Before we start: Our main protagonist Torsten
Torsten is a 35-year-old engaged SAP Customer Success Partner (CSP) for a major automotive supplier. He is a dedicated and tech-savvy professional who acts as an intermediary between SAP and the customer. His main goal is to ensure the smooth implementation of the customer’s cloud solutions and their optimal operation. In doing so, he uses a variety of SAP tools and services and regularly agrees with the customer. His activities run under the SAP Preferred Success cloud service. I thought sharing Thorsten’s story is a good illustration how SAP Cloud Services look like in real life.
Figure: Illustration of different activities in SAP Preferred Success
Preparation with Onboarding and Cloud Mindset Workshop
The day starts with the activities around onboarding the customer. Torsten ensures that the customer has access to all relevant resources. The customer gets everything he & she need to be successful independently. In addition, after onboarding, the customer knows how to contact Torsten and how to tackle open topics together.
As part of the onboarding, the cornerstone for the collaboration between the Customer Success Partner and the customer is fixed. The first regular dates and synch-meetings are set.
The Cloud Mindset Workshop is the entry point to the world of SAP Preferred Success services. Together, the cultural and organizational change that forms the basis for the successful implementation and operation of SAP cloud solutions is reflected here. Mindset stands for values, beliefs, norms which influence our behaviors. Working with Cloud Software due to the different nature of cloud compared to on-premise software needs a change in mindset. For further reading see this whitepaper from SAPs Change Management team.
Learning Recommendations to develop SAP Knowledge
With SAP Preferred Success, the customer receives five licenses from the SAP Learning Hub, the comprehensive learning platform for SAP products and technologies. Torsten ensures that the customer uses these licenses optimally. He recommends appropriate learning content, learning paths, live-sessions, training systems and/or certifications. For SAP Preferred Success there is even an own learning portal with communities by Edition and learning content around the SAP Preferred Success Services.
Support the implementation of SAP cloud solutions
In the implementation phase of a SAP Cloud solution, Torsten offers a number of services, including solution launch checks related to integration, extensibility, identity & access management, embedded analytics, UX exploration, or SAP Cloud ALM. He can select them from a service catalog as required by his customer. Torsten wants to achieve a smooth implementation process and an optimal go-live in cooperation with the customer.
The regular cycle of adoption, operation & optimization
Software features must be reliable. At the same time, existing and new features must adapt to the changing needs of an organization. For this purpose, new features and options are constantly being rolled out over regular releases.
Depending on the customer’s needs, Torsten also introduces additional tools and resources, such as the Release Adoption and Scope Dependency Tool (RASD). Or he uses other services such as guidance for regression tests or support for a post-upgrade test.
Individual SAP Preferred Success Services tailored to each phase and situation
Torsten provides specific services and checks based on the customer’s phase and requirement. These include Q-Gate Review Sessions, various checks such as Continuous Quality Checks (CQCs) or Solution Launch Checks.
In addition, there can always be customer-specific ad hoc advisory sessions where Torsten can access an entire catalog. Depending on the cloud solution, these services may also vary.
360 degree care with SAP Preferred Success
Torsten plays a very similar role to a concierge service or a personal trainer. His activities span the entire solution life cycle at the customer and include diverse tasks such as coordination between different teams at the customer, at SAP, and at SAP partners.
He ensures that critical support messages are processed and, if necessary, escalated. He also takes care of the necessary documents and forms to request and deliver SAP Preferred Success services.
As part of SAP Preferred Success, customers benefit from enhanced service level agreements (enhanced SLA), i.e. support messages are processed with priority. This applies to the entire SAP Preferred Success contract period and therefore to each phase of the cloud solution.
In the regular review meeting, he discusses questions such as:
- Where can I find what resources?
- How can I activate specific scope items?
If Torsten cannot answer a question directly, he contacts a suitable SAP expert. If necessary, he also organizes appropriate meetings to enable the discussion regarding questions from his customer.
Sometimes it helps to show his customer how to best use SAP’s existing services and resources. For example how to leverage the SAP Preferred Success Community, SAP Learning Hub, Whats New Viewer, or the SAP Help Portal.
Strategic retrospectives and future plans in gobal business reviews
Strategic topics are discussed in the Business Review Meetings once or twice a year. Participants are usually Senior & executive management of the customer and the respective business process owners.
Summary and customer feedback
“Thanks to Torsten and SAP Preferred Success, our company has been able to take full advantage of the SAP Cloud solution” – is just one of the quotes from a satisfied customer.
This concludes another successful working day for Torsten, who ensures that his customers achieve the desired results every day.
I hope this blog provided you some insights into the world of managing SAP Cloud Software and SAP Preferred Success.
For more information, visit the SAP Preferred Success website. Looking forward for your questions or comments below this blog.
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