With an urgent imperative for digital transformation, businesses worldwide are looking to implement and use software investments in ways that are future-proof, timely, and within budget.
A Total Economic Impact (TEI)™ study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of SAP reveals how SAP customers can fulfill that expectation with SAP Value Assurance.
But can an implementation service from SAP help companies break these traditional behaviors to accelerate the go-live and adoption of high-performance SAP solutions with less risk and higher value? According to a TEI study conducted by Forrester, the answer is a profound “yes” after revealing that the SAP Value Assurance service delivers an estimated 251% ROI over three years after an SAP solution implementation.
Optimizing Business Transformation with Agility and Expertise
When asked why they choose SAP Value Assurance, SAP customers overwhelmingly told Forrester that the guidance and expertise offered are considered critical for accelerating the time to value of their SAP solution implementations. But as it surveyed SAP customers and partners further, Forrester found that this one benefit is only a small part of the total advantages that the service offers.
The TEI study points out that SAP Value Assurance also accelerates project completion by an average of 20%. By ensuring a high-quality implementation, the service lowers implementation costs and enables the business to realize operational improvement sooner. This analysis also confirms that organizations can benefit incremental, long-term value by limiting the need for customization.
How transformational are these advantages to a business’s implementation of SAP solutions? Here are key insights that SAP customers and partners shared with Forrester:
1. Accelerated implementation support
The speed of implementation was particularly important to surveyed SAP customers. Forrester discovered that SAP Value Assurance shortened project completion time by 20% on average, which helps keep deadlines and budgets in check. As a result, our customers indicated that they are better positioned to engage and fund additional professional services and planned internal projects that are critical to their long-range digital transformation goals and growth.
2. Enhanced business value
All customers and partners highlighted the value of reviewing the technical and functional design and implementation of their SAP solution. Recommendations and advice from SAP Value Assurance helped ensure their implementations were delivered with high quality and resulted in optimized business value.
3. Faster time to value
Every executive wants to see their investment yield operational and bottom-line improvements as soon as possible. But in this case, SAP Value Assurance truly delivers. In fact, one of the project managers participating in the survey shared that “the project would have taken one or two months longer” without the service offering.
4. Streamlined IT operations
Another aspect of SAP Value Assurance that SAP customers enjoy is the peace of mind that comes from safeguarding their solution implementation and helping to ensure the highest level of quality. Forrester found that greater reliance on standard options is key to achieving this objective.
Considering the average technology implementation contains upwards of 250 custom upgrades that can cost the business, on average, $750 each, this finding is significant. Study participants stated that the overall structure of SAP Value Assurance reduced the need for customization and modifications by 75%.
Making On-Demand Expertise Accessible to Customers and Their Partners
On top of the benefits and improvements that their customers are gaining from SAP Value Assurance, SAP partners are also experiencing significant changes that enhance their business relationships. The service’s highly coordinated project experience enables partners to work collaboratively with SAP services and support teams and present a united front that is consistently focused on the customer’s best interests.
For example, an executive from a consulting and integration partner mentioned that SAP has detailed knowledge that, when shared, enables partners to keep up with developments across all SAP products. Another integration partner’s vice president of alliances and business development further confirmed that observation, mentioning that SAP provides the assurance that partners are on the right path and that their approach is consistent and technically feasible.
Explore How SAP Value Assurance Can Help Your Business Transform
Incredibly, this is only a tiny glimpse into the advantages that SAP Value Assurance provides. For a more comprehensive view into how the service can accelerate and boost the overall value of your SAP implementation, read the Forrester economic impact study, “The Total Economic Impact™ of SAP Value Assurance.”
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Kurt Bauer is global senior vice president of Premium Engagement Services at SAP.