Value ROI TCO Archives - Page 6 of 16 - Innovate. Integrate. Transform. Run.

Where Does SAP Offshore Development Make Sense?
Where Does SAP Offshore Development Make Sense?

Where Does SAP Offshore Development Make Sense?

By Bill Wood|October 10th, 2011|

If you are capable of providing detailed design specs without any deviation or thought required, offshore development is a great option. The instant your SAP design requires a measure of experience and insight to make judgment calls, or to look for data or processing that is not explicitly spelled out in detail, you are headed for huge hidden costs. The level of detailed spec design work by SAP functional consultants merely shifts the development time and costs to the higher-priced resources th [...]

Hidden SAP Offshore Development Costs
Hidden SAP Offshore Development Costs

Hidden SAP Offshore Development Costs

By Bill Wood|October 3rd, 2011|

My experience with SAP offshore developers is that no matter how detailed your spec, their lack of experience with standard SAP transactions and functionality prevents them from properly testing their own creations. Their results are more than just full of bugs; oftentimes, the system crashes when attempting to do even basic testing. Repeat testing by expensive functional resources happens so frequently and consumes so much hidden time from parallel project activities that entire project timeli [...]

SAP Offshore Development Project Experience
SAP Offshore Development Project Experience

SAP Offshore Development Project Experience

By Bill Wood|September 26th, 2011|

There is a time and a place for everything-- even SAP project offshore activities. Unfortunately, in the quest to save money, the wrong approach can sound good on paper but cost you far more than the sales pitches would lead you to believe. The SAP offshore sales pitch uses enticing rates, such as receiving an offshore developer for about 15-20% the rate of an onshore resource (about 1/5 to 1/7 the price). The initial reaction to all of the sales pitches is “Wow, that will save us a bundle!” Ho [...]

How the SAP Consulting Peter Principle Works
How the SAP Consulting Peter Principle Works

How the SAP Consulting Peter Principle Works

By Bill Wood|September 12th, 2011|

Most of us working in business for any period of time have heard of the “Peter Principle.” Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull formulated this concept in their 1968 book The Peter Principle, a humorous treatise which also introduced the "salutary science of Hierarchiology." [FN1] While the exact quote is slightly different, many interpret this as meaning that people tend to rise to their level of incompetence in organizations built on hierarchies. As an important caveat before getting into t [...]

SAP IT Convergence Beyond Business to IT Alignment
SAP IT Convergence Beyond Business to IT Alignment

SAP IT Convergence Beyond Business to IT Alignment

By Bill Wood|September 6th, 2011|

In the new global business age, organizations need to leverage technology organization expertise for business benefit more than ever. Too often, technology organizations focus on technology for the sake of technology, rather than for how it might improve products and services or how it might create more customer focus. In today’s competitive global economy, filled with international economic instability, no part of the enterprise can afford to move very far from what pays the bills. If your SAP [...]

Integrating Business Stakeholders as Part of SAP IT Convergence
Integrating Business Stakeholders as Part of SAP IT Convergence

Integrating Business Stakeholders as Part of SAP IT Convergence

By Bill Wood|August 29th, 2011|

A while back, I had a conversation with an IT executive from one of America’s largest companies. I was interested in his perspective as a hard-working senior level IT insider. We started discussing the role of IT and business as well as the future of business and technology. In the process, I relayed my passion for how IT needs to integrate with the business and how the future was going to change significantly (see e.g. What is the Proper Relationship for the CIO, CEO, and CFO?). From that disc [...]