ISG to Publish Report on SAP Ecosystem Providers Supporting Cloud Migrations, S/4HANA Transitions

Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, has launched a research study examining the broad range of services for enterprises adopting or optimizing SAP application platforms.

The study results will be published in a comprehensive ISG Provider Lens™ report series, called SAP Ecosystem - 2022, scheduled to be released in August. The reports will cover companies offering services to support new SAP transformations and maximize application performance for existing SAP customers.

Enterprise buyers will be able to use information from the reports to evaluate their current vendor relationships, potential new engagements and available offerings, while ISG advisors use the information to recommend providers to the firm’s buy-side clients.

The SAP ecosystem is vast and growing, with more than 22,000 companies supporting enterprises that employ SAP’s popular ERP platforms. Many enterprises are exploring the impact of moving their SAP workloads to public, private or hybrid cloud environments, while some are still preparing for migration from the legacy SAP ERP suite (for which support will end in 2027) to SAP S/4HANA. At the same time, SAP managed service providers are beginning to use AI and machine learning for application maintenance and operations to predict incidents and automate troubleshooting.

“Service providers are empowering clients to plan and execute SAP S/4HANA transformation projects that deliver more business value at lower cost,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “SAP enterprises are also taking advantage of breakthroughs in managed services for superior application performance at larger scale and lower cost.”

ISG has distributed surveys to more than 60 SAP ecosystem providers. Working in collaboration with ISG’s global advisors, the research team will produce five quadrants representing the digital services and products the typical SAP enterprise is buying, based on ISG’s experience working with its clients. The five quadrants are:

• SAP S/4HANA System Transformation – Large Accounts, evaluating providers of consulting and system integration for enterprise applications using SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Suite with the SAP Fiori user interface. These providers should be able to manage the complexity and scale of large enterprises and have frameworks, tools and accelerators for large-scale system transformations. They must offer SAP S/4HANA development, integration and testing services and demonstrate capabilities and experience in both greenfield and brownfield deployments. Other requirements include provisions for on-premises or cloud-based implementations and optimal onshore-offshore delivery models.

• SAP S/4HANA System Transformation - Midmarket, assessing consulting and system integration providers that can rapidly execute SAP S/4HANA implementations for clients with fewer than 5,000 SAP users or less than $1 billion in revenue. These providers should be able to use multiple methodologies, including SAP’s packaged solutions for small and midsize businesses and SAP S/4HANA templates. Their portfolios should include advisory and implementation services for midsize enterprises and ready-to-use templates or solutions for specific microsegments. Providers must offer onshore or nearshore delivery for local clients, with offshore delivery capability welcome but not required.

• Managed Application Services for SAP ERP, covering providers of managed services for SAP S/4HANA and legacy SAP Business Suites such as ECC 6.0. Providers should offer application optimization, support and testing, with maintenance and support services including monitoring, remote support and centralized management of applications. Their offerings must include services such as troubleshooting, level 2 and level 3 application support, root-cause analysis and user management, including license compliance. These providers also can make enhancements and changes to applications while predicting the business impact of such updates.

• Managed Platform and Cloud Services for SAP ERP, assessing service providers that provision, manage and operate SAP in the cloud for enterprise clients. Their services include managing cloud environments, security, monitoring, disaster recovery, backup and restoration, compliance and other aspects of infrastructure and operations. Such providers need deep knowledge of SAP S/4HANA and its underlying in-memory database technology to maintain smooth operations. They should be certified as platform management or cloud partners with SAP S/4HANA specialization, have certifications in security, data privacy and other areas and have SAP-certified staff.

• SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) Services, evaluating providers of enterprise application development and support on SAP BTP. These providers are equipped to partner with clients on designing, developing, changing and integrating applications across multi-cloud platforms. Such providers can help enterprises innovate with new technologies such as AI, machine learning and virtual reality through centers of excellence or use cases and frameworks. Their offerings should include SAP BTP consulting and implementation services and expertise in AI, machine learning, blockchain and IoT technologies.

The reports will cover the global SAP ecosystem market and examine products and services available in the U.S., U.K., Nordics, Germany, Brazil and France. ISG analysts Tarun Vaid, Akhila Harinarayan, Pedro L Bicudo Maschio, Rainer Suletzki and Richard Peynot will serve as authors of the reports.

A list of identified providers and vendors and further details on the study are available in this digital brochure. Companies not listed as SAP providers can contact ISG and ask to be included in the study.

All ISG Provider Lens™ evaluations now feature new and expanded customer experience (CX) data that measures actual enterprise experience with specific provider services and solutions, based on ISG’s continuous CX research. Enterprise customers wishing to share their experience about a specific provider or vendor are encouraged to register here to receive a personalized survey URL. Participants will receive a copy of this report in return for their feedback.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 800 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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