SAP has opened the first of its Co-Innovation Labs to be established in Africa.

The technology company says the Co-innovation Lab in Johannesburg has been in the making for close to two years and will focus on collaboration while offering a hands-on environment for SAP to innovate jointly with software solution partners, system integrators and technology partners on current and future technologies.

Brett Parker, Managing Director of SAP Africa says the founding of the new Co-Innovation Lab in South Africa rather than in Angola or Morocco, where it has additional presence, aims to satisfy the demands of long-term customers driven by digital transformation.

"The reality is that we have very mature customers in South Africa because we have been here the longest. These customers have already invested a huge amount of money on the platform. They are already at a point where they are co-innovating on the frontend to deliver solutions. It is a logical choice when you have that many customers that are in the fourth or fifth cycle of SAP and are now thinking about how to change their consumer experience and what it means to connect to the consumer through mobile solutions among other things. The co-innovation lab is not going to be limited to Johannesburg nonetheless. It is an African initiative and many of our partners that are participating have a presence in many regions of the continent."

The key objective of the Lab and the more than ten others around the world is to provide a suitable environment, relevant technology and available expertise to assist SAP partners and customers to transform their ideas into business-ready solutions, at a quicker pace according to SAP.

Parker adds that this is because innovation key to survival in today's economy. "The speed at which you are able to transform is becoming increasingly critical. Far too often, great ideas are lost. Consequently, businesses are looking for smarter, quicker and more efficient ways to innovate."

SAP Co-Innovation Labs have previously been established in the US East Coast, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, India, Singapore, China, South Korea as well as Japan.

Dr. Tanja Rueckert, Executive Vice President LoB Digital Assets and IoT at SAP SE says the launch reinforces SAP's commitment to Africa, and its goal to drive both growth and entrepreneurship on the continent.

"Particularly for the of Internet of Things (IoT) we see greatest potential to help Africa on the way to digitalisation and that is why we have recently announced to even increase our commitment in the future by bringing an IoT Lab to Johannesburg. We are committed to provide the Digital Platform, leveraging IoT, Big Data, a Digital Core, Cloud Computing and Business Networks to enable capabilities relevant to growth in Africa,"

Parker says partnerships in IOT with companies such as Barloworld in South Africa are already underway ahead of the mooted IOT lab. He adds that notable innovations should be expected from the co-innovation lab within one year of the launch date.

"In terms of the return on investment all the things we are going to do through the co-innovation lab should bear fruit within a year. I believe it will be a major win for SAP, our customers and partners as a result of the efficiency that will be achieved through the technology and the platforms."