Achieve Your CRM Vision with SAP CRM Rapid Deployment Solutions for Rapid Results (Part 2 of 4)

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Predictability, Integration, and Choice; Nailing it with SAP Rapid Deployment solutions.

Every nail needs a hammer but not every job requires the same hammer.

 Packaged solutions from SAP help our customers consume business management software more easily, faster and more predictably.  SAP Rapid Deployment solutions (RDS) combine SAP software, SAP predefined service, pre-configuration and powerful implementation accelerators, and are an example of packaged solutions from SAP.  They come as close as “ready-to-run” as business management software can be - and represent a fixed scope/fixed price option.  There are more than 40 RDS’s available across many lines of business and industry with dozens planned for quarterly releases throughout 2012. Each one represents a “best practice” for the business need in question, based on the vast experience of SAP (and/or the SAP ecosystem).  Each has the promise to get up and running fast with low service to software ratio and with predictable results.  

Available by lines of business (LOB) and industry, SAP provides a modular, integrated portfolio of RDS’s, enabling customers to progress toward their vision or plan in manageable steps with each step along the way providing immediate value by itself, and integrating with other SAP investments thereby providing longer term value. As an example, the Sales LOB lead may want to start with the SAP CRM for Sales rapid-deployment solution first to gain tangible benefit in supporting sales team effectiveness and then continue on this step-by-step journey as applicable, e.g.  by adding the Sybase Mobile Sales RDS, the CRM Analytics RDS, Marketing Campaign Management, or even deploying a “powered by HANA” RDS to allow deep dives into the customer base and customer segmentation as defined in the company’s plan.

 Our Customers seek agility, speed, and flexibility regardless company size or business software requirement and in meeting those requirements, SAP Rapid Deployment Solutions also supports the Predictability, Integration, and Choice requested by the most demanding companies.

Predictability

Whether you aim to address a specific business need in finance, logistics, manufacturing, procurement, HR, or in the fields of marketing, sales and service, you need to know up front what you’ll get, how much it will cost and how long it will take. Rather than merely managing expectations on your solution, you undoubtedly want to ‘nail it’ as planned and as promised! Your ability to predict accurately supports budget management and increases the value you bring to your customers and internal stakeholders (or your management)! Inaccuracies results in missed forecasts lost sales, failed projects, and disgruntled stakeholders.  Predictability drives the positive results you are seeking.

Enterprise software costs, associated services, and implementation times for business management software have been difficult to predict (for total costs, return on investment, and time to value). The reasons are many, but a key driver results from (sometimes of questionable value) too broad of a solution or implementation customizations.  Some solutions MUST produce key differentiators or meet inherently unique requirements.  In such cases, exhaustive scoping, customized configuration, and “one-off” services are necessary and valuable to accomplish the job.

 And while “every nail needs a hammer” not “every hammer” is right for the job.  Some projects fall outside the key differentiator/unique requirements area and benefit from thousands of prior implementations (and best practices).  For those nails, a different hammer is required—meaning a fixed price/fixed scope solution using best practices is optimal and includes a correspondingly lower time to value, services cost, and improved ROI.  SAP has actually been doing the hard work of looking back at the literally tens of thousands of projects and implementations, updating and adding to our SAP Best Practices library, creating “packaged solution bundles” with implementation “lessons learned” documented by dozens of companies from multiple industries.  In applying this body of experience to build solutions that are complete and “ready to run” we are transforming the way customers consume SAP software.

These offerings are modular, meaning: they are (relatively) small in terms of scope and easier to integrate, with very specific and documented impact and scope.  Usually implemented in less than 12 weeks - with the certainty of price, implementation time, and expected outcomes - considering you’re budgetary and implementation plan, you now have the PREDICTABILITY to NAIL IT!

Integration

Gains in predictability do not force you to compromise your flexibility.  Historically, companies selecting a predictable “point solution”  say from single LOB software supplier would enjoy a fast time to value but then would suffer costly additional expenses and reduced long term value as the IT infrastructure developed , the organization changed and needs evolved. SAP Rapid Deployment solutions bring the “best of both worlds” together:  Each of the solutions is not only easy, fast and predictable to deploy: they also fully integrate with your SAP IT landscape!  Thus, an RDS might be the perfect follow-on adding innovative business capability or technology.  Because the solutions use the same software only packaged in a smaller footprint with associated services and implementation tools, they fully INTEGRATE with your previous and future SAP solutions landscape. In so doing, your flexibility to modify your plans, respond to growth, improve your cost of ownership are supported. The solutions frequently leverage other non-SAP software.

 Choice

When you walk into an ice cream store, a compelling enticement is to take advantage of ALL the flavors offered.  And while you may not be able to exchange a half-eaten cone and replace it, the best shops let you sample various flavors to determine what you want.  RDS’s goes one step further. Not only do you taste the initial offering, but if, for example you want to change your deployment model from subscription/hosted to behind the firewall you have the option. If you decide to deploy your CRM solution and later wish to support mobility, you may. When your data requirements exceed BI capability and your record count requires a HANA ™ in-memory solution, it is available to you.

 You choose whether to implement SAP Business Suite and later augment with an RDS or two - or - you may choose to  deploy a series of RDS’ to accomplish the same objectives. You also select your implementation partner. The SAP predefined services offering is available through SAP worldwide network of implementation specialists or an implementation partner from the SAP Ecosystem.

Maybe a standard hammer is not the correct tool for every nail when it comes to Business Management Software projects.  SAP Rapid Deployment solutions allow you to NAIL IT with predictability, integration, and choice.

Have you read Part 1 of 4 by Anthony Leaper?:

Achieve Your CRM Vision with SAP CRM Rapid Deployment Solutions for Rapid Results:  Part 1 of 4

For more information, please refer to:

• The SAP Solution Marketplace
• Video by Hunter Douglas, a manufacturer of custom window treatments, and other introductory videos