Planning an SAP S/4HANA Transformation? An Integrated Resources Plan Can Reduce Risk.

By Brian Trout , Vice President, Sales

Every time SAP introduces a new product or enhancement to the S/4HANA ecosystem, I am reminded of just how vast and complex the technology is. And it’s not just S/4HANA—there is layer after layer of peripheral innovations ranging from the third-party software solutions that extend the functionality of each of its many components to the best-of-breed diagnostic and migration tools that make it possible to implement it.

The number of stakeholders involved in bringing an S/4HANA transformation initiative to fruition is equally vast and complex. In addition to all the internal stakeholders an enterprise has, SAP itself is inevitably involved, as many companies make use of SAP Preferred Success along with Premium Engagement services such as MaxAttention and Value Assurance. Adding to the complexity, most companies will also choose to work with a systems integrator.

At some point, enterprises will necessarily have to define how each of these groups will interact, what their roles and responsibilities will be, and what type of expertise each will bring to the table. While every party will certainly leverage their in-house expertise to the extent that they can, the reality is that the sheer volume of people needed to bring this type of initiative to fruition, as well as how specialized some of the necessary skill sets are, means that at some point, they will likely all need to hire supplemental contract expertise.

Partnering across Stakeholders to Develop an Integrated Resources Plan

The challenge with this scenario, especially in a tight labor market, is that all these parties are competing for a small pool of highly specialized expertise, and a delay on anyone’s part in accessing the right people at the right time puts your schedule at risk. Baer’s answer to this is to partner across all these stakeholders on a single project—SAP, the systems integrator, and the enterprise undertaking the initiative—carefully balancing the overall objectives of the program with each stakeholder’s individual business objectives, all while helping them meet their labor commitments. Baer is in a unique position to offer this type of solution given our strategic relationships across the majority of top-tier SAP implementors and SAP.

We refer to this as an integrated resource plan, and it is the aggregate representation of all stakeholders resourcing needs throughout the lifecycle of the initiative. An added advantage of this approach is that when the initiative evolves, for instance if new solutions are added or priorities change that affect the type of required expertise, number of resources, or schedule, Baer can see the impact across all stakeholders and respond accordingly.

Importantly, Baer has a contract labor ecosystem already in place to support the expertise each stakeholder will need to bring to the table throughout the lifecycle of the program—and we continue to nurture these relationships and build new ones. We can, for example, support the legacy ECC-related skills needed to maintain business-as-usual, core and ancillary skills related to S/4HANA, and skills related to critical third-party solutions, in addition to strategic and technical planning, project management, change management, and even training.

Baer: A Strategic Enterprise Performance Partner vs. a Transactional Staffing Agency

Finding the right expertise for your S/4HANA initiative doesn’t have to be transactional. When an enterprise performance partner like Baer understands the scope of the project, your objectives, and your execution strategy, and partners with stakeholders across the ecosystem, we can serve as a strategic advisor, helping all parties find the right expertise, at the right time, for the appropriate investment. Not only does this approach mitigate risk and drive down costs, but it also ensures you get the most out of your enterprise technology investment.

A traditional IT staffing agency can’t do that.

About Baer

Unlike typical technology staffing companies, Baer is a true enterprise performance partner. We have a deep understanding of the scope of enterprise technology transformation initiatives and the highly specialized skillsets you will need at different stages of the process.

To learn more about how Baer can make a positive impact on your enterprise transformation, please reach out to [email protected], Executive Vice President, Sales, or John Wilson, Vice President of Strategic Accounts, at [email protected].

We look forward to speaking with you and learning about your specific challenges.