Survey reveals that 58% of SAP users still don’t fully understand the company’s cloud roadmap
London – 19 October 2011 – New research released today by the UK & Ireland SAP User Group suggests that while user organisations are beginning to see the potential of cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), there is still a need for greater understanding about SAP’s offerings. In fact, 80% of organisations predicted that their future SAP implementations would be a mixture of on-premise, on-demand and on-device services. Yet 58% of respondents said that cloud adoption was being slowed by a lack of clarity over SAP’s product roadmap, while 27% didn’t know what SAP’s cloud offerings were and the benefits they give. The need for clarity was highlighted by 59% of respondents not understanding how to upgrade or integrate SAP On-Demand modules with their existing SAP implementation.
“It is interesting to note that the majority of SAP users do see themselves utilising cloud services in some form in the future, said Craig Dale, chief executive, UK & Ireland SAP User Group. “SAP has always been a proponent of organisations adopting a hybrid approach when it comes to their SAP deployments and I believe that is the correct approach. It is clear from the research that there is still a lot of work to be done communicating SAP’s cloud roadmap if organisations are to truly realise the potential benefits of a hybrid approach. Through working closely with SAP we will look to address this in the coming months.
Overall, the research revealed that adoption of cloud computing is increasing. While 64% of organisations believed there was too much hype around cloud computing, 56% stated that they were planning to implement SaaS strategies in the next 12-18 months. Furthermore 27% of respondents said that they were already using SaaS to deliver business-critical applications, which is an increase from only 17% in 2010. The research also highlighted that there are still user concerns that need to be addressed. For instance, 78% of respondents said they still had fears around data protection.
“It is clear that cloud computing is starting to move away from the hype and become more of a serious business consideration for a number of organisations. Yet as with any new technology delivery model, organisations must do their due diligence to ensure that cloud computing is suitable for them. If they are looking at a hybrid approach they’ll also need to consider which services they want to keep on premise and which they are happy to move to the cloud. Through events such as our annual User Group Conference and regular Special Interest Groups (SIGs) organisations can get access to the information they need. This information, such as the latest product information and user case studies, can then help them make the most informed decision possible when it comes to implementing cloud services, added Craig Dale.
The survey questioned 100 SAP user organisations in the UK and Ireland, providing a snapshot of users’ attitudes towards SaaS and the cloud. The UK & Ireland SAP User Group Conference 2011 is taking place in Birmingham, 20-22 November 2011. For more information, please go to http://www.sapusers.org/conference 2011
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