 |
“The best-run businesses run SAP,” is the proud claim of SAP, and increasingly many of these respected companies are upgrading to the latest SAP ERP platform. A new solution helps companies overcome the industry-wide shortage of skilled SAP consultants and ensure a smooth, cost-efficient transition.
Gillette, Proctor & Gamble, Airbus, Citrix, Adobe Systems, Black & Decker, Coca Cola, Thyssen Krupp, GSK, BP, Petrom … SAP’s customer list is impressive. Since its launch in 1992, SAP ERP has provided the enterprise resource planning (ERP) abilities such companies need to manage all aspects of their business processes and data in an integrated manner.
In recent times, intensified competition as well as the need to develop new market opportunities has meant companies are demanding greater productivity and visibility into their operations. SAP ERP 6.0, the latest version of the platform, delivers this with enhanced functionality that particularly addresses the needs of business users.
|
|
|
|
|
SAP ERP has already proved successful with many large companies requiring real-time business applications with multi-currency and multi-language capabilities. Many are optimising and modernising their ERP systems to sustain and exploit business growth and improve business processes.
The development of the architecture to include standardsbased web services technologies and service oriented architecture (SOA) also provides an upgrade incentive. By standardising on the new ERP platform, companies have a stepping-stone to deliver next-generation services quickly and flexibly.
With SOA, overall business agility increases as organizations can easily assemble and modify business processes to take advantage of changing market conditions. This provides a competitive advantage by offering greater flexibility in the way IT can support the business.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
These abilities, as well as increasing maintenance costs soon taking effect for older SAP ERP versions, are inspiring companies to upgrade. Surveys taken by the Americas' SAP User Group show that 75 percent of customers plan to begin the upgrade by mid-2008.
Yet transition is not without risks. Upgrading, adding applications and integrating servers are challenging tasks. Enterprise application environments can span a multitude of business units, suppliers and partners. How can a smooth transition be assured for this complex environment within a minimal window of application downtime and without losing the required quality and performance?
And while few analysts doubt SAP’s vision, some have questioned the company’s ability to implement. For example, an April article in eWeek.com entitled “SAP Pushes SOA, On Demand” stated, “Where SAP may be leading the pack … it's lacking in the fundamental resources needed to carry the SOA mission forward.”
One resource cited is a skilled workforce to help convert users from older R/3- based systems. It is precisely here, when making a transition involving a large technological investment, that companies can ill afford to take risks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HP has thousands of SAP services experts around the globe to help smooth the transition. Based on more than 17 years of SAP consultancy and integration experience, HP can be of significant assistance to companies in any upgrade.
While the transition path to the new suite is proven and low risk, HP can assist companies to modernise and manage their SAP platforms with robust methodologies and proven tools. Offerings such as HP Quality Center and HP Performance Center help reduce downtime and mitigate risk.
HP also supports customers with the SAP Discovery System for enterprise SOA, which enables customers to “test drive” a ready-to-use SOA environment.
Beyond this, the HP Upgrade Factory for SAP is a new service delivery approach that offers a more efficient and cost-effective “industrialised” approach to upgrades from SAP R/3 to SAP ERP 6.0. The distinctive aspect is the Global Delivery model offered with an optimal blend of onshore, near-shore and offshore services.
For example, specialised resources can complete all development, testing and verification of customizations offshore. This global approach significantly improves the repeatability of upgrades, reduces the time and budget needed for their completion and minimises risk. This provides a simpler, smoother upgrade and results in maximised business outcomes of the SAP investment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Companies can depend on HP, a long-standing SAP partner, to assist in their upgrading to an enterprise SOA-oriented environment. With an expansive range of SAP services, over 55,000 SAP installations and almost 50 percent of all SAP systems running on its technology, HP is an ideal technological partner to help reduce the risk of transition.
For best-run businesses facing the challenge of an SAP upgrade, the breadth of the HP portfolio combined with the global reach of the Upgrade Factory for SAP means HP is well positioned to assist them to become more efficiently run businesses. And to achieve this transition faster and with assurance of outcomes.
To learn more about HP SAP services and solutions, visit: www.hp.com/services/SAP_Modernize
|
|
|
|
|
|
Printable version
