Figures show skill concerns and existing customisations remain a challenge
Research from the UK & Ireland SAP User Group (UKISUG), the independent not-for-profit organisation representing all users of SAP software, has today revealed that a quarter (26%) of organisations are now using SAP S/4HANA; compared to 16% last year. Of those organisations, 9 out of 10 said they were satisfied with SAP S/4HANA, and more than half (52%) rated their implementation experience as good or excellent.
The survey of 352 SAP user organisations revealed that overall, almost three quarters (74%) were either using or planning to move to SAP S/4HANA. However, the research does highlight that organisations’ still have concerns around the skills and training required to implement and manage SAP S/4HANA. More than a third (34%) of organisations rated the level of training provided by their partner during their implementation as poor or very poor. A further 38% of respondents said SAP doesn’t provide customers with enough technical resources and training to help them manage SAP S/4HANA. Of those organisations yet to move to SAP S/4HANA, 71% were concerned a lack of available skills will slow their migration.
“Despite the pandemic delaying some organisations’ plans to move to SAP S/4HANA, user adoption continues to grow. The 2027 maintenance deadline for ECC 6.0 may still feel some time away, but organisations do need to think about if and when they do move to SAP S/4HANA,” said Paul Cooper, Chairman, UK & Ireland User Group. “A lack of available SAP S/4HANA skills and the quality of training remain a concern. It will be up to the entire SAP ecosystem to work together to make sure organisations have the support and skills they need to make their implementation a success.”
The research also highlights that the majority (92%) of organisations see existing customisations presenting a challenge when moving to SAP S/4HANA.
- 58% of organisations said they plan to rebuild their required extensions/customisations on the SAP Business Technology Platform
- 28% plan to keep their existing customisations
- 12% plan to remove customisations entirely (replacing them with standard functionality)
Overall, a third (34%) of organisations said the amount of change management required to move to SAP S/4HANA was more than expected.
“For many organisations existing customisations are the daunting part of moving to SAP S/4HANA. It is therefore important that organisations do carry out a strategic review to consider the pros and cons of keeping and rebuilding customisations versus using standard functionality. This should be a key part of the change management process, which is critical to the success of any SAP S/HANA project. Throughout our conference, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from SAP, partners and customers to help guide them on their SAP S/4HANA journey,” added Paul Cooper.
Max Wessel, Chief Learning Officer, SAP, said: “Every day, we see the growing demand for SAP skills. This is especially true for skills related to SAP S/4HANA across our customer environments and partner ecosystem. That´s why SAP invested heavily to expand the opportunities to build the skills needed to be successful in our ecosystem. Just recently during SAP TechEd SAP 2021, SAP launched our all-new SAP Learning site that includes a refreshed experience and an array of learning content for developers to make learning more accessible than ever before.
“We are focusing squarely on the success of our ecosystem and meeting our learners where they are. We’ve reinforced our commitment to delivering the simplest, most accessible, and best tailored role-based learning content in the ecosystem. The results show. In the last 12 months our learning offerings – the majority of which focus on supporting organisations to get the most out of their SAP S/4HANA systems – has driven an increase of 30+% in consultants with a valid SAP S/4HANA certification.”
UKISUG is hosting its annual CONNECT conference 28-30 November 2021 at the ICC Birmingham.
About the UK & Ireland SAP User Group
Founded in 1988, The UK & Ireland SAP User Group is an independent ‘not for profit’ organisation. Over the years we have grown and now comprise of over 600 organisations and 7,500 professionals. Our aims are to facilitate networking, knowledge exchange and best practice amongst SAP users.
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