Last month Nucleus Research came out with a new report who’s key finding was that 6 out of 10 customers wouldn’t buy SAP again. Big Statement. An even bigger statement, 9 out of 10 customers won’t even consider S/4HANA. Big deal for a company banking on those numbers to ensure future business growth.
With the glooming SAP headlines generated from the Nucleus report, it was surprising to see that SAP was experiencing growth around S/4HANA. In fact, in fiscal 1Q16, SAP’s Business Suite 4 SAP HANA, continued to see increased adoption. Market Realist reported that in 1Q16, SAP gained more than 500 new customers for S/4 Hana. It now boasts more than 3,200 customers. Furthermore, Wall Street analyst recommendations were mostly “buys” for SAP stock. And just this morning, SAP released a statement that “SAP S/4HANA momentum remains strong.”
So what does this mean for the Nuclues report? Well the report definitely brought on controversy but SAP stood behind an emailed statement to the press claiming the report was flawed. Nucleus based the report on in-depth interviews with 40 SAP customers (from the 300,000+ existing customers) spanning a variety of applications, as well as analyzed data from more than 200 that had evaluated SAP as a potential vendor over the past six months. The report indicated SAP is going to have a very tough time both moving existing customers to HANA and attracting net new customers. “Customers with prior SAP ERP experience appear less interested in what they fear will be a complex and painful transition.”
It is clear through reports and customer interactions that there is the perception that the move to S/4HANA will not be as simple as SAP states. However, through adoption numbers, we see that this perception will not stop organizations from migrating to S/4HANA regardless of challenges and fears.
Actually, organizations that begin their transition with careful planning, understanding, and with the right delivery models and tools, will find the migration a more successful process. And the benefits to S/4HANA will in turn, bring success to the organization. Businesses will be able to build digitally enabled business models, deliver personalized customer experiences, create new digital value chains and so much more.
S/4HANA is a change that is happening. It is another step to the digital transformation that many businesses are embarking on or, even, being pulled into. Understanding how to better manage the change and find success in the upgrade to S/4HANA will increase the time and decrease the cost of the migration. Learn how to plan a smooth transition to S/4HANA by hearing real-world advice and practical steps to migrate to S/4HANA efficiently with zero risk. Learn practical steps for a smooth transition to SAP S/4HANA, watch the webinar now.