Welcome to your January News
Chairman's Note
Welcome to 2021, hopefully we are in for a better year this year than last – it is great to see a number of our member organisations are actively involved with supporting the response to the pandemic and in the development and distribution of the vaccines.
Last week we kicked off our 2021 programme at supersonic speed with the motivational speaker Mandy Hickson, one of the first female fighter pilots in the RAF, talking about ‘changing your flight path at speed’. We have had some great feedback on the talk which resonated with over 150 members who joined (one of our largest audiences for a virtual event). If you did not get chance to catch the session live it's available on the event page. Sadly we start 2021 still in full virtual mode for our events, hopefully by the second half of the year we can start to plan in some face to face events and a conference! Please take a look at the events page to see what we have in store over the coming months, including a round of Special Interest Group Coffee Morning sessions to enable you to connect with peers informally.
Something new for 2021! Last week we launched our new podcast – ‘SUGTalks’, hosted by UKISUG CEO Craig Dale. Our launch edition was focused on ‘SUGEN - The Importance to SAP Users’ featuring Philip Adams the previous Chair of the User Group and Gianmaria Perancin Chair of SUGEN. This week sees the first of a two-parter ‘Life in a Pandemic: Home Working, Wellbeing and Positivity’ with Simon Nichols, Founder and Wellbeing Director of Thrive, Lindsey Rowe, Head of People & Programmes Office at SAP UKI and myself. It’s the first time I have recorded a podcast and the three of us really enjoyed our early morning recording, it gave us a real boost that day!
This is something new for the User Group so we would love to hear your feedback on the episodes and topics you would like us to cover in the future. The podcasts are available on all your favourite platforms - so get subscribing and maybe write a review?
Last week we held our first UKISUG Board meeting of 2021 and I am pleased to report that the User Group concluded a difficult year in a strong position both financially and from a member engagement perspective. Much of this is thanks to the way Craig and the Team pivoted the organisation to a fully virtual programme at speed. We didn’t stop there we launched two white papers covering Best Practices for Navigating the High Road to 2027 and our Skills Whitepaper. We also we ran a significant number of wellbeing sessions across the year to provide additional support to you during this difficult time.
All the best for 2021 – Stay safe and keep washing your hands!
Paul Cooper Chairman
We hope you have had chance to listen to our first episode of SUGTalks - the official podcast of the UK & Ireland SAP User Group.
We now have a brand new episode ready for you to discover!
Episode 2: Life in a Pandemic: Home Working, Wellbeing and Positivity (Part 1)
Make sure you listen to parts one and two of a very special podcast, where we discuss life through a pandemic including the challenges, opportunities and how to stay positive. Learn tips from an individual and organisational perspective on how you can create an air of positivity in what often seems a world of negativity, including some interesting discussions on Hula Hooping and our guest’s favourite cheese.
Take a step forward by joining Craig and guests Lindsey, Paul and Simon as they dive into the topic with gusto and positivity, you will be glad you did.
With new episodes released weekly, listen now and you'll be sure to hear some familiar voices talk about themes that matter to you!
Search SUGTalks on your preferred app and subscribe, or follow the link below and listen online.
SAP Announcement: SAP SE Extends Executive Board We would like to make you aware of recent announcements that SAP has shared with the market.
First, that Scott Russell has been named to the SAP Executive Board as head of the Customer Success organisation effective February 1, 2021. An energetic and proven leader, Scott brings more than 20 years of experience in sales, management, consulting, and technology to his new role.
Also joining Scott at the Executive Board level is Julia White, who will serve in the new role of Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer, effective March 1, 2021. Julia brings outstanding customer empathy coupled with strong experience in transformation and innovation. She joins SAP after spending nearly 20 years at Microsoft Corporation where she led product marketing for Microsoft Azure over the past five years.
RISE with SAP: The Introduction Join the free virtual event with Christian Klein’s opening address at 3:00 P.M. GMT and stay for a live Q&A on January 27th, 2021. As announced in Q3/2020, SAP is looking accelerate customers’ move to the cloud. The event will include announcements in this regard and will be free for anyone to join.
Explore the cutting-edge technologies, insights, and deep process experiences that you need to move your business forward smarter, faster, and more nimbly.
No registration is required.
Learn more about the event and save the date.
Do you have a story to share?
It is really important to us that we include customer experiences in our events, both online and in person. Please get involved and let us know if you are interested. You will be invited to attend a speaker training workshop as a thank you and you will also receive a complimentary pass to our annual conference, UKISUG Connect 2021.
'Events enable sharing of experiences and builds relationships with people in similar positions, often sharing the same challenges. Together our voices can be heard.' - Daren Addison, Sanctuary Housing
Email kirsten.boucher@sapusers.org to get started.
Kickstart Your Networking in 2021 with all new Coffee Sessions With all that's gone on in the world in 2020 and especially with face-to-face events still cancelled, it is easy to feel disconnected from your peers and the entire SAP community.
Our SIG Coffee Sessions allow you to reconnect with your peers with similar SAP interests. These short sessions are the ideal chance for members to get together and discuss anything you’d like, with no set agenda. You’ll also have the opportunity to catch up with your SIG Chairs before the SIGs begin again in February.
We have already had a number of coffee sessions take place this month, which have been a huge success! It has been great to catch up and discuss what we would like to see in the upcoming SIG events.
Here's what's still to come:
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