London – 6 May 2016 – More than half (58%) of SAP users are currently using or planning to use SAP’s cloud offerings, according to new research released today by the UK & Ireland SAP User Group. Of those users, 39% were using or planning to use SAP Cloud for Customer, while 23% planned to use S/4 HANA enterprise cloud edition.
When users were asked what the biggest benefits are for organisations using SAP’s cloud offerings, the most commonly cited reason was reduced costs/capex (64%), followed by quicker deployment times (46%) and having greater mobile access to information (42%). When asked about the barriers towards adopting SAP’s cloud offerings, existing investments in on-premise applications (57%) and a lack of clarity surrounding SAP’s product roadmap (52%) were the most frequently given reasons.
“Over the last 18 months, we have seen more of our members looking to move elements of their SAP estate to the cloud. However, as the survey results show, users still face challenges when it comes adopting SAP’s cloud offerings,” said Paul Cooper, vice-chairman of the UK & Ireland SAP User Group. “For organisations that have heavily invested in on-premise applications in the past, there still needs to be an attractive business case for them to move to the cloud. If users are to fully realise the benefits of SAP cloud offerings, they need to understand the company’s roadmap and strategy. For instance, the survey highlighted that just over half (52%) of respondents were unsure that S/4HANA would make them more readily consider using cloud services from SAP in the future.”
The research also revealed that just over a third (34%) of respondents are currently using or planning to use SAP’s HANA Cloud Platform (HCP). However, when respondents were asked if they knew what HCP is, 32% said they didn’t know. Further, only 10% believed that SAP had done a good job in communicating the benefits and use cases of HCP. More broadly, the majority (60%) of respondents did not think that SAP has so far done a good job in communicating the user benefits of its cloud offerings.
SAP’s cloud acquisitions were another area where respondents lacked clarity; nearly half (44%) said they do not understand where the acquisitions of SuccessFactors, Ariba, Fieldglass and Concur fit into SAP’s overall strategy. More than half (58%) also expressed concern that due to the emphasis from SAP on cloud, there is a danger the company could lose focus on its installed on-premise user base, resulting in them missing out on future product enhancements.
“Our findings show that SAP needs to do more to educate users regarding the potential benefits of the HANA Cloud Platform compared to other platforms such as Amazon Web Services,” said Paul Cooper. “It is our job to work closely with SAP, and ensure users get access to the information they need. Our Cloud Symposium will give users the chance to hear directly from SAP on the latest developments to its cloud portfolio, and from fellow SAP users regarding their own cloud projects. These insights will help SAP users to create compelling cloud business cases and accelerate their own technology journeys.”
Kevin Kimber, Head of Cloud, SAP UK and Ireland said: “SAP is committed to helping deliver business value to all its customers and we welcome the feedback from the UKI User Group. At SAP, all our solutions can be tailored to our customers’ individual needs – whether that involves on premise, cloud or hybrid models. By offering this flexibility we can support our customers on their individual cloud journey which varies across industry and user.
“We’re encouraged by the results of the survey that show that the majority of SAP users are either already using or planning to adopt our cloud offerings. We believe SAP provides the most complete end to end holistic cloud portfolio and we continue to strive to enhance our offerings through strategic acquisitions and sustained investment with the goal of providing best of breed cloud solutions. We’re committed to engaging in an active dialogue with our customers and the wider ecosystem to share our vision and roadmap for cloud solutions and will continue to promote this message publicly. For those interested in learning more about our integrated cloud portfolio and roadmap, I will be presenting at the User Group Cloud Symposium on 12th May.”
The survey questioned 100 SAP user organisations in the UK & Ireland. The User Group’s Cloud Symposium takes place in London on the 12 May 2016.
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About UK & Ireland SAP User Group
The UK & Ireland SAP User Group’s membership is open to users of all SAP products in the UK and Ireland. Membership consists of organisations from all sectors and of all sizes and includes some of the largest private companies and most significant public sector organisations in the UK and Ireland.
If you would like further information regarding the UK & Ireland SAP User Group, please visit www.sapusers.org
