In the technological world, nothing stays the same for very long. There’s always a new iPhone model to buy, or a new software update to install, or even whole new industries emerging. In business contexts, this has come to be known as digital transformation – and it’s changing the way companies operate.

But what exactly is digital transformation? Well, according to i-scoop, “Digital transformation is the profound transformation of business and organizational activities, processes, competencies and models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities of a mix of digital technologies and their accelerating impact across society in a strategic and prioritized way, with present and future shifts in mind.”

In short: it’s the ways in which businesses are evolving with new tech. Sounds much simpler when put like that, doesn’t it?

Even so, the digital transformation journey is far from easy, and overhauling years’ or even decades’ worth of existing process and procedure can be a huge undertaking. Plus, as this technology is new to everyone, there’s no roadmap to follow. This is new territory – and venturing into it is a daunting task.

Thankfully, companies don’t have to do it alone.

Ernst and Young (EY) recently announced they were entering into a partnership with SAP in order to “fuel digital transformation”, and intend on utilising the company’s expertise in order to more smoothly manage their transition.

“Companies are increasingly under high pressure to be more innovative, more agile and smarter than their competitors. S/4HANA, SAP’s next-generation business suite, was developed to help achieve those aims,” said EY Ireland CIO Frank O’Dea.

Indeed, HANA is at the cutting edge of transformative tech. The ERP system promises to reduce complexity, run anywhere, and vastly improve ROI. Plus, with its data integration and quality guarantee, and the application development service, HANA is already equipped for on-hand assistance with businesses.

“Successful transformation is achieved by harnessing innovation and emerging technologies to make strategy, customer value, user experience, process, technology and operational improvements,” O’Dea said. “Using emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, blockchain and RPA organisations can improve their processes and deliver a simpler more rewarding user for their people and customers.”

EY’s digital transformation initiative sounds ambitious, but SAP is a more than competent partner.

SAP’s vice president, Timo Elliott, was also excited about the collaboration – and noted that these kinds of partnerships would probably become more common in the future.

“We find that people are drowning in the different opportunities, what steps to take, what they should do first, and this is exactly where an organisation like EY working with SAP can help guide customers to make the right choices,” he said.

Elliott also implied that collaborative arrangements could become standard for SAP further down the line.

“What’s absolutely essential is building in agility and new ways of working. So not just transforming but transforming our ability to transform in the future.”

Technology is changing without a doubt, and that shift may be hard for some people to manage. As usual, though, SAP is ahead of the curve – and they’re making the most of it.