2 An SAP Maturity Model

37

2.1 Denial, Realization, Determination

37

2.2 From Core Implementation to Evolving Center of Excellence

38

2.2.1 Level 1: Core Applications

42

2.2.2 Level 2: Stable Applications

42

2.2.3 Level 3: Center of Excellence Defined

42

2.2.4 Level 4: Center of Excellence Managed

43

2.2.5 Level 5: Center of Excellence Evolving

43

2.3 Elements of SAP Maturity

44

2.3.1 Level 1: Core Applications Implementation

45

2.3.2 Level 2: Stable Applications

48

2.3.3 Level 3: Center of Excellence Defined

50

2.3.4 Level 4: Center of Excellence Managed

53

2.3.5 Level 5: Evolving Center of Excellence

55

2.4 Assessing Your SAP Maturity

57

2.5 Best Practices for Evolving to a Mature Center of Excellence

62

2.5.1 End-User Maturity

63

2.5.2 Business and IT Dynamic Maturity

63

2.5.3 Enterprise Applications Maturity

64

2.5.4 Value Management Maturity

65

2.6 The Overriding Importance of a Rational Business/IT Dynamic

66

3 Building and Sustaining a Center of Excellence

69

3.1 New Lifecycle

69

3.1.1 The Legacy Applications Lifecycle

70

3.1.2 The SAP Applications Lifecycle

71

3.2 Pre-SAP Implementation Strategies and Best Practices

73

3.2.1 Data Migration/Manifest Planning

74

3.2.2 Instance, Version, and Data Center Management Planning

75

3.2.3 Application Portfolio Management

77

3.3 Why Firms Need a Center of Excellence

78

3.4 Center of Excellence Organization

80

3.4.1 Enterprise Domain

83

3.4.2 Enablement Domain

85

3.4.3 Applications Domain

87

3.4.4 IT Support Domain

88

3.5 Transforming the “Build” Team into a Continuous Business Evolution Team

89

3.6 Building a Center of Excellence

90

3.6.1 The Methodology

91

3.6.2 Roles and Skillsets

94

3.6.3 Direction and Duration

100

3.6.4 A Note about Basis Administration

100

3.6.5 A Note about the Run SAP Methodology

101

3.7 Variant Structures for Centers of Excellence

102

3.8 Mastering the Business/IT Dynamic

104

3.9 A Word about SAP Solution Manager

106

3.10 When It All Goes Wrong: How Centers of Excellence Become Centers of Mediocrity

107

3.10.1 Leadership and Entropy

107

3.10.2 Business Process Orphanship

109

3.10.3 Super Users Cast Adrift

110

3.10.4 Burial by SAP

112

4 We Do It Themselves: Outsourcing SAP Applications Support

115

4.1 We Do It Themselves

115

4.2 Applications Are What We Do

116

4.3 Why on Earth Would We Outsource Our Applications?

119

4.4 Application Outsourcing Adoption

123

4.5 Crossing the Bridge from Maintenance to Management

127

4.6 Governance for Outsourced SAP Applications Support

133

4.7 Fee Strategies

135

4.8 Basis Is Eternal (and Can Be Done from Anywhere)

137

4.8.1 Delivery from Anywhere

138

4.8.2 The Cost of Remote Basis Support

142

4.9 Conclusion

142

5 Staffing, Sourcing, and Evolving

143

5.1 The SAP Ecosystem and the Wisdom of Crowds

144

5.2 Staff for Surprises, Not Just the Predictable

146

5.3 Be Your Own Systems Integration Partner

147

5.4 Beyond “Hyphenates”: Business Process Experts

149

5.5 The Relative (Un)Importance of Certifications

153

6 The Art of the Upgrade

155

6.1 The Changing SAP Upgrade Landscape

155

6.2 Types of Upgrades

156

6.3 Nine Best Practices for Upgrade Success

159

6.4 Conclusion: The Upgrade as a Competitive Weapon

164

7 Intelligent Business Intelligence

167

7.1 SAP Business Intelligence Matures

167

7.2 The Data Fur Ball and the Cluttered Toolbox

170

7.3 Sources of Truth

171

7.4 Who Generates What and How and Why?

174

8 SAP as the Engine Behind Measurable Business Benefit

181

8.1 The Daily Doughnut

181

8.2 Sitting Tight is Not a Winning Option

182

8.3 Measures of Success

186

8.3.1 Getting Past Total Cost of Ownership

187

8.3.2 Value of IT Methodologies

189

8.4 Getting Business to Take the Wheel

189

8.5 The Enterprise Applications Value Chain

191

8.6 Iterative Business Process Improvement—A Sample Exercise

193

8.7 The Deeper Green: Sustainability

201

8.8 Key Performance Indicators: A Basic List

203

8.9 Three-Point Planning

210

9 Drivers at Work: Supporting Your SAP End Users

213

9.1 Skills Gap—Training Canyon

213

9.2 Neglecting The Real Drivers of Business Process

214

9.3 The High Cost of Penny Pinching

217

9.4 From Inventory to Team Building

221

9.5 SAP End-User Maturity Model

225

9.6 Super Users Provide Super Results

231

9.7 Sources and Methods of Continuous Training

233

9.8 Conclusion

236

10 From Supplier to Advisor: A New Hat for SAP

237

10.1 SAP Life After Functionality

237

10.2 News Flash: SAP is Not a Not-for-Profit

239

10.3 Working Toward Partnership by Leveraging Your Efforts and Investments

240

10.4 Drive at Your Own Pace (and Show SAP Where You’re Going)

242

Appendices

251

A Sources

253

B The Author

257

C Contributors

259