By Tim Ferguson, 25 November 2009 12:34
NEWS
SAP needs to better communicate with customers about the products in its portfolio as well as the technology it's developing.
That's according to customers attending the SAP UK and Ireland SAP user group conference in Manchester this week when asked what the business software company could improve on.
Neil Crew, IT director at food company Prince's, told silicon.com: "I think I'd like to see them communicate with their user base more, particularly in the UK."
He added that SAP products are generally good and that the company is starting to focus more on the value of its technology to businesses but could do with being more outward-looking in order to serve its customers better.
Andrew Morris Richardson, main board director at lighting installation company Abacus Lighting, said that customer events such as Sapphire - cancelled this year - have been useful in the past for businesses to find out about SAP technology by speaking to the people who developed them.
"[SAP] could extend that and I think it's important for them to do that. It's knowing what else in the box and taking advantage of them," he said.
Morris Richardson added that "one of the biggest things SAP needs to do" is make its products more user friendly as it is sometimes difficult for businesses to understand the advantages of using SAP.
Ray Wang, partner in enterprise strategy with consultancy Altimeter, suggested in his keynote that SAP is hiding its innovation light under a bushel by not telling customers what's available.
"There is a perception that there is a lack of SAP innovation. There is a tonne of innovation in SAP - it's just not being communicated," he said.
Wang urged conference attendees to make sure SAP communicates with them more effectively so they know what other technology is available to them, saying: "You need to push back hard at SAP. We've just got to unlock the innovation in SAP."
SAP UK and Ireland User Group chairman Alan Bowling agreed that the technology vendor could do more to communicate its product roadmap to customers along with the knowledge the company has acquired around staff training over the years.
Tim Noble, SAP's UK managing director, also told the conference: "My goal is to further strengthen our relationship with the user group."
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