45 days, offering SMEs a first-hand glimpse at how a cloud-based digital core may help enterprises plan and adapt more swiftly.

“While the bus was the focal point, it wasn’t the only aspect. There was experiential marketing, events on the sideline, and we created a lot of social and digital content during that journey, and so it was a fully 360-degree immersive experience,” says Singh, noting that the ‘Transformation Express’ was a huge success.

“However, we wanted this experience to be accessible to companies as well as consumers and so by tapping into the increased interest in the metaverse, we launched an online exploration of the ‘Transformation Express’ in early June. It’s a replica of the physical bus, having digital touchpoints through which you can access videos explaining our offerings,” he elaborates.

The metaverse which can be accessed here (https://transformationexpress.growthmattersforum.com/) allows users to create and customize their own virtual avatars, which can also be imported to other metaverses, followed by a brief introduction by Singh's own avatar (though he notes he's much better looking in real life).

They can then enter the exhibition area wherein they can interact with other users as well as get familiar with SAP’s offerings for SMEs looking to upgrade their digital capabilities.

‘Sustainable’ Messaging

Apart from the digitisation of interactions and engagement, Singh highlights another area that brands in India need to look at is messaging. “It’s no longer about being the most affordable brand or the one that can be delivered fastest. Indian consumers have matured and are looking at their purchases from a lot of different parameters. They’re looking for products and services of socially responsible companies, which are transparent about their operations, and promise a net positive impact on society,” he says, pointing to the present-day ubiquity of the term ‘sustainable’ present across brand segments.

“I say sustainability, but it could really be any term, which ties the company to a higher purpose and appeal to an increasingly conscientious consumer,” he says. The point is to create a brand presence that stands out from an increasingly crowded marketplace, which is attempting to cater to a diverse group of consumers with a wide range of needs, wants, and aspirations.

Data Drive

“It’s a cliché now that data is the new oil, but customer data is really helping brands service the right customers with the right offerings and products. Since it’s no longer about selling licenses and locking in a customer for x number of years, consumers and clients have the freedom to move on to other platforms,” says Singh, adding that it all comes down to customer success, and the promises companies make at the beginning of the sales cycle.

“So you need a lot of data for that, and the thing is that a lot of data collection is regulated. SAP itself has a worldwide policy of not collecting third-party data, and unless we have explicit consent from our customers, we will not send communications to them. Indeed, forget about sending communications, you cannot have that data in your possession,” he says.

“So access to data is limited, with India also coming out with a policy on data collection and regulation soon, in line with the rest of the world, and how companies are going to navigate those restrictions while still providing the best possible products and services to the right markets is going to be something that is going to come into focus, and brands and marketers need to be prepared for it,” concludes Singh.