About the Awards

Stories highlighting the use of technology to enable something entirely new or radically different in their business and not just making improvements, however impressive, to existing business practices or processes. Examples of transformative change include enabling new business models, opening new markets, or radically changing how products or services are created and delivered. The transformation could also involve redefining the customer or end user experience, or it could be about how the company collects, processes and interacts with data and information in significantly new ways. Up to six (6) Digital Transformation awards will given. 

Awarded to the person whose story best exemplifies SAP’s ultimate vision of digital transformation and most effectively demonstrates how to use SAP technologies to lead an industry and succeed in today’s dynamic and digital economy. We aim to recognize the customer with both the most significant scope and impact of positive change on their business, as well as the most impressive or creative use of technology to drive that change. Note : As of April 2018 the CEO Choice Award has been re-named to Best Run Award .

Awarded to the person whose story best demonstrates the use of SAP platform technologies to drive radical change in the dynamics in an industry, generating significant business value and improving a company’s competitive positioning. Finalists for this award will highlight how they disrupted the way business is conducted in their industry. For example; establishing new business models, redefining a critical business process, or enabling strategies that break through existing boundaries.  

Stories highlighting the use of technology to re-imagine and drive significant improvements to existing business processes resulting in measurable business impact. These awards will be given to entries that show how SAP technologies have enabled substantial gains in process efficiencies, cost structures or overall operations. Examples of Process Innovation include shorter cycle times, faster time to market, reduced hardware requirements, lower overall technology costs, fewer required support resources, improved customer or end user experience, and better overall profitability. Up to six (6) Process Innovation awards will be given. 

Stories highlighting the use of technology for significant social impact, resulting in significant altruistic, philanthropic, or benevolent outcomes. For example, stories about using SAP technologies to enable dramatic changes in how people live their lives (smarter homes), significant improvements in public services (city of the future, social services), contributions to public health or that creatively addresses a societal challenge (e.g. environment).  

Stories highlighting the how SAP Cloud and Data Platforms can enable development of innovative applications to deliver significant business impact. Either a live customer deployment or POC verified by at least one customer is required for the winner of the Next-Gen Innovator award. The Next-Gen Innovator award will recognize the Partner or Customer who has developed a compelling application and has proven significant impact or potential through a proof of concept (POC). 

Awarded to the person from each SAP region whose story is judged to be the most compelling example from that region of innovation with SAP technologies leading to significant business impact. Digital Transformation, Process Innovation and Next-Gen Innovator stories are all eligible for the Regional Choice award. The seven SAP regions include:

• Latin America (LATAM)
• North America (NA)
• EMEA North
• EMEA South
• Middle & Eastern Europe (MEE)
• Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ)
• Greater China (GC)

All entries to the Innovation Awards will be submitted using the same Registration Of Interest, Entry Form and Pitch Deck. You will not be asked to specifically declare for one or more of the categories listed above. The Award Team will review each entry and assign each as a candidate for one of more of the 2018 categories. However, we recommend you emphasize key points in your Pitch Deck that align with the award descriptions above depending on which award or award category (Digital Transformation or Process Innovation) you believe is most applicable to your story.