By: José Gregorio Argomedo, Advisory Technology Partner at RSM Chile

It's no secret that data is one of the most important assets a company has. But what is often overlooked is just how much work goes into maintaining the quality and integrity of that data. In order to protect your systems and ensure optimal performance, it's essential to have a system in place for continuously monitoring SAP data (this is true on any ERP system).  That's where automation comes in, with the help of analytics and artificial intelligence, automation can help you keep track of all your SAP data, identify any issues, and correct them before they cause any damage.

Introducing analytics and artificial intelligence

The world of business is constantly evolving and with it the role of analytics and artificial intelligence. In order to stay ahead of the competition, businesses need to find ways to automate and optimize their operations. And that's where analytics and artificial intelligence come in. Analytics refers to the process of extracting meaningful insights from data. And artificial intelligence is the branch of computer science focused on developing machines that can think and learn like humans. Together, these two technologies offer businesses a powerful tool for understanding and managing their data.

How analytics can help you monitor SAP data

Analytics can help you monitor SAP data in several ways. First, analytics can help you identify any irregularities or inconsistencies in the data. This can help you catch any errors or anomalies that may be occurring in the different modules of SAP.

Second, analytics can help you track the performance of your SAP system. By understanding how the system is performing, you can identify any areas that need improvement and make necessary adjustments.

Third, analytics offers a powerful way to monitor SAP data and ensure its quality and integrity. With the help of analytics and artificial intelligence, businesses can optimize their operations and protect their data assets while reducing risk.

How to get started with advanced analytics for SAP monitoring

If you're looking to get started with analytics and AI for SAP monitoring, there are a few things you need to know. First, you need to have a good understanding of the data that you're trying to monitor (AP, PU, VE, etc). What are the key metrics that you want to track?

Second, you need to have the right tools in place. This includes data extraction tools, analytics software, and machine/deep learning algorithms. By using these tools, you can analyze your SAP data and extract meaningful insights from it.

Third, you need to be prepared to make changes. The insights gleaned from advanced analytics can help you make changes to your SAP system that will improve its performance. So be prepared to make changes based on what you learn.

Finally, you need a reliable partner to help you with this transformation. This will assist in ensuring a quicker adoption of the necessary technologies so that you see faster results for your investment.

Examples of some automatic controls that can be implemented on SAP

There are a variety of automatic controls that can be implemented on SAP data. Some of these controls include:

• One-time accounts usage
• Accounts Payables (AP)
  • Potential duplicate payments
  • Open items
• Purchase Orders (PO)
  • Manual payments
  • Invoice date before PO date
  • Open PO
• No segregation of duties:
  • creation of vendor/purchase
  • creation requisition/purchase
  • creation order/approval for example
• Vendors:
  • Track changes (e.g. bank account)
  • Duplicates, similar values based on (e.g. name and city)

Final thoughts

The results can unveil that changes need to be made in processes which may not have anything to do with the configuration or design already set up in SAP. Also, it might show that automating manual activities is necessary to ensure data quality and consistency.

As businesses strive to stay ahead of the competition, analytics and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly important tools. And nowhere is this more evident than in the world of SAP transactions. By using analytics and AI, businesses can monitor their SAP data for irregularities and inconsistencies, track performance, measure the impact of changes, and optimize operations. Getting started with analytics and AI for SAP monitoring can be a daunting task, but with the right knowledge and tools, it's a task that can be easily accomplished.