The extra mile

Not necessarily simple requirements: created for users who want and need to be convinced. By a client who weighs the solution with the tightrope walk between data protection and benefits. And then two contractors who may see the whole thing as a project or as a social responsibility. The federal government paid a sum in the tens of millions for the development and operation. The app is not comparable to the "electronic fence monitoring system" from Taiwan, "TraceTogether" from Singapore or the "smart management system" from South Korea. The acceptance and also the existing infrastructure are different there.

Now you can say that SAP only provides its service and has not contributed in any other way. I call SAP, although it is a joint effort of T-Systems and SAP, because the division of tasks between the two companies is not transparent to me. SAP, as we all know, is not a normal company, but customers, partners and the SAP people themselves have higher expectations.

And so we come to the extra mile: I once conducted several "Talent Days" for SAP partners on behalf of SAP as part of the "Talent Net for SAP Partners". Here SAP, SAP partners and our team found new motivated employees for the participating SAP partners in several assessments. One of the criteria that we, as auditors, filled out for each participant was whether, in our view, he or she was willing to go the extra mile, i.e., make the extra effort to meet a goal.

And that brings me back to the Corona app: Did the SAP employees involved want to go the extra mile? Since the digital transformation is precisely about digitizing and linking previously analog data, the Corona app is a wonderful way to do this. It is clear to me that an app that can be put in a position to share personal data is under special scrutiny. There is a fine line between freedom and infection control. In the meantime, there is a contact diary where you can manually (!) enter your contacts. At least who releases his contacts for it, should be inserted automatically after positive mention of one of the two sides. Also the way of distance calculation has been adjusted. If you got a lot of risk encounters reported before the last update and now none, this may be the reason.

How can the Corona app be improved?

It is easy to increase the user value, for example, by simple additional information, such as statistical data on pandemic events in the home or place of residence, free intensive care beds, nearest test center with registration, etc. Data donation, i.e. a user survey on a voluntary basis, could also help. The next step would be simplifications in daily life, like event registration and access authorization. The (changing) QR code from the app for restaurant visits, ÖNVP etc. for better traceability. Transferring the lab data to the app has been implemented in the meantime, but connecting to additional devices and much more is still pending.

I see another advantage in the integration of the current corona regulations for the location as an overview including distance overruns ("15-km regulation"). Integration of RFID, Bluetooth tokens and more could further increase the utility. SAP also has a lot of experience with gamification, as seen at their conferences. This can be used intelligently and increase adoption. It was certainly an honor for SAP to be selected for this task. So my question is: Hey, SAP, was it just a job for you or do you go the extra mile behind the scenes and lead the project to greater success?