The SAP clock is ticking

If your decision to move to SAP S/4 HANA is mainly driven by the SAP-imposed deadline, just know that you will be too late. Not only is the SAP clock ticking, but many companies are finding that the external market clock is accelerating even more quickly than their internal company clock. If your company is moving significantly slower than the market, that is a major problem, which if left unfixed will quickly become a panic-inducing kind of problem.

Companies need to transform themselves into network organizations. This is a completely new way of thinking and acting and is much more than a technological transformation. Moreover, without the right tools to support this new behavior, the transformation will be impossible. As a platform that allows companies to plug in the solutions they really need, SAP S/4 HANA is by far the most convenient solution for a successful transformation.

Run faster than Alice

You probably know Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland: Arriving in a completely unknown world, Alice is surprised that after running fast all day she has not moved anywhere. Disappointed, she complains about this to the Red Queen. “A slow sort of country you live in!” says the Queen, “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”

This is exactly what is happening in today’s network economy. Running faster to keep up is just not enough; companies will have to run twice as fast. In addition to running faster, you need to run smarter. Competition in the digital area has completely changed. Today’s partners and customers can be tomorrow’s competitors. Cooperation is key, and companies of all sectors and sizes must understand the importance of building platforms instead of products. Platforms connect things, data, people, etc. efficiently and  provide all the tools you need to keep up.

With its new platform-based solution S/4 HANA, SAP shows that it really understands this need for change. SAP has made it possible to plug in partners’ and competitors’ solutions on the SAP platform. SAP solutions can be perfectly integrated with other open systems.

Moving to S/4 HANA is a strategic decision for accessing and playing an important role in the network economy. Companies often prefer to see others jump before they follow. This might have been a good strategy in the past, when most decisions were made based on market trends, but trends are patterns from the past and as we are saying, even real-time is not fast enough. The key to success ­­– and frankly survival – is anticipating and preparing for the next move.

Data is the new Gold

Doing business today is about gathering and analyzing market information  with the aim of transmitting the correct information back into the market immediately. The HANA in-memory database is optimized to consume less storage space and enable faster analytics and operational reporting. In real-time, you can keep your customers and prospects updated about your products and services. Experience shows that analysis and reporting has improved by a factor of 1800!

As technology evolves, novelties are outdated tomorrow. Another reason to move to SAP S/4 HANA is that aside from EHP upgrades, ECC6 has been the same solution since 2005!!! As market and business processes have changed drastically, a technological change cannot stay behind. SAP Intelligent Enterprise, built on and around the SAP S/4 HANA solution, responds to all the demands of  a modern enterprise.  SAP S/4 HANA is seven times more efficient and it uses four times fewer process steps.

Do you need all this? And do you need this now? The answer is simply yes. Companies with SAP ECC6 today, had better move to SAP S/4 HANA tomorrow. The most important reason is that your customers are connected in an ever-growing network economy, and your company needs to be connected to it as well.

All the knowledge to make your clock tick faster

Moving to S/4 HANA is not a technological choice; it is a strategic decision. Anticipation and preparation are crucial. We are eager to be your dedicated partner. Realdolmen thinks globally and acts locally. We have local means in our own SAP Business Unit, and we are also part of the international Gfi group, so we have access to the Lisbon-based global SAP competence center, managed by ROFF, with almost 25 years’ experience in implementing SAP solutions. Today we can rely on 1400 SAP consultants, a majority based in Belgium and elsewhere in Europe,  and some in Brazil and Macau.

With more than 650 active SAP customers worldwide, we have all the necessary experience to support your company in this important transformation process. Our unique approach of combining local and near-shore delivery guarantees fast deployment and high quality while keeping your TCO under control.