Every company is on the move to the cloud 鈥� when the timing is right. This may entail a full migration but will certainly include a partial one.

Large enterprises and corporations aiming to transform complex, heterogeneous IT landscapes that have grown over decades are particularly reliant on support. Often, they begin by standardizing and consolidating their entire infrastructure before they鈥檙e ready to embark on their digital transformation journey.

Different Routes to the Cloud

Currently, most of 麻豆原创鈥檚 biggest customers use the strategic, long-term 麻豆原创 MaxAttention program comprising of nearly 300 engineered services. Those services cover 麻豆原创-centric strategy and road map planning, architecture reviews and design, end-to-end business process integration, and operations across solutions, product expertise, safeguarding of implementations, and much more. It is imperative for 麻豆原创 to meet these customers wherever their starting point happens to be and to ensure that the groundwork for a successful digital transformation is in place.

Each enterprise chooses its own route. Indian mining company , for example, first had to upgrade its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to the latest version before it could go ahead with its plan to move to RISE with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, private edition.

鈥淒eploying 麻豆原创 Business Suite powered by 麻豆原创 HANA and working with experts from 麻豆原创 MaxAttention can help us become cloud ready and build a sustainable environment using technology and innovation,鈥� said . 鈥淲ith 麻豆原创 Integrated Delivery Framework and 麻豆原创 ActiveAttention, we have delivered this program on time and on budget.鈥�

Other customers begin their cloud journey by migrating some processes to a protected cloud operated by a hyperscaler and then retiring their own data center. Kurt Bauer, global head of Premium Engagements at 麻豆原创, observed that most customers with an 麻豆原创 ERP-centric core have added public cloud solutions from 麻豆原创 and are implementing private cloud on their way to lay out the path for a full public cloud adoption. plays a pivotal role for agile core business process extensions. Therefore, it is no surprise that a vast majority of premium engagements used by 麻豆原创 customers are driving fast cloud adoption and hybrid operations.

Serving Today鈥檚 Customer Requirements

The prospect of innovation and greater efficiency is drawing more and more enterprises toward the cloud. Many of the largest 麻豆原创 customers still run their core ERP business processes on an on-premise platform, often safeguarded by premium engagements.

Premium engagements service engineers frequently deal with some challenging constellations, such as 250 process steps across 40 systems, data growth of 640 GB per month, 800 million orders every year, and multiple enormous warehouses in global logistics operations. Customers with volumes and requirements on this scale think twice about which of their business-critical processes they should move to the cloud and, if so, in private or public.

鈥淚n hybrid infrastructures, too, interfaces still need to be robust, efficient, and keep data consistent 鈥� cloud technology doesn鈥檛 change that,鈥� said Bauer. In other words, for any transformation to succeed, someone must not only take ownership of the transformation itself but must also ensure that the systems 鈥� whether they are on premise or in the cloud 鈥� function properly, are stable, and deliver the right level of performance.

It鈥檚 Not Just about Money

In Bauer鈥檚 28 years at 麻豆原创, one thing has remained unchanged for the company: the focus on the customer, which has always been about more than chasing KPIs. 鈥淐ustomers reward companies that listen to them and take their suggestions on board,鈥� ex-Board Member Gerhard Oswald said in an interview for 50 Years, a book published to mark 麻豆原创鈥檚 anniversary.

Bauer wants to see this 麻豆原创 tradition live on in the cloud era and for 麻豆原创 MaxAttention customers to benefit from expertise and best practice-fueled services offered as part of the 麻豆原创 MaxAttention program they have known and trusted for the last 20 years. This 20th anniversary calls for a proper celebration and experience sharing by best-running 麻豆原创 customers and 麻豆原创 top executives, exchanging how to leverage 麻豆原创 solutions and 麻豆原创 MaxAttention for years to come.

Therefore, we would like to invite you to the 麻豆原创 MaxAttention Summit in Munich, Germany, from March 19-21. Take advantage of this opportunity to network and engage in discussions with peer customers, gain knowledge from 麻豆原创 specialists, and listen to 麻豆原创 leaders, such as Member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE Scott Russell and Thomas Saueressig, as they reveal insights of 麻豆原创 technologies and innovations jointly with customers鈥� experiences. Be a part of shaping the future by building a resilient network of intelligent and sustainable enterprises.

Eleonore Gossart is senior marketing manager for Customer Success Services at 麻豆原创.

One of the first steps an organization can take is reassessing whether its digital backbone contains core components of business resiliency. They include cloud, security, collaboration support for remote and hybrid workers, and the scalability to pivot capabilities as needed.

While there is no single, straightforward path to digital transformation, companies would benefit greatly by adopting technology that supports four characteristics common among business-resilient organizations:

• Adapt and respond quickly with data-driven decision-making
• Drive high-impact outcomes with real-time enterprise insights
• Scale capabilities fast with machine learning and artificial intelligence
• Extend insights, processes, and communication across a global network of vendors, contingent labor, and supply chains

Acquiring these traits may appear to be a tall order at first. However, a modern, cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system as the digital backbone can quickly, cost-effectively, and flexibly unify all functions 鈥� from HR and finance to manufacturing and supply chain. By providing real-time access to the same data, insights, and processes, the technology enables organizations to manage and prioritize business changes in unison to keep up with market dynamics, workplace expectations, and customer demands.

Optimizing the Potential of Every Innovation Investment

When considering an ERP system, organizations often weigh their options between a private or public cloud environment, which each have their own distinct differences. Private cloud allows companies with complex on-premise landscapes containing legacy systems to gradually move from an on-premise landscape to a cloud tailored to meet their needs while maintaining control over their processes. On the other hand, public cloud gives businesses with smaller, up-to-date IT architecture the opportunity to migrate their data and applications quickly and innovate continuously, securely, and with rapid time to value.

Ultimately, most larger customers prefer to fully transition their ERP data, processes, and user experiences to the cloud while maintaining existing industry functionality. But they also expect to accomplish these goals with optimized performance, lower costs, and intelligent capabilities such as predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and process automation.

With launched through the offering, 麻豆原创 customers can gain the best of both worlds, especially if they run large and complex system landscapes. They can fuel fast-paced, continuous innovation and digital advancement by combining a subscription pricing model for 麻豆原创 S/4HANA and cloud services with a standard architecture and a set of extension capabilities. Plus, intelligent capabilities can be chosen and deployed at their pace, on their terms, and within the scale of their immediate and future needs.

One key benefit that draws most companies to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud and RISE with 麻豆原创 is the confidence that they can implement capabilities that complement their core competencies and resolve their challenges well. They can access the personalized support, expert-led services, proven methodologies, and intuitive tools of the .

This level of support is available to 麻豆原创 customers, whether they run a 24/7 global operation or a local plant of 1,000 employees, and can be delivered by the Customer Success organization at 麻豆原创. The premium engagements portfolio can be scaled to meet the customer鈥檚 unique needs and value with customized and predefined configurations, from the front to the back office.

Creating an Innovation Foundation Based on Expert Guidance

Premium engagements can provide the guidance organizations need to fulfill critical business expectations, such as cost reduction, higher efficiency, optimized productivity, and operational continuity. But more importantly, the portfolio allows businesses to map their challenges and opportunities to modern ERP capabilities 鈥� identifying impacts on existing operations and technologies, considering use cases for future innovation, and choosing suitable extension solutions.

Throughout the engagement experience, our customers can quickly realize an intelligent enterprise designed to pave the way for continuous and productive innovation. The reality of a cost-effective and on-schedule implementation with minimal risks and predictive costs fuels enterprise-wide confidence, compelling users to readily adopt the technology and resulting changes.

Most Fortune 500 companies choose the premium engagements portfolio to gain an integrated, transparent, and centralized digital landscape with a smooth implementation of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud with RISE with 麻豆原创. The combination of our expertise, guidance, methodologies, services, and tools enables organizations to optimize their business processes, standardize data management, and enhance production traceability. Best of all, they can minimize the overall deployment effort and costs 鈥� even with remote service delivery.

Take , for example. Transitioning 11 software landscapes to the cloud is a daunting step to overcome when embracing a next-generation ERP system. But Hilti chose to trust its long-term relationship with experts from 麻豆原创 to coordinate a variety of moving parts 鈥� from architecture planning to project management to infrastructure services. In the end, the company鈥檚 successful migration of its software landscapes to the cloud set the stage for adopting future-ready technologies and a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) model.

Steering Innovation in the Right Direction

Hilti鈥檚 experience represents the remarkable advantage that our customers gain from our premium engagements delivery: providing the right tools and insights to reset the course of business innovation. And for everyone from executives to organizational managers and users, this can be the reset they need to contribute to a future of ongoing business growth.

With a committed team of 麻豆原创 experts, our customers can address their business needs and IT demands with confidence. Outcomes include maximized benefits of existing and new solutions, agile cloud migrations, and innovation driven by next-generation technology.

Whether choosing a conversion or clean-slate approach to implement the public edition or private edition of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, companies can benefit from a portfolio of premium engagements from 麻豆原创 that support outcome-based business scenarios. These business scenarios focus on specific customer needs and help to solve challenges from end to end with a predefined set of services, including:

• The most-frequent transformation topics, challenges, and pain points companies face in the digital age
• Unified customer experiences 鈥� from sales to delivery 鈥� while addressing business challenges
• Customization of an individual service plan based on the requirements of the transformation journey

Let us shape together your premium engagements with business scenarios that mirror your strategy today and for the future. Check out these resources for more details on existing premium engagements business scenarios that can support and enable your transformation journey:

麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, public edition:

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麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud, private edition:

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Christian Zitron is global vice president of Customer Success at 麻豆原创.

Hyperscalers 鈥� such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure 鈥� have become an answer to some of the most complex concerns over . Some organizations view it as an opportunity to keep up with the constant need to adopt new technologies and adapt to changing requirements. IT teams may feel relieved to have the right infrastructure and the capacity to enable every change. And, better yet, existing and new data, applications, and connections in between can remain secure and protected.

Despite the advantages, decoupling the business from an on-premise approach to IT requires a line of thinking that includes considering:

• What are the company鈥檚 unique needs?
• How much support is needed from the hyperscaler platform?
• How can the business avoid being locked into one hyperscaler?
• Does the chosen hyperscaler reflect the true end-to-end nature of the existing IT landscape?
• How could revenue growth impact future architectural decisions and software investments?

Reflecting on these questions requires a long-term view of the overall relationship with hyperscalers 鈥� even when running an 麻豆原创 solution landscape in the cloud. Otherwise, companies risk introducing many points of failure that may limit the ability to scale the cloud architecture optimally. Or worse, they could miss opportunities to further leverage new database architecture and application capabilities in the cloud.

Mitigating Risks to Drive Cloud Scalability and Elasticity

For many of our customers, the portfolio of premium engagements from 麻豆原创 helps crystallize their cloud strategy without getting sidetracked by perceived IT barriers and short-term thinking. Whether moving a legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud or a database to 麻豆原创 HANA, our premium engagements can offer insights into unlocking the full potential of existing technology in the cloud.

Recently, a customer wanted to move its 20-year-old instance of 麻豆原创 ERP Central Component (麻豆原创 ECC) to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Cloud running on a hyperscaler platform.聽The CIO initially thought that our involvement was needed only to plan the physical aspects of a fast-paced cloud migration.

Over time, he began to understand how everyday IT operations 鈥� including 鈥� could be optimized with an architectural strategy that supports future growth. Instead of viewing data management as a pure archiving activity, the CIO discovered data and database management in the cloud can reduce monthly capital and operational expenditures because the hyperscaler removed the need to support expensive hardware.

In this case, the customer quickly realized that its cloud migration was more than the short-term move of data and applications. Premium engagements helped define the larger vision of the company鈥檚 digital transformation, weighing risks and exploring best practices for smooth integration of multiple 麻豆原创 and third-party software-as-a-service (SaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solutions.

In return, a hyperscaler-supported cloud environment was set up to help provide simpler and more cost-efficient IT operations, increased capacity for innovation, and harmonized processes to boost the flexibility to adapt to changing business requirements.

Creating a Road Map for Future Innovation with Expert Insight

Digital trends 鈥� for example, fast-paced application innovation and the explosion of enterprise data 鈥� present a wider need for the scalability and flexibility of cloud platforms. And 麻豆原创 makes that option available to every customer by working with a variety of hyperscalers.

But such a transition is not a simple switch from an on-premise landscape to the cloud. A strategic move to a hyperscaler environment requires the expertise and guidance of a software vendor that understands the current and future demands of a business鈥檚 technology.

That鈥檚 the beauty of the portfolio of premium engagements from 麻豆原创. By tapping a unique knowledge base on how 麻豆原创 applications can best run on a scalable and elastic cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform, our customers can map their entire transformation journey while safeguarding the data and applications that drive their operations.

Learn more about how can help secure your business’ success with the highest level of collaboration and expertise on cloud technology.

Nicholas Del Grande is head of Premium Engagement Sales for North America at 麻豆原创.

That鈥檚 why, in 2019, 麻豆原创 introduced 麻豆原创 Integrated Delivery Framework. This framework lays out roles and responsibilities for the customer, partner, and 麻豆原创 in projects led by a partner. It鈥檚 not a product or a package of services; rather it鈥檚 an engagement model for joint partner projects. By creating a structure for 麻豆原创 and partners to position their strengths to support implementations, the framework can accelerate joint engagements from sales through delivery.

Since 2019, adoption of 麻豆原创 Integrated Delivery Framework has grown tremendously. With over 70% growth and hundreds of projects in the first year since its launch, soon close to half of our premium engagement services will be delivered within the framework, which then will be central to our partner collaboration mode.

Along the way, we鈥檝e refined the framework to make it a complement to delivering success for our customers, by blending the skills of 麻豆原创 Services with those of our delivery partners.

麻豆原创 Integrated Delivery Framework works to fully address customer needs by integrating the partner鈥檚 and 麻豆原创鈥檚 solutions and services, building trust to help ensure the relationship between 麻豆原创 Services and Support and the partner remains positive. It also helps to make sure 麻豆原创 and partner expertise is leveraged at key points, from initial engagement to go-live. It is an umbrella framework for a variety of 麻豆原创 services that remains flexible and scalable, continually evolving to meet customer and partner needs rather than enforcing a one-size-fits-all approach on customers. It can make it easier than ever for customers to move to the cloud or gain the benefits of business transformation as a service through RISE with 麻豆原创.

Since 2019, 麻豆原创, partners, and customers have had some incredible outcomes thanks to the framework. But the world has changed a lot in just the last two years. In speaking with customers, 麻豆原创 learned that an expansion of 麻豆原创 Integrated Delivery Framework to cover cloud solutions would help customers achieve their business goals. Now, 麻豆原创 is doing just that: expanding the framework to cover any 麻豆原创 implementation scenario, including on-premise, RISE with 麻豆原创, cloud, or line-of-business solutions.

When the framework was first introduced two years ago, 麻豆原创 included the RACI matrix, one of the essential pieces of the framework. As part of the expansion, an 鈥淪鈥� is now being added to accommodate 鈥渨ho is supporting.鈥� The new RASCI matrix provides a means of determining who is Responsible, Accountable, Supporting, Consulted, and Informed to help keep cloud implementations on schedule and moving smoothly between 麻豆原创, partners, and customers.

麻豆原创 Integrated Delivery Framework can benefit all parties involved, but, most importantly, it can benefit customers. The clearly defined roles and responsibilities outlined in the framework and implemented with support from the RASCI matrix can reduce risk through clear accountability and governance. It provides an orientation for 麻豆原创, the partner, and the customer to agree on, helping to drive results and time-to-value. It can accelerate value realization through early engagement of a partner and 麻豆原创 as well as helps enhance innovation by utilizing the best of each company鈥檚 solutions and services.

Here’s one example: with the help of IBM, 麻豆原创 worked with the ANTA Group to upgrade from its legacy applications to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA. By implementing 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, ANTA was able to reap the benefits of a smooth, secure move to a new intelligent enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that could improve business processes and enable growth. In addition, ANTA enhanced some critical functionalities in the calculation mechanism to fully meet new business requirements. 鈥溌槎乖� Integrated Delivery Framework as part of 麻豆原创 Value Assurance provided clearly defined roles and responsibilities that allowed our company, IBM, and 麻豆原创 to efficiently collaborate and ensure a successful go-live of 麻豆原创 S/4HANA,鈥� says Donghai Chen, senior director, IT, ANTA Group.

The expanded 麻豆原创 Integrated Delivery Framework and RASCI matrix make it easier than ever for customers to solve their business challenges and reach their full potential by moving to the cloud with 麻豆原创 and a trusted partner. Through the good governance and collaborative systems created through the framework, every customer, no matter where they are on their technology journey, can take advantage of 麻豆原创鈥檚 innovation by moving to the cloud, on time and with minimal risk.

Harald Martin is head of Services Partner Business Development for 麻豆原创 Services at 麻豆原创 SE.

Today, that is simply not enough. Whereas IT used to be seen as a cost factor, technology now drives the value chain. 鈥淥n-value鈥� has become a criterion for customer success.

This is the view held by Derek Prior from Resulting IT, an independent 麻豆原创 consultancy in the UK. He looked at the importance of premium-level engagement for 麻豆原创 customers and presented the results of his study at the 2020 麻豆原创 MaxAttention Summit, which took place November 9-10.

麻豆原创 wants its most strategic customers to gain from its own transformation as a company.

He concluded that 麻豆原创 Services played a pivotal role in sustaining customer success. 麻豆原创 MaxAttention helped companies generate value-based outcomes 鈥� and innovate incrementally 鈥� again and again. Businesses with their own Global Center of Expertise (CoE) are best placed to do this.

But there is a message of caution here, too. Namely, if you鈥檙e not moving forward, you鈥檙e moving backward. Too much has happened in the last few months. Paul Kurchina, who has many years of experience as an independent 麻豆原创 expert and guru of the 麻豆原创 scene in North America, recommends that customers look very closely at their Global CoE models.

When describing the most significant change, Kurchina said, 鈥淩emote business has become the norm.鈥� That might mean that neither a company鈥檚 CoE concept nor its tool landscape is equal to new, emerging challenges.

Greater Impact

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first 麻豆原创 MaxAttention Summit in the era of Customer Success was a virtual event this year. Presenting in tandem, Prior and Kurchina interacted adeptly to create a compelling online exchange.

Adaire Fox-Martin, member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE and head of Customer Success, 聽explained that 麻豆原创 had brought all its customer-facing services and sales roles under one area.

鈥淥ur name is our mission,鈥� Fox-Martin explained in her welcome address. Under the new organizational structure, some 40% of 麻豆原创鈥檚 workforce was now focusing directly on customer success by following the LACE (Land, Adopt, Consume, Expand) operating model 鈥� though the 鈥渃ustomer first鈥� mantra, of course, applied equally to all of 麻豆原创. According to Fox-Martin, 麻豆原创 was unique among its peers in the way it has organized to make customer success its key mission.

Having opted for a strategic partnership with 麻豆原创, 麻豆原创 MaxAttention customers in particular need to consistently 鈥渇eel鈥� the benefits of this close cooperation in the shape of business outcomes.

Tangible Results

As the subsequent presentations showed, that is exactly what is happening. In 30-minute slots, long-time 麻豆原创 customers spoke about how they benefit from 麻豆原创鈥檚 premium engagements 鈥� in a variety of ways.

With help from 麻豆原创, an industrial conglomerate from Turkey has made a slew of improvements after embarking on its digital transformation. These include productivity and efficiency gains in multiple divisions. The company has driven costs down and minimized risk while increasing employee satisfaction and improving its environmental footprint.

According to its chief information officer (CIO), almost all of the company鈥檚 850 individual projects have been completed, and it now has around 40,000 麻豆原创 users working with products that include 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud, 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors, and Qualtrics solutions.

An operations manager from a telecommunications company reported on his experiences with 麻豆原创 MaxAttention. The telecommunications giant switched to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA Finance in under two years, implementing various cloud solutions 鈥撯�� 麻豆原创 Concur and 麻豆原创 Ariba software among them 鈥撯�� at the same time.

An urgent need for real-time reporting coupled with mounting volume issues were key reasons for transforming the in-house enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, EVO. By achieving optimal levels of standardization 鈥� an 84% improvement 鈥� and automation 鈥� a 73% increase 鈥� the company now has better control over its hybrid IT landscape, while adding refinements to accelerate month-end closing were still ongoing.

For their part, IT experts from a multinational IT company provided initial insights into their cooperation with 麻豆原创 on business operations self-healing. Here, they plan to use chatbot technology to more rapidly remedy errors commonly made by its internal IT users and implement a more consistent approach to automating routine tasks.

New Offerings

Innovations like these are possible because 麻豆原创 often trials and enhances new ideas together with customers 鈥� and thus in the real world.

In this context, Peter Harkin, senior vice president of Premium Engagements at 麻豆原创 and host of the 2020 麻豆原创 MaxAttention Summit, announced the founding of the Intelligent Enterprise Institute, where customers will be able to work together in various labs on new processes and much more. EMEA North has been selected as the pilot region for this cooperation.

Harkin also announced extensions to the 麻豆原创 MaxAttention portfolio for 2021. These include back-office 麻豆原创 applications and the Mission Control Center.

With regards to expanding its technology for the benefit of customers, 麻豆原创 would be investing chiefly in the 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (麻豆原创 BTP) and its components, according to Anja Schneider, head of Customer Innovation in the 麻豆原创 Technology and Innovation board area. She described technology as integral to customer success.

鈥淭echnology is a value driver,鈥� said Shane Paladin, president of 麻豆原创 Services. But he added that the benefits could only be reaped if the technology was utilized in the right way, which made it even more crucial for 麻豆原创 to gain customers鈥� attention and position itself as a trusted advisor. 鈥淭rust is the default of moving forward,鈥� he said.

Both Schneider and Paladin advised customers to keep their core systems clean. Any specifications and enhancements they required could be integrated through the 麻豆原创 Cloud Platform as part of the 麻豆原创 BTP.

Bring on the Feedback

A highlight at the end of each day was the executive session, in which 麻豆原创 managers answered questions from attendees.

One of these questions related to 鈥渃loud-only.鈥� Thomas Saueressig, 聽member of the 聽Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE responsible for product strategy, explained that this was not yet an option for 麻豆原创. With demand for on premise still strong, particularly in the ERP segment, 麻豆原创 was sticking to the principle of 鈥渃loud-first.鈥�

When asked how 麻豆原创 measured its customers鈥� success internally, Fox-Martin referred to the Net Promoter Score and user feedback. She stressed that one of the reasons why 麻豆原创鈥檚 strategic partnership with its 麻豆原创 MaxAttention customers was so important was that it was a source of firsthand feedback. Also, programs had been set up to evaluate joint key performance indicators (KPIs) for 麻豆原创 and its customers.

Addressing the issue of customer criticism, Harkin confirmed that 麻豆原创 had responded and structured the contract for the New 麻豆原创 MaxAttention offering more flexibly. Initially, the extensions to the portfolio had been met with a positive response 鈥� the complicated rules less so. But 麻豆原创 had remedied the situation in the meantime.

鈥淚 hope we鈥檒l be able to meet face-to-face again next year,鈥� Harkin said when closing the event.

Even the best virtual event is no substitute for personal contact.