SAP Landscapes in Transition: A Look at the Status Quo

But how do users deal with these offers? How far have they progressed on their path toward cloud computing, S/4 Hana, digitization, etc.? Do they even want to go down this path?

For more transparency on these and other issues, we at PAC, together with E-3 Magazine, have developed a survey started. A first review of the preliminary results (status at the time of writing this article: approx. 70 participants) has produced some surprising, but also expected results.

Focus Cloud

Although the use of public and private clouds is steadily advancing, there are persistent reservations: More than one in three of the IT directors and business managers surveyed cannot see any advantages in operating SAP in the cloud - which, conversely, means that the vast majority certainly expect and appreciate cloud-related improvements such as greater agility, continuous optimization of the software, and cost savings.

However, a look at the response behavior of the participants at management level (C-level) makes one prick up one's ears and adds an interesting note to the above reservations: the majority of them stated that they were unable to estimate the costs and risks of a cloud migration or that they expected increasing costs and risks. Both of these factors have a deterrent effect on top management.

Focus Analytics

The initial results of the survey show: There is no lack of tools, but there is a lack of strategies. The tools offered by SAP are frequently used and - not surprisingly - very popular among the respondents. However, a significant number of participants also use analytics solutions from other manufacturers.

What is worrying is that between 30 and 50 percent (depending on the job profile) of the participants stated that they were aware of the importance of data, but had not yet implemented a strategy. In view of the ever-increasing wealth of data, this is a cause for concern.

As mentioned, these are only preliminary results from our current survey. The picture may still change significantly depending on the progress of the survey. You are cordially invited to confirm or refute the above results by participate in the survey. The questions are answered in just a few minutes, and with your contribution you provide more market transparency in the SAP community.