Clarity in human resources

DSAG welcomes the continued availability of an on-premise HCM solution as a first step, but intends to continue to critically observe how the new solution is designed to meet customer needs.

The statement on the previous ERP solution for human resources from SAP was clear: SAP HCM will still be available as an on-premise solution until 2025. And for the time after that, SAP has so far strategically positioned the cloud or software-as-a-service solution SuccessFactors.

DSAG sees the fact that SAP is now offering an on-premise solution with a maintenance period until 2030 as positive.

"It's good that SAP is now offering an on-premise solution at least until 2030, giving many of our member companies options for now"

explains Jean-Claude Flury, DSAG Board Member for Business Networks Integration.

He accompanied the DSAG demand for a clear statement from SAP on the future of all modules in the HR solution HCM. In response to this demand, SAP will launch a new on-premise solution that is to be available from 2023. The new solution is to run exclusively on Hana.

Appropriate services and tools will be made available for the migration. In addition, there will be a separate maintenance strategy for the new HR solution, as it will run independently alongside S/4. Existing customers are to receive a license conversion in accordance with the existing S/4 conversion rules.

Users prefer on-premise

The DSAG demand for a clear statement for the future of HR was underpinned by the results of a survey conducted within the DSAG HR working group, which has more than 3,000 members.

According to the survey (multiple selection was possible), around 97 percent of respondents use SAP HCM. A quarter use SuccessFactors and nine percent use Concur for travel management.

The former is the cloud application that SAP has chosen as the future home of IT-supported HR. The hesitant attitude of the survey participants towards SAP's preferred cloud solution does not surprise Hermann-Josef Haag, DSAG working group spokesman for human resources.

As a user himself, he is aware of the challenges and obstacles that survey participants face in implementing the SAP strategy.

"More than half consider the functional requirements of human resources in the new, cloud-based solutions not yet sufficiently met. This makes the interim solution now offered by SAP all the more welcome."

says Hermann-Josef Haag.

Integration approach missing

Almost 23 percent see further obstacles on the way to the SuccessFactors solution in the issue of licenses, almost 21 percent lack information regarding migration, and around 13 percent of respondents also criticize the lack of influence on the availability and support of the new solution. And around 20 percent consider the ability to integrate with other software modules to be insufficient.