New ways to work more efficiently

Because of the flexibility of Google Workspace, the beneficial use cases for this integration are virtually limitless. Efficiency improves for any type of collaborative task or process that collects or uses enterprise data because all of the steps happen in one shared and secure environment. Users can now comment on and edit documents directly from SAP, eliminating the risk and confusion that come from having to check files in and out to modify them.

These same collaboration benefits of shared Google files are also relevant to how entire SAP S/4HANA teams work together. For instance, think about how people have traditionally performed reconciliations. A spreadsheet file populated with data from the ERP is emailed to a group of people who then have to download the file, add their comments and corrections, and then send the files back. With the integration of Google Workspace, the person in charge of reconciliations can now seamlessly export the data to a Google Sheet, where other people can directly review and comment on their pertinent data. This can happen simultaneously without anyone using email or downloading any software. All of their work is tracked in one collaborative and secure space using verified data. To learn more about how we bring these secure by design collaboration benefits to large organizations with complex needs, click here.

These workflows are reflective of the tangible benefits Google Workspace provides to business at large. One Forrester report on the economic impact of Google Workspace reveals that its data control capabilities yield a 95% reduction to the data breach risk that businesses face. The same report estimates that Google Workspace saves companies 171 working hours per employee per year. That’s nearly an entire month of additional productivity, and contributes to a revenue growth of 1.5% year-over-year.

Capabilities rolling out in phases

Three powerful capabilities are being rolled out, and additional releases are planned for 2023. As described in the above examples, the first capabilities are the ability to:

• Export data from SAP S/4HANA into the Google Workspace applications, such as Google Sheets
• Import data into SAP S/4HANA from Google Workspace applications, such as through Google Sheets
• Collaborate live and simultaneously with others through editing, commenting, and adding content to Google files seamlessly and securely, making it available for import into SAP S/4HANA environment (direct editing in SAP S/4HANA planned for 2023)