The biopharmaceutical manufacturing landscape is undergoing a transformative shift with the widespread adoption of disposable single-use materials, such as disposable bioreactors, bags, tubing, connectors, and filters. These materials are advantageous because they minimize the risks of product cross-contamination, reduce cleaning and validation requirements, and enable flexibility in production, ultimately improving safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. But limited availability of disposable materials during periods of increased demand, can seriously affect the supply of biological drugs. To bolster supply chain resilience, the FDA recently released a Guidance for Industry on “Changes to Disposable Manufacturing Materials: Questions and Answers” (U.S. FDA, 2022) . Furthermore, ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½’s report emphasizes the necessity for proactive approaches, with only 11 percent of organizations adequately prepared for potential disruptions (ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Research Institute, 2022). This article explores strategies to minimize supplier dependency and ensure a resilient supply chain.

The Risk of Dependency on Single-Use Suppliers

While some of the biomanufacturing processes use disposables only in some of the production steps, others heavily rely on single-use technologies for all the steps, from upstream to downstream. When stainless steel equipment is used, the manufacturers are mostly in control of the production infrastructure. However, there is not the same level of control with the single-use products since they must be delivered by the supplier. Therefore, over the years the biopharmaceutical manufacturers have become highly reliant on the suppliers of single-use components, used for both critical and non-critical production steps, which results in an increased risk. This risk was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a boost in the production of biopharmaceuticals due to the global COVID-19 vaccination initiatives and, as a result, materials were prioritized for COVID vaccines manufacturing which translated in a global shortage of single-use materials.

Mitigating Dependency Risk through Multi-Sourcing

One way to mitigate supplier dependency risk is by multi-sourcing single use products which consists in using two (or multiple) different suppliers for the same component. Multi-sourcing can improve supply chain resilience by increasing supplier diversification, which reduces the risk of disruptions caused by supplier-specific or region-specific issues, such as regional disease outbreaks or political instability. Multi-sourcing also has its drawbacks, it can lead to an increased complexity in supplier management, higher administrative costs, and maintaining consistent product quality across multiple sources can be more challenging. Despite that, different industries already successfully implement multi-sourcing strategies. For example, in the electronics industry, Apple Inc. is known for sourcing key components of their smartphones from different suppliers. In the aerospace industry, Boeing also works with multiple engine manufacturers to mitigate supply chain risks.

In a real-life use case, ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ worked with a biopharmaceutical company to mitigate its dependency on one major single-use materials supplier. Critical single-used materials from alternative suppliers were qualified in order to ensure business continuity. The ultimate goal in multi-sourcing is to be able to use the products from different suppliers interchangeably, without risking the process and patient safety.
The main steps usually required to qualify alternative single-use materials from a different supplier and implement its use in a GMP biomanufacturing process are:

1. Identification of the need: define the need for dual-sourcing, which may be for example due to limited availability of the material, cost reduction or simply supply chain diversification.
2. Supplier selection: evaluate potential alternative suppliers considering aspects such as their quality systems, reliability, regulatory compliance, and material cost.
3. Risk Assessment: identify and assess potential risks associated with the change based on the intended use of the alternative disposable material and the manufacturing process step in which it is used. The regulatory reporting category suitable for the introduction of the alternative must be defined.
4. Material characterization: gather comprehensive data on the alternative materials, including its chemical and physical properties, compatibility with the product and with the process, regulatory compliance and extractables and leachable data, if required. Functional equivalency of the new material must also be demonstrated.
5. Test the prototype: assess a prototype/sample of the alternative material to ensure it fits well within the established GMP manufacturing process steps.
6. Change control: initiate a change control process to document and manage the introduction of the alternative single-use component.
7. Supplier qualification: assess the supplier’s ability to meet quality and regulatory requirements, ensuring materials supplied are safe and reliable for use in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
8. Material qualification: perform qualification activities to demonstrate the suitability of the alternative material for the specific GMP process in which it will be implemented. Studies to be performed are dependent on the type of material and its intended use.
9. Documentation/systems updates: update all the required documentation and electronic systems to add the alternative material.
10. Regulatory notification and implementation: prepare and submit any necessary notifications or regulatory filings and introduce the alternative single-use material as approved in the change control.

The supply chain of the future is Intelligent

The establishment of intelligent supply chains can further enhance supply chain resilience and optimize multi-sourcing capabilities. By leveraging advanced digital technologies, pharmaceutical companies can improve supplier selection, generate accurate demand forecast and optimize inventories, monitor supplier performance, enhance risk management associated with the supply chain and ensure regulatory compliance across multiple suppliers.
An intelligent supply chain leverages technology to make data-driven decisions and adapt to changing conditions and can help to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities in the supply network. Multi-sourcing provides the flexibility and risk mitigation necessary to ensure a robust and resilient supply chain. Together, they can help organizations to navigate complex supply chain challenges and deliver products reliably to customers while managing risks effectively.

Embrace the path of resilience

It’s time for biopharmaceutical companies to strengthen their supply chains and to embrace the path of resilience. By reducing dependence on a single source, companies can reduce their vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. Building multi-sourcing capabilities has a high positive impact on the supply assurance of the pharmaceutics to the patients, offering an immeasurable value to patient health and well-being while bolstering brand reputation. Act now, for a robust tomorrow.

References:

[1] ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Research Institute. (2022). How greater intelligence could supercharge supply chains. Augmented resilience, performance, and sustainability will allow organizations to take on a customer-centric focus.

[] U.S. FDA. (2022). Changes to Disposable Manufacturing Materials: Questions and Answers Guidance for Industry.

If yes, then grab your coffee, because we are going to find out how to make the perfect cake: one that looks great, tastes delicious, and is made with readily available sugar and flour from your local store.

Thatā€™s right. We are going to turn grandmaā€™s secret recipe into a formal model that gets it right first time, every time. And all thanks to model-based systems engineering (MBSE).

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a ā€˜recipeā€™ is ā€œa formula or procedure for doing or attaining somethingā€. A recipe can therefore apply to everything from aerospace manufacturing checklists to instructions for human-machine interfaces in industrial settings. Similarly, algorithms can be thought of as recipes – procedures for attaining desired computations.

At first glance, the brownie recipe seems easy enough, right? Just mix everything together, in the order given, put the batter in a greased tray and bake for half an hour. Indeed, it should be a ā€˜piece of cakeā€™!

Except when it isnā€™t.

A little too much butter and we get a fudgy sludge. A little too much heat and we get a hard, burnt crust that is uncooked on the inside. There was too much or too little of something, and the recipe fell short of expectations, and often we don’t know why.

Expectations are a complicated thing to manage. Fortunately, however, system requirements are not! Enter MBSE.

Models: another way to think about recipes

Instead of using sequential procedures as a recipe to create the cake, weā€™re going to explore the use of something more magical. An understanding possessed by only the most experienced grandmas ā€“ an intuitive understanding of how the ingredients work together. Letā€™s call this a model of the cake.

The model is an objective assessment of the perfect cake ā€“ how it looks, tastes and smells ā€“ and how to get there. But because it understands the causal links between the steps in the recipe and the end result, it can be used to tweak the optimal conditions for the perfect cake ā€“ for example, perhaps your particular oven needs to be turned up a bit.

But this model can do more than just define and refine the original recipe.

For example, maybe we want to try a flour substitute for a gluten-free version of the cake. Most wheat flour substitutes are mixes of flours from different grains, like corn or rice. In this case, the proportion of each kind of flour in the substitute will impact the end result, which is the baked gluten-free cake. The model can help you understand how ā€“ if you substitute one ingredient ā€“ you should make adjustments to others to get a similar end result.

And it doesnā€™t end there. The model isnā€™t limited to proposing substitutes to deliver the same requirement – it can also change the requirements to create similar recipes. It can be derived (in formal MBSE parlance) to bake other delicious things, like muffins and breads. Furthermore ā€“ and this is perhaps more relevant once we move from home baking to industrial scale R&D ā€“ the model can be altered dynamically, in a collaborative way.

This model-based approach saves a lot of time and investment. Without it, we may need a whole floor filled with ovens and maĆ®tres pĆ¢tissiers ā€“ pursuing the traditional scientific approach of double-blind studies and controlled variables – to produce novel pastries. That was basically the approach of R&D departments in the 1960s. As a way to innovate, it was better than nothing, but it was expensive, time consuming and not a sustainable research approach for many companies. MBSE cuts out a lot of this experimentation.

Introducing: virtualized pastry

A better way would be to employ our model to power a digital twin of the cake: a virtualized pastry that exists as a set of parameters that can be changed at will.

The nature of the digital twin means that the outcome of a change to the recipe can be known beforehand. Want to go for a white-chocolate brownie? Or use a different kind of nut? Perhaps you want to try a vegan substitute for butter, or a gluten-free alternative to flour? The digital twin cake can be baked in a virtual oven and results obtained before you head to the supermarket.

And donā€™t take this for science fiction. Digital twins are already in use today across a wide range of industries. An actual bakery business could train new hires with such a tool and study the outcome of new recipes, all before firing the oven. The commercial potential of virtual models is enormous – we are talking about an $80 billion market in the US alone for preserved pastry and cakes, let alone bread.

What do we mean by a model?

So, we move on to the question of what exactly constitutes this model.

Model-based systems engineering is a large field that deals with the science of defining such models and the way that they should be implemented. The models posed by MBSE are abstracts, rather than physical models. The system ā€“ eg. the cake – is described using software as a set of relationships between the entities (or ingredients) involved. This virtual abstraction allows the model to be easily shared and configured.

The abstractions that comprise this model must be computable in some way ā€“ ie we must be able to put a number on it.

They say you canā€™t compare apples to oranges. But you can weigh them or measure their size. And you can even measure more abstract organoleptic criteria ā€“ ie taste, sight, smell, and touch. There is even an ISO standard on it: , ā€œSensory analysis ā€“ Methodology ā€“ Texture profileā€, which describes techniques that can measure the sensory texture parameters. Using these and other techniques, it is possible to put numbers on subjective qualities. If done thoroughly, every organoleptic property of the cake may be parameterized and fed into the model. The same model can even be used to simulate the baking process of both apple and orange cakes, negating the need to do this physically ā€“ bringing down R&D costs and time to market.

These characteristics enable more advanced uses of the model, like the aforementioned digital twin, that could be used to simulate the optimum quantity of apples or oranges (or any other ingredient) by simply computing the model inputs, based on the desired output.

Verification and validation of this computed output then becomes a routine activity – instead of a laborious process – because the inputs and outputs of the cake system, described by the cake model, are all explicitly given by the digital twin. Finally, as a virtual object, the model can be transferred, copied and edited by different people at the same time. For example, if one oven specialist updates the convection heat transfer model, everyone else in the shop benefits from the improved model.

MBSE: not just for cake

Model based systems engineering is not just an abstract concept. It has the power to make tricky things much easier. In our baking example, modeling can bring the deliciousness out of simple flour and sugar, more quickly, and more cheaply without the need for physical trial and error – and the resulting expensive mistakes. And it is not just about cake, MBSE can be used to speed the innovation process for any new ā€˜recipeā€™, whether for a vaccine or a plane engine.

With 5G comes a world of possibilities. The impacts on healthcare of the mobile networkā€™s latest evolutionary step will be broad, crossing multiple sectors. In addition to faster internet, healthcare will greatly benefit from comprehensive coverage, higher bandwidth, and more reliable connectivity to medical devices. These advances will also herald new use cases in Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), and support new applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data to emerge.

Such advanced applications could include the rapid dispatch of drones equipped with medical equipment to emergency scenes, or the use of VR headsets and haptic gloves to enable surgeons to remotely perform procedures on patients.

It is expected that 5G will create a domino effect of digital transformation in healthcare. Both medicine and telecommunications are seeing perhaps the fastest and most highly evolved technological leap of any industry over the past few years. Their paths converge and connect as never before, presenting huge opportunities to improve our health and well-being.

And not only does 5G technology encompass the development of healthcare technology, it also represents a tremendous impact on all topics related to health. There are new horizons for telehealth and smart health, as 5G creates effective conditions for all healthcare players to provide and receive healthcare wherever they are around the world.

The capabilities of the 5G network are creating the perfect conditions for new and disruptive technologies to develop and evolve as never seen before. This journey will not be a straight and simple one, however. Multiple stakeholders, challenges, expectations, uncertainties, and risks will need to be addressed. Nevertheless, healthcare businesses will benefit greatly from this new connectivity which, together with the implementation of new cloud services, will enable a digital transformation and serve as a catalyst for the new innovations for patients, physicians, and the industry itself.

If you want to know more about the impact of 5G on healthcareā€™s digital transformation, download the white paper ā€œUnleashing the power of healthcare with 5Gā€.

This white paper focuses on the converging and evolving path of both medicine and telecommunications, especially the opportunities and challenges the arrival of 5G has created. It explores innovations expected in healthcare technology ā€“ from health wearables to drone-delivered medical supplies, from remote surgeries to AI and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). All of these need high performance connectivity and infrastructure, but that can be difficult to maintain. The next generation of networks promises to be the key to addressing this. Our services at ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering are leading the way.

Pedro MaurĆ­cio

Pre-sales & Offer Leader for Life Sciences, ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering

Pedro uses his experience in quality and project and business management to help digital therapeutics (DTx), and Software-as-a-Medical-Device (SaMD) overcome their challenges. He graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Faculdade de FarmĆ”cia da Universidade do Porto (2015), and in Medical Devices and Health Technologies at Universidade CatĆ³lica (2019).

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Innovation in the healthcare industry is accelerating as digital technology is infused in every aspect of healthcare delivery. The application of IoT, Cloud, AI, Augmented Reality, 5G, and other technologies into medical devices is increasing, resulting in better diagnoses, treatment, and patient monitoring without the need for human contact. This transformation is creating numerous challenges in the field of Software-as-a-Medical-Device (SaMD), which can be overcome by leveraging the ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering SaMD framework.

The global digital healthcare market is expected to grow 28.5% by 2026, while the global connected medical devices market is forecast to grow 18.9%. These numbers reflect the digitalization shift that all players in the healthcare ecosystem are embracing. SaMD is emerging as an opportunity to improve the quality of life for patients with software. It offers new, more efficient ways for healthcare professionals to interact with patients. By merging the physical and digital worlds, the patient gains the power to manage their own healthcare with software that includes all their health information.

Market trends and challenges

Despite the expectation of SaMDā€™s solid market growth, there are still many challenges to address. Here we focus on six:

1. Improving health outcomes by using data and fast feedback loops to speed up product iterations and guarantee data quality improvements
2. Integration and interoperability are evolving rapidly, spurring diverse, interconnected digital health and wellness ecosystem components. The challenge is to safely, securely, and effectively integrate data into the network and exchange and use information.
3. Ensuring patient safety and privacy in an environment of increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats is a constant challenge. With connectivity increasing, personal data must be kept secure and private, especially medical-device data.
4. Regulatory compliance is essential as more stringent regulations and new technologies emerge to serve global and local needs. The challenges are a significant concern for companies working in this area. They need to know if they comply with all the required regulations, which is not easy. The ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering SaMD framework will help companies address their concern.
5. Identification of marketable opportunities that satisfy evolving stakeholder needs. In some cases, companies intend to invest in SaMD, but they lack the expertise to integrate this digital product and are uncertain the market will accept it. This hesitancy is an innovation blocker, which could jeopardize their future growth.
6. Accelerating development cycles without sacrificing safety, efficacy and compliance. The industry is familiar with a ten-year development and integration cycle for drugs. Now, the cycle is much shorter if companies expect to be one step ahead in the market.

The ā€œwhyā€ of the ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering SaMD framework

A few years ago, ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering recognized the market urgency for SaMD solutions as a new era was beginning. In 2019, the company started to build a robust foundation that enabled it to support the future developments of SaMD applications and develop reusable components to use in combination or independently in future SaMD applications. These early decisions gave ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering a firm foundation that enables SaMD application development. Over the long term, this position ensures the company will be more agile, get products to market faster, be in regulatory compliance, and reduce costs.

What is a SaMD framework?

The best term to describe a SaMD framework is integration. That is, integrating people with the necessary expertise and knowledge; a qualified toolchain for medical devices development and testing as required by regulators; a quality management system with documentation that supports the regulatory landscape; robust risk-management activities; and a flexible and robust architecture. Integration is the sum of all these components that will allow companies to comply with regulations, add agility, flexibility, and scalability to their solutions, which combine to get them to market faster.

The four challenges fulfilled by the ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering SaMD framework

This article is not about simply sharing the success story behind the ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering SaMD framework. It is about exploring the challenges that led us to the point of being able to support our customers on their journey to develop their SaMD products. For clients not so familiar with the regulatory processes, ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering also helps them provide the software elements and all the complementary (and mandatory) documentary evidence, such as technical documentation, etc.

1. The importance of a robust and qualified toolchain: A synonym of the framework is integrated tools. It is not necessary to discuss which tools to use or if some of them have to be qualified or not. The entire toolset is already established, so the client does not need to worry about the tools and their maintenance.
2. To assure compliance: ā€œIf something is not written down, it didnā€™t happen.ā€ This statement captures why it is essential to have documentation to establish plans, results, reports, and next steps. However, it is a delicate process to assemble all the necessary documentation from the regulatorā€™s point of view. The journey is not easy and depends a lot on the projects, products, and markets.Yet, when the client chooses to work with ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering, an important organizational step has been taken on the journey.
3. Fitting agile in medical devices development: Traditionally, software developed in the regulatory environment follows the waterfall model. All the requirements are defined up-front, the product is developed (behind closed doors), and is presented at the end of the process. However, the trend in software development requires an agile approach. This brings with it the challenge to assure compliance and documentation for each iterative cycle (sprints).
4. The approach to architecture: Thefirst ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering versions of the SaMD framework were developed with some modular features (e.g., chatbot, gamification, and connected devices), but the overall architecture was a monolithic application. This limitation reduced the potential for reuse of all layers of the architecture, which is essential for adapting to the clientsā€™ differentiated and personalized needs. Furthermore, with cloud services growing in popularity, the backend architecture was transformed into a hyper-agile architecture based on microservices, resulting in a more flexible, scalable, and resilient solution.

The advantages

By adopting the ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering SaMD framework, clients are already ahead of their competitors since we already have a formal set of modules that are easy to integrate into any solution. What can be more advantageous than not having to develop software from zero?

The modules include:

• Assets and building blocks that can be reused (i.e., gamification, chatbot, connected devices, etc.), enabling customers to produce what they want. This approach allows them to reduce time-to-market once the development of some features is complete.
• One framework with multiple combinations allows the customer to construct customized mobile solutions according to their needs. For example, ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering can develop an app from nothing or incorporate a new feature in an existing app.
• Easy integration with other systems and third-party components (i.e., apps, devices, systems, software, etc.).
• Compliance with regulations and standards (i.e., MDR, CFR 21 Part 820, ISO13485, ISO14971, IEC62304, ISO27001, etc.) requires a team of experts in regulations and quality, and compliance that can support the customerā€™s market submission and post-market activities.
• Robust post-market product maintenance and lifecycle management (i.e., software updates and enhancements, quality management, regulatory affairs, etc.) supported by product-dedicated teams.

Digital health will leverage an era full of opportunities for the healthcare industry that is developing new ways of delivering care and for patients, who can improve their health and well-being faster and more effectively. Technology arises as a healthcare enabler once it emerges as an aggregator, connecting patients with caregivers no matter where they are in the world.

Increasingly, we will hear more about advancements in telemedicine, digital therapeutics (DTx), intelligent connected devices, and much more. Inspired by our clients to prepare for this future of health, ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering started the SaMD journey with the idea that was converted into a framework with multiple features. Now it is an ISO13485 certified ecosystem.

Our framework in practice

ĪŚŃ»“«Ć½ Engineering has developed and tested a mobile solution for COVID-19 home-quarantined patients and non-critical hospitalized patients. The app monitors patients remotely, allowing them to analyze their health through a questionnaire that analyzes symptoms and, based on the results, suggests a medical appointment or medical intervention.

Janet Nason

Project director

Pedro MaurĆ­cio

Pre-sales & Offer Leader for Life Sciences

According to the , 59% of customers chose customer experience over product and price as a key brand differentiator. Contact Center channels have evolved alongside technological innovation, and new ways of communication and social interaction are being implemented.

Among these channel evolution trends, we highlight:

• From phone to digital.
• From direct contact to engagement through apps and social media.
• Mobility.
• Voice will remain the main choice for customer engagement for some time, but others are catching up (some faster than others), such as email and chat. Voice support technologies are also evolving (VoIP, WebRTC).

Communication apps and social media are essential means for todayā€™s human relationship. It would be inevitable for companies to use them for business communication and customer engagement as well. Every modern Contact Center today has a facebook or whatsapp availability strategy.

Mobile phones and smartphones provide the freedom to communicate when and where you need to. The ability for Contact Centers to provide this kind of flexibility to their customers has become a commodity.

These evolutions are already part of modern Contact Centers, but there is a missing element that will play a critical role in the future customer engagement market: video and animation will lead to more immersive Contact Center experiences.

XR BENEFITS FOR CONTACT CENTERS

Video capabilities in the Contact Center have been around for some time, but without real global success. There are some good reasons for this:

• Video for what purpose? ā€“ This is the main question: why should I use video in my interaction with the Contact Center? To see a sharp dressed agent on the other side? There must be compelling reasons to use video.
• Privacy and inhibition ā€“ Video is somewhat intrusive. It can inhibit the customerā€™s willingness to express their feelings regarding a given subject. This is not good for the customer, who avoids using this ability, and for the company, who does not get total Customer satisfaction feedback.

So how should video be used in the context of a Contact Centers and be a real added value in customer service processes?

As usually said, a picture is worth a thousand words. A video is worth even more. In the customer support of a given solution, being an equipment or Software, the possibility of showing a real time video of this solution to the support agent, can be of great value, acting as a guided or self-service tool to quickly solve the problem, being it an operational or maintenance/repair problem.

This is where Extended Reality (XR) ā€“ The set of technologies that allow to present contextualized virtual components to real environment (AR ā€“ Augmented Reality), that can be extended, in the limit, to a complete virtualization of the environment (VR ā€“ Virtual Reality) ā€“ presents itself as an important capability.

Instead of just receiving indications with the video stream and providing voice guidance, which can be a tiring, time-consuming and misleading process for complex solutions and processes, agents can use AR to present elements overlaid on the video, such as arrows, signs and text, draw circles and Xā€™s, etc., and even present step-by-step operational and maintenance procedures, clearly showing at each step what needs to be done.

HOW CAN AN XR BASED CHANNELS BE INTEGRATED IN CONTACT CENTERS

Like any other Contact Center interaction, XR-based interactions need to be:

• Recognizable ā€“ Uniquely identified as XR channel, as well as in terms of its originating party, for routing, monitoring, and measuring purposes.
• Routable ā€“ Based on the channel used and the originating partyā€™s information, flexible routing based on scripts and Database information should be possible to deliver it to the right agent at the right time.
• Processable ā€“ Based on the business processes and applications applied and integrated, it should be able to be seamlessly processed to achieve the required business outcome.
• Monitorable and Measurable ā€“ Contact Center solutions are seen by operations primarily as productivity tools, these interactions and channels must be able to be monitored in real time and their results and KPIs must be collected and processed, internally or externally in Business intelligence tools, and be presented in dashboards and reports.

By design, most modern communication solutions, such as of course the XR enabled ones, include the features that make them easily integrated with any business and Contact Center solution:

• VoIP/webRTC based communications.
• Web based user interfaces accessible via browser or mobile App.
• Support of web services APIs for seamless integration.

USE CASES AND EVOLUTION TOWARDS METAVERSE

XR technologies are a reality today and new devices and products are released on a daily basis. Several concrete use cases are obvious for the use of XR channels in several aspects such as:

B2C Contact Center implementations:

• Telecom Service Providers ā€“ for remote support of more complex equipment in the households, the telecom CPEs are the most obvious use cases. Having a remote expert helping, with intuitive XR tools, to operate and troubleshoot routers and IPTV boxes is of great added value.
• Software ā€“ traditional SW support tools, such as co-browsing, remote desktop etc. are intrusive and can present security risks. AR can be a seamless and non-intrusive way to lead to navigate web pages and applications correctly towards a particular operational outcome.
• Auto insurance companies ā€“ AR remote assistance solutions provide a huge benefit to help insurance customers with car breakdowns and remote expert examinations in case of accidents.

B2B Contact Center implementations:

In addition to remote expert-based AR solutions, VR use cases can be of great help for operation, training and problem-solving as they can provide abstraction models of physical objects allowing users to manipulate and visually access parts of it that would otherwise be impossible. It can be used for:

• Support in healthcare equipment for Hospitals and Clinics
• Industrial equipment for factories
• Agriculture (tractors and production equipment)
• Transport (all types of vehicles)
• Etc.

IT Helpdesk and internal support

Contact Centers for internal helpdesks can also benefit greatly from XR solutions, such as:

• IT Helpdesks ā€“ Supporting all kind of IT equipment and even Corporate Sw.
• Emergency paramedics ā€“ Supported in emergency situations by doctors.
• Emergency teams on power companies, Oil & Gas.

XR Is the technological foundation that will allow customer engagement to enter the Metaverse.

The implementation of highly personalized and sophisticated Metaverse virtual places for brand awareness, product marketing and shopping as well as customer service, will provide a more immersive, intuitive and, ultimately, entertaining way for consumers to engage with their favorite brands, and will play a major role in the future of Contact Centers.

SAP RISE has the potential to impact ADM services profoundly. In this blog series, Iā€™ll lay out just how much it can transform your ADM landscape ā€“ and detail all the benefits (and potential drawbacks) of utilizing SAP RISE within your ADM model. 

SAP RISE (also called RISE with SAP) was launched in 2021. This is a subscription-based service, comprising multiple SAP components that join to form an Intelligent Enterprise with the primary purpose of enabling companies to take full advantage of the power of the Cloud within their core systems. 

ADM services refer to the outsourcing of different IT areas, for example, infra services, security management, application services, etc. Prior to SAP RISE, these services were normally provided by specialized vendors that held expertise in these areas. ADM without SAP RISE was mature ā€“ and of course competitive ā€“ with a wide range of outsourcing options available between these vendors. However, their services, abilities, and pricing would vary depending on the individual provider. 

SAP RISE in ADM: Improving the productivity of ADM services by standardizing development and management 

With the introduction of SAP RISE, various managed services could be combined into a comprehensive offering. This gives organizations the option to take advantage of synergies that will help in simplifying the overall managed service experience by having access to SAPā€™s comprehensive managed services across infrastructure, platform, and application management all together. This is an attractive option for the companies already utilizing SAP ā€“ and can provide them with a more streamlined approach to managed services. The role of SAP RISE in ADM is to standardize the development and management of services with the overall objective of improve the productivity of all ADM activities. 

SAP RISE fits into application and infra management ā€“ and includes TAM services as well. It covers application services like patching, change and release management, and the usage of pre-defined templates and libraries for development and enhancements. Infra services include basic security management, job scheduling, server/storage management, and other TAM services like event and incident management. SAP RISE with managed services can provide your business with comprehensive solutions to outsourcing IT functions. These include hosting, monitoring, and maintenance to a third-party provider outside your in-house services. To understand the true impact SAP RISE can have on your managed services, letā€™s look at the advantages and disadvantages of using SAP RISE within your ADM landscape. 

Cost reduction, Hyperscaler services, continuous improvement, and business alignment 

Some of the key potential benefits of SAP RISE integration with ADM services can be clubbed into the following four categories: 

Major cost reductions: SAP RISE is subscription based, which means you pay only for the services you use. Also, outsourcing IT functions to a managed services provider will help you save on overall IT costs. It offers a range of built-in monitoring and troubleshooting tools, which help to quickly identify and resolve any potential issues that may arise. For example, this could come in the form of real-time monitoring ā€“ and the problem could even be solved before it arises ā€“ thus optimizing your overheads and costs. 

Hyperscaler services: The usage of Hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Microsoft Azure will bring benefits like scalability and high availability (they can easily handle large amounts of data and traffic). Additionally, they offer cost effectiveness benefits here, as you can use pay-as-you-go pricing models. 

Continuous improvement: SAP RISE can lead to a host of different continuous improvement opportunities. SAP Basis tasks such as installation, configuration, monitoring, and managing SAP systems can be outsourced to SAP. This will bring continuous improvement within the process through standardization and automation, as you donā€™t need to manually apply patches or updates. SAP RISE is built upon a Cloud platform can easily integrate with wide range of other services and applications when designed as a ā€œplug and playā€ solution. This user-friendly interface will help remove any lethargy from the integration process with SAP RISE APIs. 

Heightened business alignment: SAP RISE has a wide range of templates and libraries, which help in customizing the development and enhancement of applications ā€“ faster and with more efficiency. This improves the response time to changing markets and corresponding business requirements through heightened alignment.  

What to watch out for: Integration with other systems, dependency on SAP, pricing, and connectivity issues 

There are also other business advantages like Business SLA management, vendor management, and ease of contracts, etc. But to understand the full impact of SAP RISE on ADM, we need to be aware of some of the disadvantages as well ā€“ especially from ADM perspective. 

Integration with other systems: Weā€™ve talked about seamless integration with third party apps ā€“ but this also removes the ease of doing business. For example, for any bank integration, instead of ā€œpick and shiftā€ (i.e., creating an XML file and keeping it on the server for a third party to pick it up), we need to have integration with all third parties that need this banking information. This can be tedious and costly. 

Dependency on SAP: Many times, with SAP RISE, Basis is completely done by SAP, which means you are dependent on SAP for all Basis-related activities. While this does bring standardization as pointed out earlier, it also brings dependency. 

Pricing can be a problem: For ad hoc and ā€œnon-standardā€ Basis requirements, there is a separate additional charge from SAP, which earlier would have been part of routine activities done by an in-house team (e.g., taking a copy of production to pre-production). 

Connectivity issues: SAP RISE is cloud-based, so it requires a stable internet connection to function seamlessly. This can be a problem if some operations are in remote areas with limited internet bandwidth. 

RISE with SAP isnā€™t about subscription licenses alone ā€“ it is about developing an optimal target operating mode. Bringing SAP RISE to ADM services will lead to more accountability. A big success factor hear is the ability to articulate clear RACI needs between SAP, Cloud provider, and client. This will streamline the process. SAP RISE within the future of ADM will continue to evolve with more and more integration with other SAP offerings in the context of SAP S/4HANA, which will help businesses take advantage of the latest and greatest solutions that SAP has to offer. 

I hope you have a better understanding of how SAP RISE can help your ADM ecosystem on your journey to becoming an intelligent enterprise with its wide catalogue of services. In my next blog, Iā€™ll cover the broad benefits described earlier in much more detail to show you how SAP RISE can ensure rapid business outcomes and speed up your transformation journey.  

But in the meantime, you can explore our broader PoV on the best approach for utilizing the latest changes within the SAP product suite. You can also visit us here to learn more about how we can help you take advantage of everything SAP RISE has to offer. And to talk in more detail, you can reach out to me at: himanshu.ambani@capgemini.com