A letter to Otto – PM of the EarlyWatch Alert. I love you *Otto

[MarioDeFelipe]

Dear *Otto (Fictional name)

I'm writing this letter, although I suspect you might never read it, you might be gratefully retired in Mallorca or Turks and Caicos, with my heartfelt thank you.

We never met, but I've been working with SAP systems for many years, and let me tell you something, everything lives and dies really fast in SAP, everything except the EWA. We must recognize it, your product is incredible, lasting impact of the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs and created SAP, and the world was created.

I still remember the first time I saw your report, I am not that old so it was mid 2000s, but your EWA report felt revolutionary. I was looking for your instructions, and they were given in a SIM file.

You remember SIM? it was a kind of a video, SIMulator, that SAP gave as instructions, because Youtube didn't exist. Otto, given the complexities, you communicated with us, your messages were heard. No interactions, but the community existed.

Otto's Business Plan, I didnt need more

Otto, enough said, we were in the business with you!

Wait a minute

I will do what I can, give me a few years and I catch up

Your report was optimized for Word Perfect 6.0 but... Perfect

I gotta say, all in blue, black and white seemed in line to the user experience of mySAP.com, it was enough for us, because the data was 101% accurate, not a comma could be taken out.

All this has evolved, See how it looks today

130 pages of color graphics! pure gold, factual facts. Germany engineering at its best, hard to find these days.

Yes Otto, All changed in my SAP life... except your weekly emails. SAP asks me to log in a portal called SAP for Me (yes, there are still "Portals"), but I still receive your emails in my inbox, for those that still have inbox.

Maybe you were ahead of your time, but You, Otto, were a pioneer of automated, data-driven, factual reporting long before "AI" became the dominant buzzword.

We talk so much today about Artificial Intelligence generating reports and insights, but you built a system that did exactly that, reliably and effectively, using smart logic, deep system knowledge, and deterministic analysis nearly 25 years ago.

So, Otto, wherever you are, thank you. Thank you for your vision, for your contribution to the SAP ecosystem, and for creating a product that has stood the test of time and helped countless professionals keep their SAP systems healthy. SAP EarlyWatch Alert is more than just a report; it's a legacy of pragmatic innovation.

With deepest respect and gratitude,

Mario