I am excited to be celebrating another year with the ASUG community in 2023! We have a wonderful year planned.
We wrapped up 2022 with our annual Pulse of the SAP Customer survey. This year people were eager to share feedback, and we had responses from more people and organizations than ever. More than 800 ASUG members shared feedback on how technology teams are changing and what challenges are most prevalent. They told us about investments in technology and shared more information on SAP S/4HANA migrations and cloud journeys. We are embracing this feedback in 2023 by focusing on topics and areas that have been identified as most relevant not only by SAP, but also by the 800+ members who responded to our annual Pulse of the SAP Customer survey. We plan to share the results from the research in an upcoming webcast on January 25th, but as we kick off the new year, here are some early highlights from the research:
Organizations have been working hard on digital transformation efforts. We see this in our research, and we hear about this from our members. The number of organizations using ECC continues to decline, while the share of organizations using SAP S/4HANA continues to rise (or should I say RISE). To help organizations navigate these complex migrations, we created a Member Pathfinder specific to SAP S/4HANA adoption. This tool supports organizations that are planning implementations, or that are currently implementing SAP S/4HANA, by streamlining relevant content so organizations can chart their course, learn at their own pace, and track their progress.
We are also hearing from our research that SAP S/4HANA is not the only priority for organizations. Organizations are focused on integrating SAP and non-SAP products while also looking for ways to standardize business processes. Our Pulse of the SAP Customer research shows that while only 40% of organizations currently use SAP BTP, another 32% are considering using this solution in the future. That is a lot of organizations seeking a unified, business-centric, and open platform for the entire SAP ecosystem. To help organizations better understand this technology and how organizations are using it, we have an upcoming event planned March 7-9, 2023 in Phoenix, AZ that will focus on SAP S/4HANA and SAP BTP.
My last item to highlight is one survey statistic that surprised me more than most. This statistic relates to innovation strategies and cycles at organizations. Data shows that, over the past three years, innovation strategies and cycles have not changed (comparable data was from a survey that fielded before the pandemic). Let me reiterate: The same share of organizations makes incremental improvements and continuous enhancements over time now as did before the pandemic; it’s the largest share of organizations at 56%. Only 21% of organizations consider themselves to be innovating ahead of others in their industry, while 22% consider themselves to be behind others in their industry.
At ASUG, we would love to help move the needle on this statistic. How can we help you and your company innovate more? What is stopping you from innovating? Those who are innovating, where are you focusing those innovation efforts? Connect with us – we want to hear more.
Connecting with your community is one of the most powerful ways to network, to learn from one another, and to grow your organizational and personal skillsets. We not only want to help your organization get the most from its investments in SAP. We also want to help each of you personally to get the most from your work with SAP technologies.
In 2023, get more involved with us by attending your local chapter events, participating in our research, volunteering with us, and sharing your stories. If you have follow-up questions, or require further information, please contact me or your account representative. To make this especially easy, I’m providing our contact information right here for you to use:
Contact me at Geoff.Scott@Asug.com
Contact our membership team at memberservices@asug.com