EY, SAP and Qualtrics bring leading edge technology to the fight against COVID-19

LONDON, June 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EY, SAP and Qualtrics (Nasdaq: XM) today announced that governments and businesses across the US and EMEIA are using their collaborative offerings to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through digitizing testing and scheduling, personalizing the patient experience, and scaling outreach and communication across communities, governments are using these offerings to make it easier for their communities to get vaccinated and help businesses navigate COVID-19 processes to safely reopen. The offerings include EY implementation services, Qualtrics contact tracing and vaccine management solutions, and EY Proximity Monitor built on the SAP Business Technology Platform.  

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, EY, Qualtrics and SAP teams worked together to help meet the urgent and critical needs of governments globally. Now, more than one year later, government and health officials are finding these offerings are saving time, increasing response rates and helping people get vaccinated.

Hanne Jesca Bax, EY EMEIA Markets & Accounts Leader and EY Global SAP Executive Sponsor, says:

"Through this collaboration, SAP, Qualtrics and EY teams have developed effective contact tracing and vaccine management and distribution solutions that, coupled with EY implementation support skills, help governments and businesses maintain their operations and prioritize the safety of their people and customers."

Combining experience to put people at the center of contact tracing and vaccine operations

In South Dakota, EY and Qualtrics teams implemented a cost-effective contact tracing solution in less than two weeks – reducing the state's contact tracing team's manual efforts by more than 75%. Additionally, in the state of Missouri, EY and Qualtrics teams implemented the Vaccine Navigator, which has helped process patients quicker and at scale. At an 8,000-dose event in Kansas City, the system received praise for allowing administrators to process vaccinations three times faster than paper invoicing. To date, the Navigator has registered 750,000 individuals and processed more than 270,000 vaccinations.

John Shmulsky, Technology Lead, South Dakota Department of Health, says:

"The South Dakota Electronic Contact Tracing, Case Investigation, and Isolation Removal solution, as supported by EY and Qualtrics teams, was a game changer in the ability to meet the promises made to communities. The automations provided by the initiative were considerable morale boosters internally, providing a case/contact landscape where success in objectives could be realized."

R.J. Filipski, Global Head of Ecosystem, Qualtrics, says:

"Governments around the world are seeing that resident experience matters more than ever. Putting human beings at the center of vaccine management and contact tracing efforts helps officials reach more individuals and builds trust in their communities. We are proud to work with EY and SAP teams to help communities as they work to accelerate their efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic."

Brad Duncan, Principal, Ernst & Young LLP, US Government & Public Sector State Local & Education Leader, says:

"This collaboration is supporting state and local governments in their efforts to securely, safely and equitably distribute COVID-19 vaccines. Teaming with SAP and Qualtrics helps enable the three organizations to share leading practices and further enable public health agencies to rapidly and effectively reach citizens nationwide."

A return to events with the EY Proximity Monitor

As event organizers in some parts of the world consider a return to operations or are preparing to reopen, EY launched Proximity Monitor to help businesses safely undergo this process. Built on SAP technology, EY Proximity Monitor measures the effectiveness of events' social distancing protocols and notifies guests if social distancing restrictions are not being followed. EY teams collect proximity data by linking devices and analyzing trends using the SAP Analytics Cloud solution and SAP HANA^® Cloud database, both components of SAP Business Technology Platform.

Leveraging EY Proximity Monitor is at the core of the PGA European Tour's COVID-19 protocols and strategy to help ensure safety for staff, guests and participants. Following successful deployments at several of its golf championship events in 2020, the European Tour plans to continue to use the technology to help facilitate the safe return of golf fans.

Dr. Andrew Murray, Chief Medical Officer, European Tour, says:

"We recognize the proximity and duration of contact to COVID-19 increases the risk of transmission. On the European Tour, we are doing all we can to decrease social contacts that could lead to transmission. EY Proximity Monitor is providing invaluable insights, further decreasing the risk at our events, and positively influencing human behaviors. We look forward to the expanded deployment of the technology once we resume tournaments in the near future."

Jim Brett, SAP Vice President, Global Business Development and Ecosystem, says:

"Coming together to provide the assistance and support that organizations need to support citizen safety has been the foundation of this shared initiative. We are proud of our collaboration to deliver advanced technologies, guidance and solutions that organizations need to manage processes amid unprecedented times."

EY was recognized for its COVID-19 offerings and named the winner of both the SAP EMEA South and SAP EMEA North 2021 Awards for Global Strategic Service Partner Excellence – COVID-19 Response. In addition, EY received a 2021 SAP Pinnacle Award for Partner of the Year – Experience Management, SAP and Qualtrics and the 2021 SAP Global Innovation Award for Proximity Monitor.

For more information, visit ey.com/sap.

Joanna Hardy
EY Global Media Relations
+1 212 773-4473
[email protected]

SOURCE EY