The renowned author Seth Godin says:
Over-focus on quality.
Expectations go up.
Sales rise as a result of word of mouth and customer satisfaction.
More money is spent on quality.
Repeat.
UI Masking is a Repeatable Customer Solution from Custom Development which allows users to mask sensitive data on a screen by maintaining a few customizing entries. Sounds easy and requires extra ordinary effort from the team to keep it simple for the end users. Over the past year, we have focused on how we can improve the product to enable customer success in this niche area of Data Security.
First, let’s talk about some numbers
- Total number of customers – 50+
- Sales demos given to customers by the team in 2015 – 20+
We interact closely with our customers and potential buyers. This gave us huge insight into how we can improve our product. We identified a few challenges that customers face and decided to build our solution to make customer life easier. These were.
Focus on making installation process smoother:
Implementation of the Add-On requires multiple configurations and customers need to be on the correct Net Weaver SP. We noticed that a lot of customers would skip one or two checks and ended up asking for support and help while installing. To empower customers to identify gaps, we developed an Installation Check Report which provides current system status and pending action items to complete the implementation process. This has resulted in incredible value add as we reduced the number of installation related OSS and this also helped us in consulting assignments when we were implementing the solution for the customer.
Focus on making the customizing process simpler:
When configuring entries for masking, we need to maintain multiple entries manually for each data set. We enhanced our solution to maintain entries automatically at click of a few buttons. So instead of manually identifying which programs display sensitive data, the solution helps the customer in identifying such programs. This results in reduced implementation effort and faster go-lives for the customers.
Focus on quality and processes:
If we discover bugs during our day to day work, we resolve them without waiting for customers to raise OSS messages. This keeps us on our toes and the solution keeps on improving. We also created a Master Note which lists all important Notes customers need to apply. This became useful as not all Notes are delivered in our namespace as the solution requires modifications in other areas to work in its complete capacity. We immediately saw a drop in number of OSS asking which Notes to be applied.
Focus on covering new areas for masking:
As I mentioned before, talking to potential, new and existing customers provides incredible insight on industry trends and new requirements. This enabled us to do CRM Web UI masking Custom Development Projects for multiple customers bringing in more business to SAP.
Result
As we freed our time by automating and simplifying processes, we found ourselves working on higher value functions adding more value to the organization by doing new custom development projects and working on business development by providing consulting services and enabling multiple customers implement the solution successfully.
I would like to close this blog by saying that there is no single answer to improving your solution. As stakeholders, we need to understand limitations of the solution, focus on customer needs and then mix it with hard work to come up with innovative ways in which we can add value and bring success knocking on the door. Thank you.
