To help SAP customers navigate the changing market and the complex move to S/4HANA, UpperEdge’s Advisory team leveraged over 13 years of experience advising on SAP projects to develop a proprietary Integrated Sourcing Strategy specifically designed to enable a sourcing and negotiation process that supports effective decision making in business and IT transformations across five workstreams.

Selecting an ERP solution is a daunting task, and many organizations are unsure of where to begin and how much time they will need to conduct a comprehensive cloud ERP evaluation. If you are evaluating Oracle and Workday’s ERP solutions, you’re under the added pressure of their aggressive sales tactics. This guide provides a straightforward approach for conducting a thorough evaluation and lays out some of the key differences in Oracle and Workday’s pricing methodologies.

ServiceNow has been transitioning from a cloud software vendor selling tools and solutions to the IT department to a platform provider that enables digital transformation.  Current and potential customers must prepare for price increases, aggressive sales tactics, and more challenging negotiations. 

Often complex and vendor-centric, cloud subscription agreements require a unique negotiation approach even though they can sometimes resemble more traditional on-premise contracts. Enterprises turning their attention to and adopting SaaS applications must approach their cloud agreements with the proper rigor and ensure they include necessary upfront and downstream protections as well as flexibility while also addressing various security concerns. This complimentary white paper reveals actionable strategies for ensuring your cloud agreements provide long-term value and protections.

Indirect Access is an issue that CIOs simply cannot afford to ignore as it can expose both old and new SAP customers to substantial incremental fees. Due to the lack of clarity around SAP’s definition of “use”, many organizations are unaware of what Indirect Access violations they may be committing and are, unfortunately, blindsided by an audit. Download this white paper for examples of what SAP considers use by way of Indirect Access and to learn tips for developing your Indirect/Digital Access strategy.

Too many organizations accept Salesforce’s standard contractual and commercial terms, believing that they have limited leverage when negotiating with the cloud giant. Despite its leading position in the market and expertly crafted agreements designed to significantly increase your costs at each renewal, it is possible to negotiate more favorable terms that lay the groundwork for a strategic relationship with Salesforce that provides more long term value.

Cost optimization is a doctrine that IT organizations have been continuously living by, but it has taken on a higher degree of urgency given the current economic environment. ERP and their adjacent systems as the internal engine that drives revenue is no longer enough. They are now not only required to justify the ROI for future investment, but the existing cost structure is under scrutiny to uncover opportunities to drive out costs in ways which may not have been evident before.

For years, Microsoft has enjoyed a comfortable position as the only truly viable productivity suite for large enterprises. But Microsoft’s reign has weakened as companies continue to overcome the hurdles of migrating to the cloud. More than ever before, Google Cloud’s G Suite has become — and will remain — a serious viable alternative to Microsoft Office 365 (O365).

Israel Chemical Limited (ICL) grew leaps and bounds through acquisitions and embarked on an ambitious program to deploy a common SAP-based operating template across its three operating units.  The initial program definition indicated a project cost of approximately $120M USD, but ultimately the expected costs of the program ballooned to $500M and the program was stopped before any major implementation began.  What followed was a write-off of $290M in project costs, the resignation of the CEO, and a freshly minted lawsuit against IBM filed in an Israeli district court.

At many enterprises, business transformation programs last years and often exceed the project management capabilities of IT departments due to their complexity and large size. Too often, projects spin out of control, making a successful and cost-effective delivery extremely difficult.

Download this White Paper to learn our proven, four-step process for gaining and keeping control of your business transformation program.