A Software Insider's Point of View

Building Innovation With And Around Your SAP Environment

Location: Manchester CentralAuditorium
Date:23/11/2009
Start Time: 16:25
End Time: 17:00
Speaker: R “Ray” Wang
Company: Partner with Altimeter Group

Keynote summary:

1. Pace of change continues to increase in market forces, work dynamics, business models, and pace of technology adoption.
2. Innovation is essential in this market.
3. There’s a tonne of innovation at SAP. Management and politics keep it from coming out.
4. Users need to tap into innovations from SAP and also help SAP prioritize what should go to market.
5. Users need to know what you want to do before you even talk to SAP.  Get your act together.
6. Use the user group to build the linkages to SAP.  This is a better, more productive approach, especially if you are not a top 400 customer with private access.
7. SAP isn’t bad or good. You can’t view them that way. Management is confused at the moment on leadership, direction, and innovation so figure out what you need from them early and fast.
8. If SAP can’t do it, you don’t have time to wait for them, especially if there’s no commitment. SaaS is an option, other providers are out there.  Come back to them later when they figure it out.
9. The pace of change is too fast. Technology adoption too slow. Companies need to keep moving in innovation.
10. Invest in innovation even if it hurts. Find money to optimize and pay for this.  There are a number of vendors that can assist.

Members of the SAP UK &I user group who would like a copy of the presentation can contact David Stanley, Vice President of Business Development and Sales at david@altimetergroup.com for copies.   Your member number will be required for proof.

Video Highlights - Exposing SAP Innovation

Courtesy of Dennis Howlett

Video Highlights - On ESME vs Salesforce.com Chatter

Courtesy of Dennis Howlett.

Video Highlights - 5 Recent Failures of SAP

Courtesy of Dennis Howlett.

Copyright © 2009 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

Additional coverage and related links

Event Report: UK & Ireland User Group Conference 2009

• 20091125 Computing - Nicola Brittain “SAP criticised for slow pace of innovation”
• 20091125 ComputerWeekly - Warwick Ashford “In bed with SAP - the future for enterprise software?”
• 20091125 eWeek Europe - Sophie Curtis “European Software Companies Lack Innovation, especially SAP”
• 20091125 myCustomer.com - Stuart Lochlan “Analyst tells SAP Analyst tells customers to kick open the SAP lab doors and demand what they need!”
• 20091125 Silicon.com - Tim Ferguson “Users tell SAP: We need to talk more”
• 20091125 CIO Magazine - Martin Veitch “Big software has given up on delivering the ‘Next Big Thing’”
• 20091125 Computerworld UK - Staff “SAP ‘not delivering on innovation’ user group told”
• 20091125 ZDNet Irregular Enterprise - Dennis Howlett “SAP users start to flex their muscles”
• 20091124 AccMan - Dennis Howlett “5 recent SAP failures”
• 20091124 business CLOUD 9 - Stuart Lochlan “Innovation woes fuels the mess of SAP’s cloud strategy”
• 20091124 ComputerWeekly - Karl Flinders “SAP at odds with user group over prices”
• 20091123 ZDNet Irregular Enterprise - Dennis Howlett “Fawning over Chatter and how SAP missed its chance”
• 20091123 ComputerWeekly - Warwick Ashford ” SAP vows to get closer to users”