Dr. Khalid Bin Hussain Al-Bayari, STC's senior vice president for Technology, and Ahmed Al-Faifi, managing director, SAP Saudi Arabia, with other officials following the signing of the deal to optimize network management and operations. — Courtesy photo SAP AG announced that it has signed an agreement with STC, the largest telecommunication services provider in the Middle East and North Africa, to implement SAP solutions for network life-cycle management (NLM) to improve network operations. This will enable the company to markedly improve customer service as a result of increased end-to-end visibility for capital projects and assets, as well as enhanced project oversight and collaboration. SAP solutions will also maintain the high quality of STC's IT infrastructure. “With SAP solutions, we can create close links between the logistical and financial sides of our network operations, integrating the entire spectrum of planning and realizing tasks — from demand and supply planning to investment and project management, inventory management and asset accounting,” said Dr. Khalid Bin Hussain Al-Bayari, senior vice president for Technology and Operations, STC. “Enabling effective collaboration within and beyond the company will help optimize the way we manage the network infrastructure, streamlining and innovating for better-run, more cost-effective operations and investments.” SAP solutions will offer STC visibility into equipment and assets, including multifaceted historical details at every step of the life cycle. The solutions are particularly influential in both reducing and optimizing costs related to build and repair, as well as helping increase the productivity of field workers. “The Saudi telecommunications sector is vibrant and fast-moving, and quality of data underpins the innovations and decisions that can make a genuine competitive difference,” said Ahmed Al-Faifi, managing director, SAP Saudi Arabia. “STC has big plans in this respect, and by offering improved visibility into its assets, SAP solutions will enable the company to adapt and succeed in a hugely effective manner.” As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device “ SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 253,500 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. Meanwhile, as part of a co-innovation project, SAP AG and BMW Group Research and Technology have developed an innovative technology infrastructure for in-vehicle mobility services. The research prototype is based on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform and will provide personalized services to drivers based on their location and route. This collaboration brings SAP one step closer toward making its vision of the connected car a reality. The announcement was made at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The cloud-based platform from SAP serves as a link between BMW and external partners that provide services such as parking, fuel, beverages and food. Information from the various partners is aggregated in a virtual marketplace that, in the future, could allow BMW to give passengers and drivers contextualized and personalized offerings via the in-car dashboard or mobile device. — SG
