In the interview with Zoltan Tenji, Project Manager and Software Expert at Software AG.
Software AG, based in Darmstadt, is one of the largest German software companies and provides large and modern enterprises with the benefits of a truly connected corporate infrastructure. With products in the areas of Integration & API Management, IoT & Analytics, and Business Transformation, the company ensures that data flows smoothly between people, departments, systems, and devices. As a market leader in integration, Software AG helps connect everything using APIs, integration, and microservices. In an interview with Zoltan Tenji, Project Manager and Software Expert at Software AG, we learn more about what it means to operate a truly connected company and what it means to work with data that is released within the company with different permission systems, made available on demand, and to use IoT to obtain new data and work productively with it or build new business models.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Mr. Tenji, especially in medium-sized companies but also in large corporations, different software systems have often been introduced over the years and are therefore used in different departments or business areas. What is the biggest challenge for these companies here?
Zoltan Tenji: That’s right, most new customers of Software AG have a historically grown application landscape. Along with the applications, the data integrations and their complexity have also grown. In recent years, the trend has been for different departments within companies to purchase cloud applications, which further increases the complexity of data flows within the company. Data is stored on in-house servers as well as in private or public clouds. As a result, many companies are actively working on a strategy to capture, distribute, and analyze relevant data. Only with real-time data can decision-makers achieve corporate goals such as fast ordering processes and timely delivery of all kinds of goods, convenient one-click payments, etc. And only with this structured data infrastructure can they enable new data-based business models. This is exactly where companies face challenges. The goal is to free data from different sources and make it available within the company. Software AG offers leading technologies to meet this challenge and enable hybrid data integration.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: The software architecture of these companies often relies on Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in the solution architecture. How will these systems support the requirements of digital innovation in the future?
Zoltan Tenji: Software AG has an approach to API management that leverages APIs to enhance the innovative power of our customers. To redesign IT using APIs and microservices, companies need a flexible, open platform that allows them to connect and share everything without investing in an entirely new IT infrastructure. This networking is made possible through APIs, integration, and microservices. Our webMethods platform helps them manage this so that nothing is impossible.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: To work with company data in a consistent and success-oriented manner, accelerate processes, and potentially prepare the data for new business models, new systems are needed, in your opinion. What do these look like?
Zoltan Tenji: On the one hand, we have Cumulocity IoT, the leading IoT and analytics platform, to generate new data from all sources within the company, such as production, fleet, buildings, etc. In addition, we enable our customers to make data streams controllable in a central data layer using webMethods while increasing transparency at the same time. Historically grown point-to-point networking is effective but leads to increased complexity that grows with every new application and makes central control nearly impossible. Furthermore, as Software AG, we help our customers achieve the next level of process excellence and make the entire IT portfolio more efficient while aligning it with the company strategy. We summarize these solutions under the term “Business Transformation.”
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: More and more companies are turning to Enterprise Management Systems and thus to software packages that monitor and control the complex activities of a company. Software AG is a specialist in this area of automating organizations. How do your services differ from other systems, and why should one definitely talk to Software AG?
Zoltan Tenji: Software AG helps customers clearly define and systematically achieve the next level of process efficiency within their organization. Our Enterprise Management Solution ARIS has been established in the market for 30 years, is rated independently and as a leader, and combines Business Process Management (BPM), Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC), and Process Mining on one platform. This integrated EMS approach from an independent German player like Software AG offers unique advantages. For project implementation, we have our own colleagues in consulting and a strong partner network to efficiently implement our customers’ project goals.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Let’s take a look at the future together. What are the current trends in the area of connected enterprises? Could you briefly describe a scenario for us?
Zoltan Tenji: The truly connected enterprise is a fundamental driver of major future topics. For example, when I talk about machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence in manufacturing, I need to populate data models with the right information to achieve the best results. This again involves generating new data with IoT and making it available and analysable in the right place within IT.
Another topic is risk assessment for supply chains and IT systems. To do this, I need to thoroughly understand and control supplier processes and the IT portfolio. Only then can I effectively assess risks and create a resilient supply chain and IT infrastructure that complies with all regulations and minimizes risks.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Thank you very much for this exciting interview and your insights.