Computer programming, a time-honoured business practice developed over the decades is under threat, increasingly remembered only in exaggerated tales of hardship described to youngsters over cocktails at the company pub. The endless programming, modifications and de-bugging is giving way to pre-packaged software.
Andersen Consulting has forged a strategic partnership with Germany`s SAP AG, one of the world`s leading providers of enterprise application software with the purpose of delivering not just IT solutions, but fully-integrated business solutions for those industries where Andersen Consulting has specialised.
Through the alliance, Andersen Consulting and SAP propose to design industry specific solutions - for instance for the financial services and insurance industries.
The strategic alliance with SAP is based on Andersen Consulting`s insight into the way certain industries operate, enabling it to work with SAP to adapt SAP`s technology to a particular industry`s needs. Andersen Consulting has no copyright to the resulting product - that is SAP`s - but when SAP takes the product to the marketplace, Andersen Consulting is well placed to receive implementation work as a result of its involvement. The advantage to clients is that SAP offers a tailor-made solution that do es not require a vast amount of on-site design and implementation work as a standard software package would, nor does the client`s business have to be modified to suit an inflexible off-the-shelf product. The SAP product is tried and tested in numerous working environments around the world, and is designed to be hardy and flexible enough to suit an industry specific need.
Although Andersen Consulting is organised along industry and competency lines, the group which is mandated to provide SAP business solutions - the Enterprise Business Solutions (EBS) group - is uniquely a cross-competency and cross-market group.
Garth Impey, head of the EBS group in South Africa, says: "The solutions will enable, for instance, insurers and banking institutions to measurably improve business performance by significantly enhancing their operational processes, customer service and the rate of return on information technology investment."
"Andersen Consulting does a lot of business in the area of implementing SAP industry specific solutions. We are organised along industry lines and have depth of experience in these industries. This together with our deep SAP skills makes us the automatic choice for SAP implementation in certain industries." Andersen Consulting is also able to rely on its international network, where it is certain that in some country it will have performed an SAP implementation which can be adapted to a local client.
Andersen Consulting has furthermore established new business units within the EBS group to bring together competency and market unit expertise with SAP skills and technical support. This business unit is called a Solution Centre.
Impey likens the Solution Centre concept to a racing boat. "A racing boat is designed for speed and responsiveness. The boat is ready to race when a crew arrives, bringing the tools and process skills to activate its potential. But it takes more than good design, equipment and rowing skills to make a boat competitive. It takes teamwork and constant practice on the crew`s part," says Impey. The Solution Centre provides all these skills and competencies under one roof, and by focusing strictly on the one discipline, the team is sharpened by constant exposure to SAP implementation.
EBS does not focus entirely on SAP, but offers services in other international enterprise application software such as Oracle, Baan and People Soft. Impey says that some of these products are in their infancy in SA and SAP will continue to be dominant in the local market and internationally for some years to come. Andersen Consulting also offers "Design, Build, Run" facilities incorporating the design, construction, implementation and support of an enterprise-specific application such as offered by SAP. Through its business process management division, it can take full control of running a business solution, such as SAP and commit to delivering measurable business results by sharing the risk and tying the compensation to specific service level achievements. This capability is provided by the Solution Centre. Impey says that it is becoming increasingly common in business to outsource these services to an organisation such as Andersen Consulting.
SAP skills are in short supply in SA, and Andersen Consulting`s unique offerings has enabled it to attract many of the finest SAP technophiles to its ranks. Furthermore, Andersen Consulting is working with Sinamandla and SAP to develop role based training material that will be used on a worldwide basis. Thus trasferring it`s knowledge of how to effectively make SAP work for a business, to it`s clients.
Andersen Consulting SA is a world leader in SAP, in the retail and utilities industries, where it is one of the first to implement SAP in these industries. Once completed, these skills will be available to Andersen Consulting clients and prospects worldwide.
SAP is a large component of Andersen Consulting`s business. Of the more than 500 consultants in SA, over 100 specialise in the SAP software (and growing).
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