Darwin Wijaya Tonny: Transforming Industries with Advanced Tech

Advanced Tech

Leading Tech Innovation!

The technology industry constantly evolves, driven by rapid advancements and the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the metaverse. This industry enables businesses to operate more effectively, governments to provide better services, and individuals to connect and share information seamlessly. Using advanced technologies can effectively transform operations, drive efficiency, and create new opportunities for growth and improvement across various sectors.

Darwin Wijaya Tonny, Vice President at SAP, has exemplified leadership and innovation within this industry. His journey began with a profound fascination for computers from a young age, which led him to pursue a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Electrical Engineering. Over the years, Darwin has developed a deep expertise in various aspects of technology, from developing software solutions to researching network interactions and IoT prototypes. His roles have evolved from technical positions to strategic leadership, showcasing his ability to adapt and grow in this sector.

SAP continues to be a pioneer in integrating advanced technologies into its business applications. With a workforce of over 100,000 employees globally and a significant impact on the world’s e-commerce transactions, SAP’s reach is impressive. The company serves a diverse customer base, including the largest global corporations and numerous small to mid-sized enterprises. By focusing on innovation and customer needs, SAP aims to maintain its position as a leader in enterprise applications and business AI, driving value and efficiency for its clients across various industries.

Let’s explore Darwin’s leadership journey in technology:

From Coding to Executive Leadership

Introduction and Early Beginnings:

Darwin’s journey in the technology realm began during his childhood with a deep fascination for computers and their potential to improve society. He started quite early, at the age of 10, learning one of the very first operating systems called Ms-DOS when the early PCs started to reach the mass public.

It was a time before the internet when there was no hard disk, no CPU, etc., and operations were conducted with floppy disks. At 12, he learned his first programming language, Pascal. This deep passion led him to pursue a degree in Computer Science at RWTH Aachen University with a minor in Electrical Engineering.

Educational Background and Early Career:

At the university, Darwin learned diverse algorithms, models, systems, and programming languages. After completing his undergraduate studies, he joined Siemens as a Full Stack Developer while still pursuing his master’s degree. This role allowed him to hone his technical skills and work on innovative projects, such as developing software solutions for CO2 emissions trading.

Furthermore, he completed a 6-month internship at Philips to develop an IoT solution prototype to control lights using software and the Internet. In addition, he did his master’s thesis at Ericsson to research the interaction scenarios between the latest 4G (LTE) and 3G/2G networks at that time. These early experiences were crucial in building his technical expertise and understanding how technology can transform industries.

Post-Graduation and Transition to Leadership:

Upon completing his master’s study, Darwin decided to join SAP as it essentially connects both worlds—business, and technology—which is in line with where his passion lies. Starting as a developer, his role continued to evolve to that of solution architect, project/program manager, enterprise architect, and market unit lead for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in data management realm.

Among others, he led teams, advised, and developed digital transformation strategies and cloud journeys for senior executives from Fortune 500 companies. Another highlight was the launching of new business services that contributed to double-digit sales growth.

Later, he led the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence team within the IT department to formulate the AI strategy and spearhead the adoption of AI use cases, as well as the building of the AI Factory. Their AI use cases were aimed at improving employees’ productivity, saving costs, and increasing end-user satisfaction.

Current role:

Darwin transitioned to his current role in early 2024 and started spearheading some strategic initiatives to optimize SAP’s cloud operations, among others, using AI. This role is highly visible in the company, and it involves collaborating with global teams from various product lines and driving processes, technology, and architecture harmonization that enhance operational efficiency and reduce the cost of cloud computing.

As he completes his Executive MBA at IESE Business School, he is excited to leverage this knowledge to further bridge the gap between technology and business strategy. Looking ahead, Darwin envisions a future where emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain, and Metaverse will create unprecedented opportunities for businesses to thrive and make a positive impact on society.

Harnessing Emerging Technologies

In the ever-evolving realms of technology, strategic planning, and execution demand a nuanced approach to adapt to the rapid pace of change. Recognizing the significance of emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain, and the Metaverse, Darwin employs a forward-thinking strategy that balances anticipation with pragmatism.

In essence, while some of these emerging technologies may require time to mature for widespread adoption, it is imperative for leaders like him to remain conscious of their development trajectory. Leveraging tools such as the Gartner Hype Cycle, he utilizes a framework that guides investment decisions based on the maturity of emerging technologies.

Darwin generally categorizes emerging technologies into three phases: observation, exploration, and mass adoption. This classification enables him to discern which technologies hold the most promise from a business perspective, allowing him to initiate early exploration efforts.

By investing in the exploration of promising technologies, he aims to assess their business potential, gauge technological maturity, and launch proof-of-concept initiatives to accumulate knowledge and expertise.

Through this strategic approach, he could capitalize on emerging opportunities, drive innovation, and sustain competitiveness in dynamic markets.

Driving Efficiency in Legal Processes through AI

As part of its commitment to operational excellence, SAP prioritizes continuous process improvement, leveraging simplification and automation strategies to enhance efficiency. An example of this is evident in their quote-to-contract process.

Traditionally, their legal department was tasked with manually reviewing and approving each quote and contract before sending it to customers. However, recognizing the inefficiencies inherent in this approach, they sought a more streamlined solution.

By harnessing AI technology, they implemented an automated comparison system that swiftly identified differences between the contract document and the previously approved quote. This innovative approach eliminates the need for manual scrutiny, allowing their legal team to focus their efforts more effectively and efficiently.

Through initiatives such as this, they continually seek opportunities to optimize their processes, driving tangible results and reinforcing their commitment to operational excellence.

Strategic Decision-Making in the Face of Market Trends

To maintain SAP’s agility and adaptability in response to technological advancements and market changes, they have cultivated a culture, mindset, and agile approach that prioritizes continuous learning, innovation, and flexibility. They actively assess emerging technologies and explore new use cases, consistently starting with small-scale initiatives to maximize learning opportunities.

Their commitment to staying abreast of market trends and understanding customer needs informs their strategic decision-making process. By remaining open to change and embracing experimentation, they position themselves to swiftly pivot and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

In essence, their approach is centered on fostering a dynamic environment where learning and evolution are embraced as core principles, enabling them to proactively respond to the evolving landscape of technology and market dynamics.

Innovation Triggered by Client Needs and Tech Trends

Primarily, SAP has two sources that trigger innovation: clients’ business requirements and technology trends. By understanding their clients’ needs, they can often generalize these requirements across industries. This allows them to explore how new technologies can address these needs effectively.

They identify new use cases and conduct proof-of-concept (PoC) experiments to test their feasibility. If a PoC is successful, they develop a minimum viable product (MVP) and pilot it internally and/or with selected clients. This iterative process helps them refine the product based on real-world feedback. After successful pilots, they make the product generally available to all clients or clients of specific industries, ensuring it delivers maximum value.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

To stay updated, Darwin regularly consumes online newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and social media. He always tries to incorporate these insights into their strategic planning by evaluating new use-case ideas and analyzing their potential for internal implementation. This approach ensures that they stay ahead of the curve and leverage cutting-edge technologies to drive innovation within their organization.

A Strategic Approach to Sustainability

SAP has set an ambitious goal to achieve net zero emissions along their value chain by 2030, in line with the 1.5°C future target. Net zero means balancing the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere with those removed from it.

They consider all direct and indirect emissions, including those from their supply chain, business flights, travel in rental cars, and third-party data centers. Their approach prioritizes avoiding, reducing, and then compensating for emissions.

Whenever possible, SAP aims to avoid creating greenhouse gases through practices like using telecommunication technologies instead of traveling. If emissions cannot be avoided, they leverage innovations such as energy-efficient lighting in offices, efficient cooling systems in data centers, and alternative mobility solutions.

For unavoidable emissions, SAP supports climate projects and partners with organizations that meet the Gold Standard or equivalent quality standards for carbon offsets. Additionally, SAP continuously drives new corporate initiatives, like implementing an internal carbon price on business flights, to further its sustainability goals.

Integrating Sustainability into Innovation

SAP ensures that sustainability is a key criterion in their decision-making process. By doing so, they integrate sustainability concerns into their innovation efforts, ensuring that their advancements do not come at the expense of environmental responsibility. This approach allows them to drive innovation while maintaining their commitment to sustainable practices.

Creating Value through Technology

Throughout his career, Darwin has faced numerous challenges, from navigating complex problems, leading innovation initiatives, and driving organizational culture change to satisfying the diverse needs of companies across various industries.

One of the most important lessons he’s learned about leadership, digital transformation, and business is that it’s always about people. It’s about creating value for people in everything they do, whether through technology or new methods.

By doing so, they can generate economic value for the companies where these people work, and in some cases, it can even enhance the companies’ competitiveness in the market. These experiences have taught him the importance of resilience, adaptability, and continuous learning.

The Exciting Future of AI, Blockchain, and the Metaverse

There is a saying in the market that every company in the world will eventually become a “technology” company. This aligns perfectly with Darwin’s beliefs and is already becoming a reality for many companies. Technology has become one of the most important enablers for companies to create unique product offerings, gain competitive advantages, and streamline operations.

He is particularly excited about the rapid development and evolution of new technologies, especially Artificial General Intelligence, blockchain, and the Metaverse. The best part is that these technologies are not exclusive; every industry and company, regardless of size, can benefit from them. Ultimately, technology remains a crucial aspect of improving human lives.

Innovation and Customer-centricity

In the coming years, Darwin envisions SAP becoming the number one enterprise application and business AI company in terms of market share, customer satisfaction, and customer lifetime value.

SAP will continue to lead the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, IoT, and blockchain, as well as XR/Metaverse, into its business applications. By incorporating advanced chatbots as an additional interface to these applications, end-users will be able to communicate and execute transactions more efficiently.

These technologies are crucial for driving innovation and providing their customers with advanced solutions that enhance their competitiveness and business operations. Additionally, SAP solutions will enable companies to achieve more across the value chain, attain agility at scale, and meet sustainability requirements.

What will remain unchanged, however, is SAP’s unwavering commitment to prioritizing customer needs.

Impressive Global Reach

In general, employees at SAP may not use images, logos, or branding owned by SAP on their personal accounts. Additional information is available in SAP slides, but the text information has been extracted for convenience.

Here are some interesting data points about SAP:

  • More than 100,000 employees across the globe.
  • 87% of the world’s e-commerce transactions have touchpoints with SAP system(s).
  • 99 of the 100 largest companies in the world are SAP customers.
  • Small and middle-sized enterprises make up 80% of SAP’s customers.
  • SAP provides solutions for 26 industries and 12 lines of businesses.
  • SAP has a global ecosystem with more than 25,500 partner companies.