Why are Businesses Still Operating their SAP systems like its 1985?

⇨ SAP users will know the difficulties that arise when managing changes within SAP systems.

⇨ New research from Basis Technologies suggests that over half of enterprises (59 percent) currently rely on “archaic” Excel spreadsheets for managing changes within SAP systems, despite SAP recently releasing its first enterprise GenAI product which aims to transform the way businesses run.

⇨ Taking ownership of SAP-led transformation strategies will allow SAP users to reap the benefits.

SAP users will know the difficulties that arise when managing changes within SAP systems. Tracking these changes often means using and relying on traditional means of technology, aka the Excel spreadsheet.

However, new research from Basis Technologies suggests that over half of enterprises (59 percent) currently rely on “archaic” Excel spreadsheets for managing changes within SAP systems, despite SAP recently releasing its first enterprise GenAI product which aims to transform the way businesses run. This is despite 96 percent of senior leadership surveyed saying SAP is critical to the day-to-day functioning of their organization.

Relying on outdated manual tools and processes is having an impact on enterprises’ ability to achieve their growth objectives, with 88 percent of organizations admitting that challenges related to deploying change create insurmountable barriers in SAP-driven business transformation.

Surveying 200 enterprises using SAP across the UK, US and Germany, Basis Technologies has identified that the innovative capabilities of SAP are simply not being realized by some businesses, despite 93 percent of the world’s enterprises using SAP in some form. Over a third of enterprises (35 percent) delay making SAP changes due to fears of operational disruption, while nearly all enterprises (96 percent) worry about unintended consequences of disrupting critical business systems when trying to implement change within their SAP landscape.

Taking ownership of SAP-led transformation strategies will allow SAP users to reap the benefits, not only for themselves and their businesses, but for their clients and customers too. While more than a third of SAP managers believe the C-Suite should own transformative strategies involving SAP, because of their role in defining business transformation, only 13 percent report that to be the case. In reality, over half (52 percent) of SAP managers reveal that they are the ones owning the process for their organization.

David Lees, CTO at Basis Technologies, said: “It’s quite staggering that, at a time when SAP is releasing an enterprise generative AI offering, businesses are still trying to operate and manage their systems like it’s 1985. When SAP was originally implemented, there wasn’t the same level of focus on agility and change management.

“C-Suites need to upskill themselves on IT awareness so they can make more informed decisions.

“IT departments often operate in siloes, and the CIO’s scope has changed aggressively so they don’t necessarily have the awareness of SAP that they should. The reality is that the modern CIO is focusing on newer, shinier, but ultimately less significant tech. Instead, to unlock their full potential, SAP should be at the center of a business’ transformation strategy.”

For SAP users struggling to manage their systems, an outdated method will simply not cut it anymore. SAP users will now need to turn to more sophisticated methods, such as SAP, to run their operations more smoothly and allow for business growth. With Basis Technologies, SAP users can rest assured that their management systems are in good hands.