SAP NEWSBYTE – At the Smart Cities Expo and World Congress (SWEWC) in Barcelona, SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today highlighted how it is working with its broader ecosystem to simplify key local government functions. Unrivaled public sector experience has shaped the SAP® Urban Matters program, which is premised on the belief that cities need more than cutting-edge technology alone to meet today’s challenges; sound management, quality of life, transparency and sustainable economic development are the foundations for long-term success. SAP’s themes at this year’s SWEWC include citizen participation, accessibility, auditable elections and efficient infrastructure management.
Through organizations such as the C40, mayors and urban leaders are assuming a higher profile on national and global stages. Barcelona-based Scytl, a worldwide leader in secure online voting, is helping cities harness growing public interest in urban affairs. Scytl’s secure online voting solutions and citizen engagement tools, several of which leverage the SAP HANA® platform, are helping cities to improve voter participation, community engagement and transparency. These solutions can in turn lead to better-governed communities with more capabilities to gather revenue, improve services and attract new residents and investment. In July, Scytl received US$20 million in venture funding from Sapphire Ventures, the independent venture capital firm spun out of SAP. Scytl solutions will be offered to municipal SAP customers as part of the SAP Urban Matters program, which includes globally refined tools for urban management.
In addition to consulting with citizens and facing voters, urban leaders need help with hands-on management of cities that are increasingly laced with connected devices, vehicles and assets. Riva Modeling Systems, a Toronto-based provider of long-range asset management planning solutions for the public sector and utilities, makes use of SAP HANA, SAP® BusinessObjects™ business intelligence solutions and the SAP Project and Portfolio Management application to help local governments efficiently manage their diverse assets.
SAP and Rolta, a leading provider of innovative IT solutions for many vertical segments, have partnered to bundle Rolta’s industry solutions with SAP HANA and other platform technologies.
“Through our relationships with vendors like Scytl, Riva Modeling and Rolta, SAP is bringing customers the best of both worlds — specialized, innovative solutions that also draw on the worldwide public sector experience gained by SAP over the past 40 years,” said Sean O’Brien, global vice president for Urban Matters and Public Security, SAP. “As factors such as climate change thrust urban leaders to the fore of international affairs, city managers need many of the advanced tools and management practices previously seen only in national governments.”
With many new challenges facing urban areas today, the SAP Urban Matters initiative helps governments improve the lives of people by delivering smarter, more effective services. The program addresses and supports the fundamentals of good government by empowering public officials to be more productive, increasing community engagement and openness, driving innovation around government service delivery and improving urban resilience to help public safety and security.
SCWEC attendees are invited to visit SAP, Scytl and Riva Modeling at booth C318 in Hall 2.
