Practice shows that the interoperability between these two portal worlds does not work well in practice. Further developments and changes in work organization and the way work is done (keyword: Work 4.0) are also leading to a growing desire for a portal solution that encompasses all four areas. We at VANTAiO have been working with SAP-based portal solutions for a very long time and the areas of collaboration and content were not particularly well developed in terms of functionality until now.

The “multi-portal” strategy leads to various problems in practice. Employees spend more time switching between applications, which increases the likelihood of errors, and decisions and actions are often taken without complete information. The same applies to recommendations and findings that are not made in full context. The different platforms usually each have their own task inbox. As a result, it is difficult to prioritize and track tasks from multiple systems. The result is that problems are discovered too late (budget overrun, project too late, missed revenue). There is a lack of an overarching dashboard that provides strategic insight and interpretation via consolidated metrics and information streams, for example, resulting in laborious manual, complex and time-consuming processes to obtain exactly this important information.

SAP has now closed this gap with the SAP Work Zone product. The new portal solution from SAP, which is offered on the SAP Business Technology Platform, is cloud-based and offers all four areas described above and therefore represents a comprehensive digital workplace / portal solution. SAP Work Zone also replaces the Cloud Portal Service of the “old” SAP Cloud Platform. SAP Work Zone can be used to create a “single portal” solution from a “multi-portal” solution. SAP Work Zone is an overarching, intuitive digital workplace solution with the aim of increasing the efficiency and productivity of users by providing access to relevant applications, information and collaboration functionality at any time.

The illustration shows the anatomy of the SAP Work Zone. The system has a modular structure and can therefore be quickly and easily adapted to requirements by editors. In addition, the SAP Work Zone can be used from a classic laptop or desktop PC as well as from mobile devices such as smartphones. There is a native app for smartphones.

The tight connection of the areas of collaboration, content, data and applications results in cross-area use cases and possibilities. Typical examples in practice are general communication and cooperation in teams and projects within the company and with partners, onboarding processes with process integration, e.g. for ordering work equipment, as well as mentoring, support and support services.