This is my second blog related to customers experiencing tremendous transformations from implementing HANA technology (click here for the 1st blog)
In this instance we were engaged for a HANA project with the administration of a major metropolitan city. It presided over a multitude of agencies (Fire, Police, tax collection, building and occupancy permits, etc.), each organization having an independent computer system designed to support their function.
Check out this video for a quick overview of this customer project:
(Below continues with a more detailed summary of the project.)
Challenges faced
On a regular basis the staff of the mayor’s office was tasked with pulling together relevant information from several of these sources in order to investigate a situation. It typically took about a week to combine this data and report on the information requested. Due to the slow nature of this work it had become a constant pain point for everyone involved.
Most city governments are run very leanly due to tight budgetary constraints and this one had the same challenges. They did not have enough skilled resources to continually address all of these functions either from the IT or the non-IT organizational staff. They are forced to work within their means the best they can… meaning quality or turnaround time for requests is often an issue.
They knew they needed a new approach to consolidating this data and HANA appeared to be the answer.
Looking towards tomorrow
A future was envisioned were they would have the ability to push a broad spectrum of information, real-time, to first responders enabling them to better understand each situation with consolidated facts sourced from many city systems.
After gaining access to the databases of five identified agencies, key data was extracted and passed on (a regular basis using Data Services) into the HANA system. Dashboards and drill down reports were created which enabled easy access to commonly sought data. Equally important, an environment was established providing them with the flexibility to analyze data in new ways based on the new demands.
Their HANA moment came when they were able they to report nearly instantaneously on information that had previously taken a week to pull together. City resources now had the tools to drive decisions and provide better support each organizational group.
The foundation is in place
This project has become the foundation for all future automation. After the initial project, they went on to expand the solution to include other sources and different types of data. They can now see that their vision truly is becoming a reality for them and everyone relying on timely and accurate information to support
I particular like the strategy of this city to first implement SAP Strategy Management to measure performance. And now they took things to the next level with SAP Intelligence Mgmt and SAP HANA in order to be a more proactive and predictive government to improve performance.
Great story around using SAP HANA for large city organization. I know we are going to see more city organizations using HANA in future due to success stories like this one. Read about what City of Boston is doing with HANA:
