In the recent “Most Important Xcelsius Webinar of 2012,” Mico Yuk of Everything Xcelsius noted that 82% of attendees were not familiar with SAP Zen, so here are some key facts:

• SAP recommends that current Xcelsius users stick with Xcelsius, but suggests that those using Web Application Designer (WebAD) move to Zen. That said, SAP is not setting an end-of-life date for BEx just yet.
• SAP plans to eventually merge Xcelsius and Zen, according to the roadmap SAP published last week. This is interesting, considering Xcelsius is geared towards business users who want to create dashboards and Zen appears to be aimed more at developers (SAP uses the term “architecture” for SAP Zen in its Statement of Direction).
• By the end of 2012, mobile users should be able to access Xcelsius and Zen through an SAP BusinessObjects mobile app

Although SAP discussed SAP Zen (then as SAP BusinessObjects Analysis Edition for Application Design – a decidedly un-Zen-like name) back in October 2011, it recently received some new attention on Twitter. If you are attending SAPPHIRE and want to see Zen in action, you can get a peek at Zen demo pods. I plan to be there to take a peek. Will you?

What does this have to do with SAP? Jump ahead ten years or so to the MLB demonstration I saw at the recent SAP Run Better event in New York. Oscar Fernandez, Senior Manager of Application Development and Business  for the MLB Office of the Commissioner, gave a tour of how MLB is using customized SAP BusinessObjects 4.0 applications to pinpoint anything from what type of injury a player is most likely to experience (hamstring strain) to the release point of Roy Halliday’s pitches over time (it’s dropping).

The program, called Player Information Application Plus (PIA+) incorporates SAP BusinessObjects Explorer and Dashboards (aka Xcelsius) for data visualizations; Crystal Reports  for financial reporting ; SAP Business Objects Data Services for ETL and SAP BusinessObjects Information Steward for data governance.

But what’s really interesting is the amount of information the systems provide and how users can manipulate the data to fit different scenarios. While users see a simplified UI offering them options, on the back end are the Web Intelligence queries familiar to BusinessObjects users.

Oscar Fernandez shows how SAP BusinessObjects helps pitching coaches with mock matchups

In an example that spoke to this Red Sox fan, Fernandez brought up a dashboard that compared Jon Lester and Josh Beckett – I could easily see how comparable the two pitchers are, despite a big difference in salary.

What was even more intriguing was how in the future, you might see iPads deployed to umpires for instant replay calls – something Fernandez noted “a pitcher in Detroit” would have liked to have had in place during the 2011 season. I can’t say that I’d be a fan of bringing iPads and other smart devices into the dugout, but it is remarkable to see an idea that was in its infancy in 2002 come to fruition in 2012.

SAP has embedded Google’s mapping APIs – the same ones from Google Maps and Google Earth — within BusinessObjects, which allows companies lay their data over maps for a more visual interpretation of the data with a kind of geospatial dashboard. The idea is not a new one, however.  “Mash-ups” have been around in the consumer space for years, just not with enterprise applications. Not only are they looking at their own data, but companies can also upload their own maps as well.

As SAP put it, customers can now understand the “where” of their information, as well as global, regional, and local trends affecting their businesses.

That means that a cell phone service provider could lay reams of user call data over a map of the company’s cell phone towers and zones of service, determining usage patterns and looking at where calls were getting dropped. That might help them determine whether it’s a matter of not having a strong enough signal, or whether a cell phone tower is simply taxed beyond capacity.

Additionally, given that home foreclosures happen in some neighborhoods more than others – and can spread like a bad rash – banks can look at the data to help stem their losses, according to Jonathan Becher, executive vice president of marketing at SAP.  They might drop interest rates in those areas most likely to be hit next, losing a bit of money in the short term, but saving money overall by keeping paying customers in their homes.

While the Google APIs will be available as a part of SAP BusinessObjects BI/EIM 4.1 later this year, it will also become part of Sales OnDemand in the near future, Becher said. Since the application is mobile-friendly, sales reps with 10 locations to visit in an area could look at a map on a tablet combining sales data and the locations of the accounts, in order to help the rep prioritize which locations to visit.

And, since the application is married to BusinessObjects, maps can be used in conjunction with real-time data being processed by SAP HANA and in-memory applications.

SAP’s relationship with Google has in the past yielded things like Google making SAP StreamWork available in their marketplace.  Not a huge deal.  To me, this seems like something so beneficial to companies that it begs the question: why didn’t they think of this before?

Over the past year and a half, the SAP User Group Executive Network (SUGEN) has been dedicated to the Enterprise Support affair.

And last month, SAP finally relented on a lower-cost maintenance option and reinstated a two-tiered support model. Standard Support will cost 18% of net licensing fees, while the enhanced but costlier Enterprise Support offering will eventually cost 22%.

SUGEN’s first victory was a mighty one. It was able to get SAP to abandon its uniform maintenance and support hike.

So what’s next for SUGEN? How can the group wield its influence down the road?

Is it possible that the group could help facilitate customers moving from SAP Business Explorer (BEx) to SAP BusinessObjects? SAP has been clear that customers shouldn’t rush from BEx to BusinessObjects, and that if customers are happy with their BEx tools, they should keep using them. But some customers find they don’t feel the need to move away from BEx, even though SAP plans to phase it out by 2016. Could SUGEN provide some clarity on the value of BusinessObjects to these customers? Can the group influence SAP to keep BEx supported a little longer?

Another possible mission for SUGEN is helping SAP to clarify its product roadmaps. In the wake of the recent CEO shake-up at SAP, customers are looking for new CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe to deliver a coherent SAP product roadmap and vision, with the aim of lowering the total cost of ownership of running its applications. Adding to that, the vendor will need to show more clarity on the end of pricing, company policies, delivery options and product priorities.

And what about a KPI program to help customers justify Enterprise Support? SAP scrapped its formal program, but choosing Standard or Enterprise support has become more difficult for SAP customers with no KPIs. The notion of a forced cost increase is gone with that choice available, and it may give SAP the opportunity to show customers that Enterprise Support could be worth their money.

“The KPI program is more important than ever. Understanding value in the face of options becomes critical,” Bridgette Chambers, CEO of ASUG, told SearchSAP.com. “If those KPI programs are interrupted or supported with any less zeal, then I think that it’s a loss, and I would urge SAP to consider the importance of them.”

What do you think? What will SUGEN tackle next?

“IBM’s a great partner,” SAP exec Bill McDermott said in an interview. “There’s no reason we wouldn’t continue to work with SPSS in those areas.”

Plus, in a statement released after the SPSS acquisition, SAP said it sells a number of predictive and statistical analytic tools, including Analysis Process Designer integrated in SAP Business Warehouse and CRM applications. It also pointed to its recent acquisition of SAF AG, which is helping retail customers improve forecasting and replenishment.

“I think SAP has the lead,” McDermott said. “Others are acquiring to play catch-up.”

But analysts like Forrester Research’s James Kobielus think that for SAP’s analytics stack to be “primo,” like IBM’s, SAP still has to acquire or develop its own predictive analytics software. Information Builders, MicroStrategy and even Microsoft will likely be looking to do the same, according to an article by my colleague Jeff Kelly on SearchDataManagement.com.

The possible targets include KXEN, Angoss and ThinkAnalytics, according to Kobielus. InforSense could also be on this list, according to Ovum Research analysts Madan Sheina and Tony Baer. Motley Fool also mentioned Fair Isaac as a possible buy.

I spoke with McDermott yesterday after SAP’s second quarter earnings report. He wouldn’t bite when asked where SAP would look to bolster functionality, other than to say that most of its development would continue to happen organically. But, he said, “if there are areas where we can be better,” SAP will pursue them through “thoughtful acquisition,” or partnerships.

Adoption of predictive analytics isn’t mainstream, analysts say, because people haven’t completely grasped what it can do. AMR’s John Hagerty, in talking about IBM’s SPSS acquisition, told SearchDataManagement.com:

“I think predictive analytics is a specialty right now that has some people all hot and bothered, but a lot of people don’t really understand it. People have to be shown what predictive analytics can do before they can really get their arms around it.”

But customers are uncovering the benefits. Last summer, I interviewed Organic Valley, which is using SAP’s predictive analytics software to stay competitive with rival Silk, among others, in the organic foods market. Organic Valley has a group that monitors demand and looks at sales, promotional planning and discounting. But the visual predicative analytics tools offered through SAP BusinessObjects will make the group’s work much easier and help to catch things that may not be apparent in typical spreadsheets.

“It will tell us how much [to make], where to make [it] and when,” said IT director George Neill  of predictive analysis. “Hopefully, again, it’ll help us see things that we may not be seeing.”

Encouraging mainstream use of predictive analytics, such that Organic Valley is pursuing, is one of IBM’s goals. As more vendors strive for mainstream analytics capabilities, is further consolidation in the market a foregone conclusion? Is your company looking at predictive analytics?