Business processes for drivers of Digital Transformation
In an increasingly digital world, organisation’s of all sizes need a platform for agility, responsiveness and developing deep customer insights, in real-time. Our latest report, ‘The Centiq State of SAP HANA 2018’, reflects this demand. The report represents the largest UK-based independent survey into SAP HANA usage to date, with 250 respondents across eight sectors and seven job titles. We delve into the statistics to understand the drive for improved business processes as a driver for Digital Transformation.
The drivers for S/4HANA and SAP HANA
Firstly, our survey demonstrates the difference in investment drivers for S/4 HANA and SAP HANA. S/4 HANA being seen as a major program for transforming existing SAP landscapes predominantly focused around central ERP and ECC systems. SAP HANA, on the other hand, is being driven by the need for entire business process transformation.
60% of SAP HANA users use the platform for data integration and platform consolidation
Since our last report, ‘Debunking the 3 myths of HANA’, data processing as not been seen to increase as a driver for investment as expected. Instead, there is a large increase in customers using the platform for data integration and platform consolidation, with 60% of respondents citing these areas as key drivers.
This indicates that a significant number of customers are moving their data into SAP HANA for real-time data integration, accelerating towards their Digital Transformation. This trend is set to continue over the next 12 months, with 81% of respondents indicating that the benefits from SAP HANA will relate to positively transformed business processes, relating to an enhanced customer experience.
S/4 HANA is most important for Retail and FS to bring data sets together
The S/4 HANA and SAP HANA platforms bring disparate data sets together, from legacy systems, to spin out reports based on real-time analysis, ultimately providing deeper customer insights. Our report validates that S/4 HANA is especially important in the retail and financial services sectors, who use these insights to develop more targeted marketing campaigns and point of sale related activities.
57% say SAP HANA can deliver on business cost savings
It is also interesting that the benefits of SAP HANA are well understood, with 57% of respondents stating they can clearly identify where SAP HANA can deliver business cost savings over alternative projects. Alongside the benefits of real-time customer insight, SAP customers are reducing costs by digitising processes, linking data sets together and building a stronger picture of how their customers’ needs are adapting. This ultimately enables them to deliver an excellent customer experience.
Additionally, 57% of respondents cite the design and deployment of intuitive applications as a key benefit of SAP HANA, yet again showing how important SAP HANA is for enabling seamless customer interaction. Indeed, larger organisations do have more to contend with, with more complex process redevelopment efforts, as well as larger integration and supported interfaces.
91% engage in external expertise
However, whilst the benefits appear to be well understood, implementing SAP HANA is not quite so straightforward. Centiq is seeing an increase in the use of automation tooling and project templates on Cloud, to help implement data integration projects faster and more effectively. 91% of respondents said they are engaging external expertise in 2018, demonstrating a need for specialist skills and providers who truly understand the full scope of SAP HANA.
99% say SAP HANA is a key innovation driver
Furthermore, it has become obvious that SAP HANA has been a key innovation driver, according to 99% of respondents from the survey. Our research has confirmed SAP HANA as a game changer for most organisations and industries, and that it is driving the way for Digital Transformation.
To find out more about the State of HANA 2018, download Centiq’s report here.