London – 2 October 2013 – New research released today by the UK & Ireland SAP User Group has revealed an increase in the number of core SAP® software users using SAP BusinessObjects™ as their main business analytics platform. The figures now show there are 30% doing so compared to 21% in 2012 and only 7% in 2011. In addition, 75% of respondents now said they could see the combined value of using SAP BusinessObjects solutions for business analytics with their core SAP Business Suite software implementation. However, more than half (53%) of those users who were using both SAP Business Suite and SAP BusinessObjects did not think that support across the two product areas was well integrated.
“With more and more organisations putting a greater focus on analytics, it is perhaps not surprising that more users are seeing the combined value of using core SAP software and SAP BusinessObjects, said Philip Adams, chairman of the UK & Ireland SAP User Group. “Over the last two years we have seen a significant increase in SAP users adopting SAP BusinessObjects as their main business analytics platform. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in helping many users understand their options, such as the migration path from the SAP BW to SAP BusinessObjects solutions. Furthermore, it is evident that support for SAP BusinessObjects needs to be more joined up with the rest of SAP’s other product offerings. Therefore we will be looking to work with SAP to help address this matter.
On the overall subject of support, 1 in 5 SAP users thought that the company’s technical support wasn’t as easy to use compared to other software vendors. 30% stated that that they had difficulties using the SAP Service Marketplace extranet support portal; 25% said they weren’t satisfied with the amount of time taken to resolve problems; while 25% also said it was difficult for them to search and find relevant support information. These figures demonstrate the continued need for the User Group to engage and collaborate with SAP to drive more value from member’s investments. Indeed, 88% of members felt that being able to influence the future direction of SAP products through the User Group would add value to their organisation.
“SAP takes feedback from our customers very seriously, said Pam Ireland, vice president, Analytics Customer Success, SAP. “As a direct result we have made numerous improvements for our customers and plan to deliver additional enhancements on an on-going basis. These planned enhancements include remote supportability tools for SAP BusinessObjects solutions, which help make it easier and quicker for SAP to respond to customers’ requests and provide proactive support services such as continuous quality checks, SAP EarlyWatch® Alert, and online training from the SAP Enterprise Support Academy program specifically for SAP BusinessObjects business intelligence (BI) solutions customers. We also plan to announce a range of enhancements to our support portal, SAP Service Marketplace, later this year. Finally, following the general availability of the 4.1 release of SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions announced last week, we launched a new website, www.sapbusinessobjectsbi.com, which is designed to help customers learn more about our latest releases and to help provide expert guidance on implementing and upgrading BI solutions from SAP.
The survey also revealed that that being able to advance their understanding of current SAP products and services and being able to network with other SAP software users remained the biggest drivers for people to join the User Group. In light of SAP’s recent acquisitions of Ariba and SuccessFactors, 46% of respondents wanted the User Group to assist them in understanding how these acquisitions could benefit their organisation. Furthermore, nearly half of respondents (49%) saw education regarding SAP HANA® as being the greatest value provided by the User Group over the next 12 months.
“There has been a lot of change in the SAP world from a technology standpoint over the last 12-18 months, so it is understandable that users want to know how it will impact on them. Since the release of SAP Business Suite on HANA, we have noticed a lot more interest from our members, as many see it potentially driving improvements in their usage of SAP software and overall business operations. Here at the User Group, we will continue to serve as an important conduit between customers and SAP. This will ensure that users have all the necessary information and support to drive real value from their current and future SAP investments, added Philip Adams.
The survey questioned 328 SAP user organisations in the UK & Ireland, providing a snapshot of the products, services and support being used by them. The UK & Ireland SAP User Group Conference is taking place in Birmingham 24-26 November 2013. For more information, please go to www.sapusers.org/conference
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About UK & Ireland SAP User Group
The UK & Ireland SAP User Group’s membership is open to users of all SAP products in the UK and Ireland. Membership consists of organisations from all sectors and of all sizes and includes some of the largest private companies and most significant public sector organisations in the UK and Ireland.
If you would like further information regarding the UK & Ireland SAP User Group, please visit www.sapusers.org
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All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.
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Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate, “believe, “estimate, “expect, “forecast, “intend, “may, “plan, “project, “predict, “should and “will and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
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