Even though carefree partying, a jam-packed nightlife scene and beaches are the first things that come to mind when you think about Siófok, conference tourism takes centre stage in the autumn. The hustle and bustle gives way to reflection, a carpe diem attitude to progress - all this in a relaxed, refined and beautiful environment where nothing comes more naturally than contemplating the future as you fix your eyes on the blue of Lake Balaton.
Business vs. leisure
Furthering the future of IT takes much more than day-dreaming, of course. The participants of SAP Forum Hungary couldn’t agree more: on 8-10 September they came together in Siófok to listen to more than 500 lectures and get inspired at the most prestigious IT event in Hungary and the entire region. We were invited, too! The view of Balaton was not the only thing that sent us into full-on Zen mode after the lectures, as evenings were filled with parties, poker and stage performances (among them a show by ExperiDance), and weary lecturegoers had the entire spa department of the hotel at their disposal as well. Let us take a closer look at the events a conference like this has in store.
Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamus in illis
“Times change, and we change with them.” This would be a fitting motto for the three-day event of SAP Forum Hungary 2013, where innovation was at the centre of attention. The organizers of the most prominent IT happening in Central and Eastern Europe switched the venue of the event this year from Tihany to the four-star Hotel Azúr in Siófok, one of the most imposing hotels on the southern shore. The conference schedule was dominated by the topics of business intelligence, the use of mobile devices, the application of cloud computing technology and in-memory computing.
Well-known and acclaimed figures from the fields of economy, IT and professional sport gave presentations at the conference, highlighting possible new approaches. One of the keynote speakers of the event was Tibor Benedek, the coach of Hungary’s world champion(!) water polo team, with Tamás Turcsán, an influential promoter of the Hungarian startup world, and economic expert György Barcza also present. Along with the main speakers, the cream of the professional scene also came out to share their experience with the audience through theory-based talks and case studies.
What is SAP?
The acronym does not refer to the latest room escape game in Budapest, but to a piece of business software, while HANA denotes the in-memory computing technology of SAP. The main selling point of the new technology is that processes that used to take hours or days in the past can be performed within seconds, creating real-time services. SAP Hungary Kft. Manager Balázs Jablonczy told us that the company hopes SAP HANA, launched in 2010, will contribute in a big way to their success. The technology has already proved its worth abroad, but in Hungary the real breakthrough is expected to take place in the near future.
Shopping from the subway platform with a smartphone
You may well wonder who this is important for and why (unless you are at the top level of management). There are countless examples for the application of huge sets of data and mobility from public administration and the business world through transportation to health care.
This is reality and not fiction anymore: in Korea people don’t go to a store after work to do their grocery shopping. They put their shopping lists together with the help of their smartphones and QR codes on posters found in the subway. And as if that were not enough, the items on their lists also get delivered to their homes, which would be impossible without real-time data processing.
The same goes for Germany: human DNA analysis, which used to take 3-4 days, can now be performed in as little time as 3 minutes, which can be useful in personalized cancer treatment.
Startup up startup
It is clear to see that the possibilities of application are only limited by imagination. In the past using the technology was the privilege of big companies, but now public administration, SMEs and even startups are approached with the SAP system. As a related scheme, a program targeting startups will soon be launched.
Even though the attendance fee of the three-day conference may be too staggering for those only casually interested in the topic, but if you are willing to invest you won’t be disappointed, as you will be able to learn about the latest trends, find out how you can boost the efficiency of your firm, and last but by no means least make use of a great professional networking opportunity.
