Business Suite or S/4 Hana?

With regard to S/4 Hana, there is still work to be done to convince and educate people. A third of those surveyed will have switched from the Business Suite within the next three years. However, the remaining two thirds are undecided or are waiting.

There is a certain spirit of optimism in German-speaking countries. After all, IT budgets among DSAG members have increased by almost five percent. This represents an increase of over three percentage points compared to 2016.

Even more so in Austria, where IT investments doubled to more than eight percent compared to 2016. Only Switzerland is lower (minus two percent).

However, this restraint is reversed in the case of SAP expenditure. It increased by over three percent. However, this is less than in the previous year (2016: just under six percent).

In the German-speaking countries as a whole, SAP budgets grew by just under six percent, the same as in the previous year. In Austria, they rose by two percentage points to over six percent.

This year, the DSAG investment survey focuses not only on the general figures, but also in particular on spending on digitalization in member companies.

Over 60% of funds in German-speaking countries are invested in digital transformation. At 70%, Switzerland is once again living up to its innovation leadership.

The question of whether investments are being made in existing business processes or new business models in terms of digitalization provides a more detailed result.

Over 50 percent of participants rate investments in existing business processes in connection with the digital transformation as important to very important.

When it comes to investments in new business models as part of the digital transformation, the picture weakens slightly. 36% of respondents rate investment in new business models as important to very important.

This figure has remained the same as in the 2016 survey, while slightly less than a third are still more traditional and do not consider digitalization to be as important for investments.

A difference is noticeable when looking at different economic sectors. Investments in traditional products such as the Business Suite are still considered important by more than half of DSAG members in German-speaking countries.

As many as 16 percent of those surveyed plan to invest heavily in S/4 Hana. For 50 percent, however, this is not an alternative to traditional ERP systems. The Austrian DSAG members share this reluctance.

The Swiss are once again more progressive. Over a fifth are investing extensively in S/4 Hana. When asked about their ambitions to switch from the Business Suite to S/4 Hana, the following picture emerges: In German-speaking countries, two percent are already using S/4 Hana. Switzerland and Austria are ahead in terms of innovation with eight percent each.

S/4 changeover as the crucial question

In the next three years, a third of DSAG members are expected to have switched over. Another third will remain on the Business Suite in the longer term.

Marco Lenck on this:

"The changeover is becoming the crucial question for companies. A third of the DSAG members surveyed have not yet made a decision regarding the changeover and are undecided.

This results in a clear mandate for DSAG and SAP to ensure the further development of existing systems and more information."