Overcoming Analog learning mindset in Digital Transformation projects & its challenges

Have you observed how the dynamics of Digital Transformation projects have emerged ongoing COVID era? Projects are being driven close to 100% remote via global team presence. In the traditional SAP implementation market, old ASAP methodologies and yearlong implementation projects are nowhere to be seen. The pace at which the projects are being executed is unprecedented.

This brings unforeseen challenges in the User Enablement tasks which are very crucial for the success of any Digital Transformation initiatives. With the Agile way of working, changes are being introduced at a much quicker interval. This can not keep up with the old ways of user learning where enablement was done usually once in a lifetime upon onboarding and change management, knowledge transfer not sustainably supported. There needs to be a paradigm shift from the old User Training PDF documents concept.

The newer delivery methods need continuous and integrated change management, ideally with a long-term, modern learning concept. As per the latest LinkedIn Workplace Learning survey, Software users prefer learning “in the flow of work”. This shows the significance of a new mode of learning in the current environment.

In this context, SAP Enable Now has greatly evolved over the years to keep up with the trend. I have seen first hand on how this product and offerings have matured from its then WPB days. 

SAP Enable Now offers a complete suite of products to meet the interactive learning approach in SAP implementation projects. The output of SAP Enable Now could be in the form of formal remote user training, simulation during the project implementation phase or On-Demand e-learning, Time-of-Need help in the form of EPSS compliant assistants. 

A well-executed OCM track is the backbone of determining the outcome of ongoing SAP projects, especially the initiatives involving remodeling, reengineering the business process by introducing S/4HANA and peripheral software offerings. Hence these new User Enablement products are very much essential for the current work environment and delivery methods.

So what is keeping customers away from exploring the new learning models to roll out, specifically, SAP Enable Now? Probably there are 3 factors according to me;

1. Missing awareness of the product offerings and available solutions
2. Absence of Partner Ecosystem model supporting these new products
3. The entry cost of these products licensing is too high to accommodate in the IT budget. 

Points 1 & 2 could be addressed by bringing some overhaul to existing enablement sessions/workshops approaches and introducing newer/simpler partner model offerings by SAP partnership departments. In short, innovation within the SAP partner model and approach itself!

Point 3 is still a barrier and needs a complete relook according to me; at least from the Indian/Middle East SAP market and budgeting outlook. For example, the listed price for SAP Enable Now in SAP Store is $10/User/Month ($120/User/Year) with a minimum of 100 units. Typical SME companies with 500 to 1000 SAP End Users need to shell out upwards $80,000/year to onboard this product suite in their already tightly managed S/4HANA project budgets. Moreover, these companies would not be willing to overhaul their learning methodologies or toolsets in place organization-wide at one go. The immediate concern and challenge for them would be to smoothly sail through the User Training just before Go Live and during the Hyper care period. Hence yearly subscription model would not suit them as what they look for in SAP Enable Now is more of a transit operation usage to help them in the critical phase of the project. Hence yearly renewing license model would never suit them because once the End Users have been trained and operations are in a steady-state, there would not be any continuous learning curve in these SME organizations. Also, if new learning contents are not created/published regularly from IT teams using the SAP Enable Now platform, then what is the point in paying for a yearly renewal subscription just to consume the learning materials which might have become non-relevant because end users are now well equipped with the S/4HANA usage!

Alternatively, if more consulting partners and delivery models are allowed in SAP Enable Now forte, then the System Integrators who are undertaking transformation projects with a customer could also act as a channel partner to resell & offer managed/hosted services around User Enablement. This would be in the interest of both SI & the End Customer. The SI could bring their own expertise or readymade contents created on SAP Enable Now as one of the offerings to the project negotiation table. This could also reduce the licensing burden since customers would need to pay and consume the product features only during the course of the project and not stuck with yearly renewals. For SIs too this would be beneficial since they could work with many parallel ongoing customer projects and share the licensing cost with several projects, more like a SI managed Cloud offering.

So the bottom line is, SAP needs to bring innovation not just in the product line but also in the licensing concepts & consumption mechanism to widen its customer base for the SAP Enable Now product suite.

Hope the tides turn and wishing to see more and more SAP customers exploring these new end-user enablement products as part of their Digital Transformation journey.