SNP and All For One: Partners for medium-sized businesses
E-3: Why did All for One choose SNP as a strategic partner?
Martin Finkbeiner, All for One: Because the CrystalBridge data transformation platform and the selective data migration - also known as the Bluefield approach - are global market leaders. SNP's experience and know-how in table-based data transformation are truly unique. We also complement each other perfectly. SNP has the software and the approach. We translate the SNP approach into an offer that is suitable for SMEs and provide the service for our customers.
E-3: Are there already any joint projects?
Finkbeiner: Yes, of course. We have already successfully implemented over a dozen projects together. These include some exciting flagship projects - for example the migration to SAP S/4 Hana of the Cleanpart Group. We work together very successfully and create a lot of added value for our medium-sized customers.
E-3: What added value do you see from a table-based migration approach?
Finkbeiner: The exciting thing about SNP's Bluefield approach is that it separates data and customizing. This is because many SAP customers want to return to the standard, but also want to take the necessary and proven features into the future. And this applies to data as well as customizing and configurations. And this is precisely what is possible with SNP's approach. We have many SMEs who say: Finally we can clean up our system - both in terms of data and customizing - and go as far as we want.
E-3: Why are you addressing SMEs with a software-based approach? Isn't that far too complex?
Finkbeiner: On the contrary: this approach is particularly suitable for SMEs that have limited internal IT resources. This is because it allows us to carry out the migration partially automatically and therefore extremely efficiently. It is the basis for an industrialized transformation to S/4 - for our Conversion Factory. There is also another strong argument: there are not enough SAP consultants for the number of SAP systems to be migrated using the traditional consulting approach. Over the next few years, thousands of customers will have to migrate to S/4 and Hana.
E-3: Many customers plan the S/4 changeover late. Do you see the danger of a general consulting bottleneck in the market?
Finkbeiner: Yes, of course. We can already see that now, and even more so in the future. That's why we're relying on the partnership with SNP and the software-based approach. It enables us to offer a high degree of automation for the S/4 conversion. And with little effort on our part, but also on the customer side. In addition, we intend to expand our own capacities for the project business and want to take over SNP's Data Transformation Center -Europe in Poland for this purpose. In short, we are building on the software-based approach, the DTC and our consulting services - and bringing all of this together in our Conversion/4 offering.
E-3: Why should a customer migrate to S/4 now?
Finkbeiner: Why not? From our external perspective, there is no reason to wait - except possibly for internal customer reasons. S/4 is a central core element for digitalization in SAP user companies. All SAP innovations take place in S/4 Hana. Our basic idea is to "keep the core clean" - in other words, to go standard and benefit from the SAP innovation strategy. At All for One, we have developed a Conversion/4 offering that is tailored to the needs of SMEs and allows them to implement continuous innovations.
E-3: What makes All for One a triple winner, as you could read recently?
Finkbeiner: Our Conversion/4 approach is well received by our customers, employees and business partners. We are naturally very pleased about this and it shows us that we are on the right track. We have received three nominations for our approach in a short space of time: SAP presented us with the Pinnacle Award in the "SAP S/4 Hana Movement" category - as a leading global partner; Microsoft recognized us as a Partner of the Year finalist in the "SAP on Azure" category; and the analysts at ISG named us "Leader Germany" in the "SAP S/4 Hana Ecosystem" category. This triple naturally makes us a little proud and is also an incentive to continue delivering for SMEs.