Choosing the right SAP Support provider and application support model that suits your business needs is crucial. You know that your company’s SAP system is the beating heart of the business, and there’s no doubt that such a wide-ranging system needs to run flawlessly 24/7/365.
Unfortunately, we often see that even after careful considerations your chosen provider isn’t delivering the promised service. Perhaps your partner or model may no longer be suited to your strategy or your budget? Sometimes the fit isn’t right for both parties. Either way, it is time to move on if you see too many red flags!
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So what are the top 10 tips for selecting an SAP Support partner?
And how do you ensure a seamless transition if you do have to switch partners?
- Fit to your business and SAP system requirements – Your SAP support partner needs to have the correct set up to provide the type and level of support that you require.
- Expertise – Make sure that whatever the expertise of your partner – they need to understand your business processes inside out.
- Flexibility – Find an SAP provider who offers flexible support allowing you to build your own tailored service. For example, we do this through the use of add-ons.
- SAP certification – You can easily ensure the competence of an SAP support provider by checking if their consultants are certified in their specialist modules.
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs) – It is vital that the support and maintenance of your SAP system is delivered to an agreed set of measures.
- SAP Partner Centre of Expertise accreditation – Make sure your newly selected provider is PCoE accredited. This demonstrates that their support service meets SAP rigorous requirements and gives you a peace of mind.
- ISO accreditation – Another key measure of a reliable partner you need to check for is their commitment to meeting industry standards through ISO 27001 and ISO 2000 certificates.
- Dedicated team vs. Outsourcing – An SAP provider with their own team will usually have a deeper understanding of your organisation as well as your system and its history.
- Meeting the team – Before you choose a partner, it is important to meet the people who will be providing support to your organisation and ensure you can work closely with the team
- Integrated SAP Support – While you do want to find a partner that has specialist skills and expertise in your industry, you may also enquire about the other services and products they provide
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How do we at Absoft compare to our own list above?
And how do we ensure a seamless transition for our clients who have moved to Absoft from other providers?Â
We have created a straightforward, supportive SAP transition methodology to easily manage a shift of providers. Read more about how we eliminate the confusion and put your IT and senior management teams minds at rest. Or get in touch to discuss your bespoke transition plan now:Â
The Transition Plan
Our SAP support models have always been focused on the specific customer and stakeholders. Rather than creating a duplicate of any existing service we work with you to develop a process that genuinely meets the needs of your users.
Critically, we assign a dedicated Transition Manager to all new customers. That named contact will be responsible for delivering the successful transition into Absoft support, using rigorous project management methodology and with great attention to risk management.
A solid Transition Plan is vital to ensure a smooth move into a new operational support service – one which allows SAP to meet your required needs from day one, whilst mitigating the risk of disruption to your end-users.
The plan will cover key aspects of information gathering:
- getting to know you and your systems;
- disseminating this information amongst Absoft consultants who will provide the transition
- and, of course, the ongoing SAP support.
This fundamental foundation is the beginning of a successful SAP support experience.
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The Bespoke-to-You Plan
Due to our lengths and breadths of experience, we have a suite of Transition Plans and methods at our fingertips. However, each customer profile is different and we tailor your transition planning process to guarantee it’s fit for purpose. Your purpose.
Absoft makes bespoke adjustments for each customer’s landscape and change management procedures. We also ensure best practice and lessons learned from previous transitions are factored into every single support transition.
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The Knowledge Transfer
Our in-depth planning stage means that your Absoft consultants become experts on the topic of you and your SAP system.
A huge amount of knowledge is gathered in the first few weeks. Then, we share that acquired knowledge with the wider Absoft support team. That way each of Absoft’s consultants can deliver a seamless quality of support once the transition goes “live”.
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How do we do this?
- Firstly, we make all system and process documentation available to all our support consultants via our secure, internal directories.
- Secondly, Absoft’s Transition and Service Delivery Managers ensure that the Absoft support team has reviewed all available documentation and attended an internal knowledge sharing session. The wider support ream can ask any questions or clarify any points at this stage to ensure there are no gaps in their knowledge.
- Thirdly, the Absoft consultants who undertake your initial knowledge transfer will also complete Absoft’s template documentation to ensure that all required knowledge is captured.
In other words, we make every piece of relevant information available to your entire support team. And that’s the secret to a successful SAP transition process.
The Transition Team
Our Absoft Transition Team is highly comprehensive – probably larger than you’ve experienced before:
- Transition Manager – project manages the transition and takes responsibility for delivering the transition on time, including customer communication and resources coordination
- Service Delivery Manager – for sharing and agreeing SAP support processes, and escalation of any issues regarding the transition or support services
- Technical Team – for the creation of technical maintenance plans
- Account Manager – for escalation, contractual and scope issues
- Support Team – for all functional and technical areas – perform documentation review and knowledge transfer/site visits
The Transition Timeframe
A typical transition period lasts for approximately 4 weeks end-to-end. This includes everything from access requirements to the eventual provision of any technical input required to enable remote SAP support. However, we have also accelerated this process in the past in order to sync with specific client schedules.
Are you thinking of changing your SAP support provider? What’s holding you back?Â
