Dear SAP Customer,
During this time of unprecedented uncertainty, all of us here at SAP are concerned about the safety and well-being of our families, colleagues, customers, partners, and the many friends who make up SAP’s vibrant global family.
Our hearts are with those who have been affected personally by the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as the many communities around the world that are facing extreme measures in the attempt to slow its spread.
For nearly 50 years, we have been honoured by the trust you place in us to run your mission-critical business processes. In today’s challenging environment, we want to provide you more information as to how we are securing our business and, in turn, yours.
Company Assurance for Customers
SAP business, support, and cloud delivery teams have developed and documented Business Continuity Plans to respond to disruptive incidents, such as COVID-19, while safeguarding the health of our employees and minimising the impact on the delivery of services to you.
SAP infrastructure and cloud operations teams have put the following measures in place for all SAP-owned and co-located data centres:
- Working Remotely: For the majority of teams, work can be conducted through remote connections, which enables teams to work off-site for most tasks. Engineers around the globe are working separately and remotely where possible to mitigate the risk of an entire team becoming infected. Employees who must be on-site are applying social distancing and hygiene protocols based on guidance from health authorities and our Global Pandemic Task Force.
- Safety On-Site: Where on-site work is required (for example, working in data centre locations), staff who are on-site to accomplish specific tasks are spending only the minimum time required in locations. Additionally, teams have implemented rotating schedules to reduce the number of people in a single location and to separate individuals in common teams as much as possible. In data centre locations, SAP has also sourced gloves and masks for the protection of on-site technicians if required.
- Disinfection Protocols: Trained teams are available to administer data centre-specific disinfection protocols in SAP data centres as required and are prepared to respond to any infections that may be identified. For co-location data centres, we are working with providers to ensure they apply the same standards and rigour to make sure all data centre sites are as sterile as possible.
- Access: Data centre access is restricted to operational personnel only and following strict hygiene protocols.
- Our Suppliers: SAP operations are supported by a number of strategic suppliers and we are in contact with all of them continually to ensure they apply comparable mitigation practices with their teams, while still maintaining service levels. For those who supply operational resources, we are focusing on scheduling and in-office practices to reduce the impact of any potential event. Finally, we are maintaining a database of updates and feedback from suppliers to ensure we can quickly locate and confirm documented information outlining the COVID-19 protocols and practices they are supporting.
For SAP maintenance and support functions, we have business continuity plans in place that are activated on demand. All internal systems, tools, monitors, etc. are designed to allow for remote work. We have already activated these measures worldwide with no disruption in service. Likewise, SAP consulting services are working from SAP offices or remote locations, pending local guidelines and in consultation with our customers.
Company Guidance to Employees
SAP has established a Global Pandemic Task force, working in tandem with local crisis teams and health authorities, to coordinate all efforts around the COVID-19 situation and provide guidance to SAP staff.
Notable actions include but are not limited to:
- Asking all employees to work remotely as much as possible, and wherever possible, SAP offices remain open.
- Initiating split-team options and select staff segregation for business-critical roles/functions.
- Announcing the cancellation or postponement of physical events planned for March and April, and evaluating which events will be delivered as a virtual experience.
- Restricting virtually all employee travel. Exceptions will be determined by SAP management in consultation with our customers and in accordance with government regulations.
- Extending our mandate to conduct only business-critical travel through the end of April, which, as always, is subject to local regulatory guidance and restrictions.
In addition to the measures above, SAP offers solutions that can differentiate and support businesses and individuals who are navigating disrupted supply chains and travel or exploring new ways of working as a result of the deepening effects of the coronavirus. You can learn more about these and other offerings here.
We realize these are uncertain times as the world navigates this pandemic. SAP is fully committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our employees. This is our top priority in order to maintain the business continuity needed to provide the support and service our more than 440,000 customers rely on from SAP.
As this situation evolves, your SAP account team will proactively reach out if there is additional support we can provide. In the meantime, if you have any further questions about SAP’s response to COVID-19, please contact your account professional.
Regards,
Steve Shute
Chief Operating Officer, SAP Customer Success
This article first appeared on the Global News Centre.