Support for SAP

  • 06 April 2015
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The concept of support can be extended beyond personal lives. Every individual needs support at some point in his/her life. And so does your business. Every business can be considered as a living entity that has a life of its own. Any kind of business requires its own share of enhancements that can propel it forward. One such enhancement is the incorporation of SAP. It brings about numerous benefits. Along with them, SAP implementation can bring a share of issues and a lot of anxiety to the board. The latter can be relieved in the company of your colleagues but some of the issues that SAP spews out can be too much to handle. This is where you need SAP support.

Most SAP Business One Partners offer support at different stages of SAP implementation. There are a few who restrict their support to a few phases, but as an organization you should know exactly what to expect from the support. Most of the times, companies fail to understand the kind of support they require and fall prey to promises that may fall short. Implementing SAP incorrectly is ranked as the main cause of failures, but many companies oversee the fact that maintaining and supporting SAP implementation is equally important. If that is compromised, you can expect SAP to fail even if the implementation was a raging success.

What Kind of Support to Expect

It is understandable that companies expect a lot of SAP support during the implementation. Since it is a new undertaking, they make sure that the initial steps are glitch-free. So before organizations seek SAP support, they should have a firm foundation themselves. They should know exactly what they want from SAP, check if they have all the resources to implement SAP well and clearly define their business goals and objectives. Once this is done, the same should be conveyed to the support team. When you know what you want, you can demand it clearly. Of course, there might be certain aspects that you may overlook due to the lack of knowledge. These gaps can be bridged by the support team. Ensure that you, as an organization, and the support team are on the same ground before starting the implementation.

When the start is clear, the rest of the journey becomes simpler. There are different phases of implementation. Make sure that you get support throughout the entire process of implementation. This is where all the issues and glitches can be nipped in the bud. The incorporation of add-ons such as SAP Business One Add on Implementation for SMS and others can bring its own set of implementation challenges. At this stage, executive support is really important since many executive decisions need to be made that can make or break the project. The executive support team is responsible to make sure that the implementation stays within the stipulated budget and timelines. They should also ensure that all the predetermined deadlines are realistic. All the required data should in place and the assumptions should be clarified. It would make the overall implementation smooth for the organization as well as the support team.

Next comes management support. It’s not just the technical team that is responsible for SAP implementation and execution. The top management should be involved at all times instead of just being present for signing paper work. The management should have an equal say in deciding whether add-ons like SAP Business One Add on Implementation for SMS are required or not. Communication is integral and the management should always be kept in the loop.

Now it is the turn of SAP partners’ support. Once the implementation is completed, organizations should expect support from their SAP Business One Partners. There is no thumb rule on the amount of time SAP partners should offer support to the companies, but a commitment of at least 3 years after the implementation is a must. Expect the best when you start the SAP journey but be prepared for the unexpected at all times. Communicate the problems clearly to the concerned support team. When the project is well supported before and after its implementation, its success is surely guaranteed.

Nidhi Batra

About the author

Nidhi Batra is a marketing and brand communication professional with 10 years of experience working in the dynamic B2B marketing environment. She strategizes, writes, reviews a variety of content for demand generation and sales support activities. Having a Master’s in English from Delhi University, she knows how to navigate her readers on insightful journeys with her SAP published blogs and thought leadership content.