SAP Managed Service Provider or an internal SAP Team? Or a combination of both?
For years now, businesses have been working to get the balance right when it comes to managing and maintaining their SAP system. Deciding whether the internal SAP should take overall responsibility for the day to day running and support of the system or whether you should rely more heavily on an SAP Managed Service provider is a decision that varies from business to business. No two business are the same and so the needs of each business are very individual to their specific circumstance.
However, each business now seems to be battling against a very common problem in the new remote working world – SAP Consultants are now more in demand than ever. With the elimination of location barriers, the retention of internal SAP staff is now a very real struggle and it is one which is pushing companies to re-look at the way they work.
Read on to learn how you can protect your system against the unpredictability of staff turnover and how an SAP Managed Service provider could support you through this.
What does the new “Remote” normal look like for the SAP industry?
If you could describe 2020/2021 in one word, what would it be? I’d have to say unforgettable. Personally, being at home with three very young children during the pandemic showed me tiredness like I’ve never experienced before. As Robin Williams once said though “You’ll have bad times, but it will always wake you up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to”. It’s true, I’ve never been more grateful for a garden, the iPad, and Disney+! Who would’ve thought at the start of 2020 that just sitting down with a hot cup of tea at your desk (in your bedroom) would be a welcome break?
One of the most enjoyable parts of remote working for me, has been witnessing first-hand how, not only our team, but our customers have been so agile, completely adapting to different ways of operating and overcoming all of the various trials that come with it.
With the slow easing of lockdown restrictions, the UK is now entering a “new normal” which sees remote working as a more permanent arrangement. This entirely opens up the UK market for job seekers and it is predicted to cause some serious business disruption. How will you now retain or attract the right type of candidates when locality is no longer considered a major factor?
In the last month alone, we have had three conversations with clients where this isn’t only a future concern, but a very real issue that they are facing today with their internal SAP teams.
How can we protect our SAP systems?
Many companies tend to rely on an in-house SAP team to keep their systems running smoothly on a day-to-day basis. Internal teams are driven by the unique needs of the business and hold a wealth of knowledge of company-specific business processes.
But ponder this question for a second:
If 20% of the workforce were to leave in the next month, would you be able to ensure the successful and smooth running of the SAP system?
As I’m writing this article there are currently 3098 live SAP jobs advertised on totaljobs.com alone. Yes, you read that correctly, 3098. And in this post-covid, remote working era it only takes a recruiter a couple of minutes to find a long list of potential candidates through means such as LinkedIn to approach. Having worked as a recruiter in a past life, let me assure you – they are persistent and often do not stop until their role is filled.
Now there are more opportunities that have opened up for SAP consultants – roles that involve newer SAP technologies, that provide better career prospects, more flexible working arrangements, the list goes on. It is a job seekers market, meaning it’s now more important than ever to consider – are you offering the right opportunities for your team?
Not only are companies reviewing and changing company benefit policies and working practices to try and retain the right people, but we are starting to see more internal SAP teams being separated from the daily running of the back-end systems and being freed up to focus on more transformational/strategic pieces of work.
To do this, it’s important to appoint a good, reliable SAP Managed Service Provider to ensure the smooth running of the system, whilst also completely protecting it against the unpredictability of staff turnover.
What is an SAP Managed Service Provider and how could they support my business?
An SAP Managed Service Provider generally offers remote monitoring, management, and maintenance of your SAP systems. At Absoft, we go even further. Our Managed Service is designed to allow you to work smarter by:
- Prioritizing incidents & reducing incident resolution time with proactive monitoring
- Monitoring critical business processes, both in and outside of SAP
- Automating support tickets and fixes through self-service and self-healing
In short, we detect problem situations as early as possible to fix them as fast as possible. This prevents downtime, a drop in productivity and business disruption.
Managed Service allow your team to focus on more strategic tasks. Moreover, it also helps you to continually improve business efficiency and in time, through self-healing, reduce the overall amount of support tickets being raised.
Related: Take a look at how our SAP Managed Service delivers actual business impact and value in this E-Book
Can an SAP Managed Service Provider work in collaboration with an internal SAP team?
In short, absolutely.
For some businesses, by appointing a Managed Service provider, they are outsourcing the full management of SAP, including functional, technical and infrastructure support. For others, a Managed Service is just about strategically filling the competency gaps in an internal SAP team. This method allows you the convenience of having an internal team on site whilst offering the stability and reliability that comes with working with an outsourced provider.
No two SAP Managed Service Providers offer the same. At Absoft, we ensure our Managed Service is scalable to your business requirements and we completely bespoke the service to meet the unique needs of you and your team.
Are there other ways that my SAP Managed Service provider can help me whilst I recruit?
We, more often than not, form long-term relationships with our customers. However, often the relationships that blossom start from bits and pieces of small project work, that over time builds trust and frequently leads to ongoing SAP support.
We are always willing to help where we can, whether that be through delivering support services, infrastructure/cloud management, or more compact assignments. If you are curious to find out how we could help you, view a full list of the problems we solve or get in touch directly to discuss your specific case.
Why Absoft as your SAP MSP?
Absoft have delivered SAP support since 1994. With over 600 years of combined experience, we offer access to the most knowledgeable minds in the industry.
In a world that is ever-changing, we are continually making unprecedented levels of investment in our SAP Managed Service to meet the needs of the market. More automation by standard, more self-healing, and more possibilities unlocked with every passing month. Our aim is to make SAP simpler, faster, more reliable, and more cost-effective than ever before and to keep getting better and better.
For more information on our Managed Service, or to speak to an expert about your current situation, please contact us here. We would love to hear from you!
Article by: Toria Smith, Innovation and Technology Co-ordinator
Toria works within Absoft’s Innovation team and is responsible for productising and commercialising new SAP developments within Absoft. From a Sales background, she specialises in identifying common problems within different industry sectors and working to find solutions that solve these common issues. She has worked within optimisation, app developments and implementations throughout her time with Absoft and is now plays a key role in ensuring all new developments are a success.
