Did you know…Many SAP S/4HANA customers have gone live with S/4 without enabling the Fiori LaunchPad and relevant applications? These customers have gone live with no more than a technical upgrade to ECC 6.0. SAP has spent years pouring innovation & technology into standard S/4 Fiori applications and the toolsets used to create Fiori applications, so if businesses aren’t using it, I have to ask: Where’s the business value, business case, business benefit in that!? Is there an ROI to an upgrade or did the business decide to do this “because it’s going to be required by 2025”?
Because we’ve seen this more often than not, Mindset wants to help current and future SAP S/4 customers with their journey to a brand new User Experience of SAP that helps not only engage your workforce in software they want to use, but also unlocks innovations that SAP is continuously developing such as process automation, integrated machine learning scenarios, IoT, and more!
A little background
Implementing SAP S/4HANA is not the same as upgrading to a new EHP on ECC 6.0. S/4 brings about a fundamental change in the way SAP wants people to interact with their software in the future. This change is through a user interface design language called Fiori. Many people have heard about Fiori, but there are still a lot of gaps in knowledge in the marketplace. Mindset solutions have been focused on Design Thinking led Fiori engagements since the introduction of Fiori in 2013 and have been answering questions, leading UX strategy engagements, providing published thought leadership, and delivering standard, enhanced, and custom UI5/Fiori applications since that time.
Why you NEED a UX Team in your S/4 Implementation project.
So, you’re considering your SAP roadmap. It includes a move to S/4 HANA but things have changed. You used to have a technical implementation partner that was able to install, configure, and/or upgrade your systems for end users to use. SME’s were involved in some introductory workshops during requirements gathering, and then brought back for UAT and Training.
A lot has changed since your last SAP implementation. There are new languages to speak and a dramatic shift of focus to the real end user. I’m sure by now you’ve heard and/or are using Agile project methodologies to deliver IT projects. You’ve heard of this need for Dev-Ops. You’ve also heard that upgrading and implementing S/4HANA is the only way to stay on top of all the innovation being released by SAP everyday. There are no new SAP T-Codes being delivered! All new functionality, innovation, and automation will be released via Fiori Applications.
All of these reasons and more are exactly why you NEED a UX Partner involved in your SAP S/4HANA implementation project. Most SAP implementation partners will include resources that are technically skilled in activating Fiori. This person is usually from a basis and/or technical background and has the technical know-how and ability to activate standard apps and create the system connections needed to launch the Fiori Launchpad and assign users. What we’ve seen in large scale projects is that there is a lack of end to end User Experience being accounted for. This means the project misses the mark upon go-live in hitting the real ROI goals and digital transformation goals that were set out to achieve. Our S/4 Digital services aim to complement implementation partners where UX has not been a core focus to help our customers achieve digital innovation and delightful experiences for all end users of SAP.
Why choose Mindset as your SAP Experience Partner?
Mindset has more SAP Fiori experience than almost any SAP partner, having delivered custom Fiori applications & extensions for 5+ years. With our experience, design minded focus, and long-term SAP thought leadership, our partnership can help deliver the value out of your SAP S/4HANA investment. From Discovery to Deployment, we have services that can complement your SAP S/4HANA architecture teams to make sure your end users are engaged and trust in what’s being delivered to them.
Our S/4 Digital Service Engagement Model:
Step 1: S/4 Digital Strategy
Step 2: S/4 UX Implementation Team
Step 3: SAP Fiori Launchpad Branding & Configuration
Step 4: S/4 Agile UX Development and Delivery
In the upcoming weeks, stay tuned to this blog series to get a detailed view into each one of our S/4 Digital services being introduced!
AND…If you’ll be in Florida in May (because who isn’t!) Visit us at Sapphire! Booth 1642.
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