Trends Report

Cloud Computing Offers Both Near-Term And Long-Term Benefits For SAP Customers

Emerging Options Spawn Interest — But The Landscape Is Still Forming

October 15th, 2010
Bill Martorelli, Principal Analyst
Bill Martorelli Principal Analyst
Liz Herbert, VP, Principal Analyst
Liz Herbert VP, Principal Analyst
With contributors:
Duncan Jones , Mark Grannan

Summary

SAP consumes millions of dollars in implementation spend and millions more in ongoing support and operations for many organization's IT budgets. Now, newer cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings promise to reduce these costs — albeit incrementally — while at the same time adding flexibility, scalability, and simplification to SAP deployments. While SAP footprints may not be the first, or even the most extensive beneficiaries of cloud-based services, SAP-related capabilities that can reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of SAP are available now. Sourcing and vendor management professionals are asking what options exist and where it makes sense to incorporate them into the SAP landscape. Selecting SaaS products to complement the core SAP foundation and using cloud services to streamline aspects of the SAP implementation and operational life cycle are two examples where customers are making an impact today. This document also discusses how the SAP footprint is emerging into the cloud with the help of key ecosystem partners including systems integrators and technology providers.

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