The real SAP® Business one cost : a case study of ERP adoption in an SME

This paper reports on a UK based service management Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) that invested into SAP® Business One. The action research case study highlights the real cost and difficulties faced in moving to the one single SAP system and the process that was followed in order to identify third-party vendors that can integrate or customise SAP® Business One. This paper highlights the additional costs required to ensure a ‘fit-for-purpose’ solution to close the gap between strategic needs and the existing SAP Business One solution. The gap itself is illustrated by highlighting 10 key functionalities expected by the given service management SME. The actual implementation cost of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) was found to be approximately double the initial SAP costs. The real costs involve time for, among other things, process reengineering, strategic decision making, software add-ons, staff-training, project-management and software maintenance

Scaling Success: Lessons from Adaptation Pilots in the Rainfed Regions of India

"Scaling Success" examines how agricultural communities are adapting to the challenges posed by climate change through the lens of India's rainfed agriculture regions. Rainfed agriculture currently occupies 58 percent of India's cultivated land and accounts for up to 40 percent of its total food production. However, these regions face potential production losses of more than $200 billion USD in rice, wheat, and maize by 2050 due to the effects of climate change. Unless action is taken soon at a large scale, farmers will see sharp decreases in revenue and yields.Rainfed regions across the globe have been an important focus for the first generation of adaptation projects, but to date, few have achieved a scale that can be truly transformational. Drawing on lessons learnt from 21 case studies of rainfed agriculture interventions, the report provides guidance on how to design, fund and support adaptation projects that can achieve scale

A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent

The magnitude of the food waste problem is difficult to comprehend. The U.S. spends $218 billion a year -- 1.3% of GDP -- growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of food that is never eaten. The causes of food waste are diverse, ranging from crops that never get harvested, to food left on overfilled plates, to near-expired milk and stale bread. ReFED is a coalition of over 30 business, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to building a different future, where food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling are recognized as an untapped opportunity to create jobs, alleviate hunger, and protect the environment -- all while stimulating a new multi-billion dollar market opportunity. ReFED developed A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste as a data-driven guide to collectively take action to reduce food waste at scale nationwide.This Roadmap report is a guide and a call to action for us to work together to solve this problem. Businesses can save money for themselves and their customers. Policymakers can unleash a new wave of local job creation. Foundations can take a major step in addressing environmental issues and hunger. And innovators across all sectors can launch new products, services, and business models. There will be no losers, only winners, as food finds its way to its highest and best use

A Framework for the Planning and Management of Cybersecurity Projects in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Cybersecurity remains one of the key investments for companies that want to protect their business in a digital era. Therefore, it is essential to understand the different steps required to implement an adequate cybersecurity strategy, which can be viewed as a cybersecurity project to be developed, implemented, and operated. This article proposes SECProject, a practical framework that defines and organizes the technical and economics steps required for the planning and implementation of a cost-effective cybersecurity strategy in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). As novelty, the SECProject framework allows for a guided and organized cybersecurity planning that considers both technical and economical elements needed for an adequate protection. This helps even companies without technical expertise to optimize their cybersecurity investments while reducing their business risks due to cyberattacks. In order to show the feasibility of the proposed framework, a case study was conducted within a Swiss SME from the pharma sector, highlighting the information and artifacts required for the planning and deployment of cybersecurity strategies. The results show the benefits and effectiveness of risk and cost management as a key element during the planning of cybersecurity projects using the SECProject as a guideline

Social impact of artificial intelligence in Europe

La Inteligencia Artificial (IA) puede ser una herramienta de gran ayuda para el crecimiento y desarrollo de la sociedad. Para conseguir un enfoque más cercano y una evolución más eficaz de esta tecnología, la Comision Europea ha creado la red AI DIH, la cual centra su visión en el soporte de las pymes y sector público para implementar la IA en las diferentes regiones de Europa, ayudando a reducir la brecha entre las grandes corporaciones especializadas. En este documento se contextualiza la funcionalidad de la red DIH y cómo está actuando de cara a la IA, para introducir el análisis de los diferentes centros colaborativos enfocados a la IA. El resultado es una propuesta de técnicas, modelos y parámetros que pueden implementarse en esta red de centros, con el apoyo de Living Labs, para incrementar la efectividad y mejorar el producto/servicio final.Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a very useful tool for the growth and development of society. To achieve a closer approach and a more effective evolution of this technology, the European Commission has created the AI DIH network, which focuses its vision on supporting SMEs and the public sector to implement AI in the different regions of Europe, helping to close the gap between large specialized corporations. This document contextualizes the functionality of the DIH network and how it is acting in the face of AI, to introduce the analysis of the different collaborative centers focused on AI. The result is a proposal of techniques, models and parameters that can be implemented in this network of centers, supported by Living Labs, to increase effectiveness and improve the final product/service

The Development of a Lean Digital Construction (BIM) innovation framework for Irish Construction SMEs

The adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must overcome several challenges to succeed. Potential barriers include the need for financial resources, correct BIM guidance, and training. In recent years, SME organisations have investigated how the complementary application of BIM and Lean principles can maximise digital construction practices. For this approach to be successful, structured guidance is paramount. This paper presents the results from an extensive literature review that explores BIM and Lean capabilities, focusing on synergies and existing frameworks. Based on the results from the literature review, the paper suggests an experimental framework that will address the key obstacles and provide a structured approach to BIM and Lean implementation for SMEs. The authors envision that the output of the proposed framework will assist Irish SMEs in minimising waste and improving productivity within their practices

A Framework for Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Project Management

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementThis dissertation aims to support the project manager in their daily tasks. As we use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in everyday life, it is necessary to include them in business and change traditional ways of working. For the purpose of this study, it is essential to understand challenges and areas of project management and how artificial intelligence can contribute to them. A theoretical overview, applying the knowledge of project management, will show a holistic view of the current situation in the enterprises. The research is about artificial intelligence applications in project management, the common activities in project management, the biggest challenges, and how AI and ML can support it. Understanding project managers help create a framework that will contribute to optimizing their tasks. After designing and developing the framework for applying artificial intelligence to project management, the project managers were asked to evaluate. This study is essential to increase awareness among the stakeholders and enterprises on how automation of the processes can be improved and how AI and ML can decrease the possibility of risk and cost along with improving the happiness and efficiency of the employees

The Digitalisation of African Agriculture Report 2018-2019

An inclusive, digitally-enabled agricultural transformation could help achieve meaningful livelihood improvements for Africa’s smallholder farmers and pastoralists. It could drive greater engagement in agriculture from women and youth and create employment opportunities along the value chain. At CTA we staked a claim on this power of digitalisation to more systematically transform agriculture early on. Digitalisation, focusing on not individual ICTs but the application of these technologies to entire value chains, is a theme that cuts across all of our work. In youth entrepreneurship, we are fostering a new breed of young ICT ‘agripreneurs’. In climate-smart agriculture multiple projects provide information that can help towards building resilience for smallholder farmers. And in women empowerment we are supporting digital platforms to drive greater inclusion for women entrepreneurs in agricultural value chains