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SNP's software solution takes on challenges of business, IT transformation

Companies can now better plan, analyse, sequence and realise their transformation project within common business scenarios, says Andreas Schneider-Neureither, SNP AG Founder and CEO.


Johannesburg, 11 Dec 2012

The deployment of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system like SAP has historically presented several challenges for the customers involved. Deployments are often more time-consuming and costly than expected; seamless integration is not always easily achieved; vendors don't always live up to their reputation; and larger, more complex projects can leave businesses exposed to risk and potential failure.

In the face of such challenges, ERP technology continues to evolve, with demand for supply chain management (SCM) software, infrastructure and platform upgrades growing at a steady pace. At the same time, corporates are being made aware of the availability of cutting-edge software concepts such as automated business landscape transformation.

New approach to transformation

Executives today rate the pace of business as being much faster than compared to five years ago.1 The transformation of companies is a core business process, and every CIO and CEO is thinking about how to transform their company. What do they need to acquire? Which part of their business should they sell? Where is consolidation or expansion needed within the organisation? All of these events have a significant impact on the business applications operating in the background - the ERP, SCM or CIM (computer-integrated manufacturing) systems.

Business Landscape:
Transformation Trigger for Changes in IT Landscape
Business Landscape: Transformation Trigger for Changes in IT Landscape

Answering the call for reliable and effective transformation solutions is SNP, a leading supplier of software and software-related services for the transformation of ERP systems resulting from the restructuring of companies or technical innovation. As explained by Andreas Schneider-Neureither, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SNP, the company has adopted a new approach to business landscape transformation that challenges the traditional, consultant-driven model of ERP implementation.

"SNP is focused on the transformation process itself," says Schneider-Neureither. "A large part of this process involves the merging of old systems with new as different business platforms are fused. This is where technology migration and adoption become critical."

With SNP's Business Landscape Transformation solutions, systems can be merged at the database level to ensure simplified functionality and the harmonisation of master data, business partners, customer bases and all the processes involved.

Supplied in South Africa by Johannesburg-based subsidiary SNP ZA, the software solution automates complex ERP system events - such as mergers, splits, integrations and upgrades - and reduces transition time by 50% to 70% over conventional consulting practices.

"The first transformation software of its kind, our Business Landscape Transformation solution makes transformations in SAP considerably faster," continues Schneider-Neureither. "Our aim is not to replace anything: it's to change the functionality and the data for specific business needs."

IT aligned with business goals

Drawing on SNP's experience conducting more than 1 500 transformation projects for global businesses like Siemens, ThyssenKrupp and L'Or'eal, SNP Business Landscape Transformation software delivers a wide range of benefits in a convenient, hassle-free environment. Time to market is reduced as mergers and acquisitions, carve-out projects and internal reorganisations are managed and completed faster.

Business continuity is assured as SNP's methodologies and processes avoid any event that could have an impact on operations, like supply chain interruption or loss of critical business data. Return on investment is maximised as the SNP software reduces total cost of operations through system consolidation and data centralisation.

SNP's proven 'near-zero-downtime' approach helps keep vital systems available for production applications - usually keeping downtime to just several hours. Delivering higher levels of transparency than before possible, the solution also fulfils all regulatory requirements for conversion of accounting-relevant data, and includes features that support data masking for test processes to protect confidential information.

Key processes, product features

SNP Business Landscape Transformation functions as a single software package with specific modules that streamline targeted IT tasks throughout the entire project duration. These processes include:

Analysis: SNP Business landscape analysis provides generic system analyses for scope and technical feasibility assessments.

Roadmap development: SNP Business experts analyse the organisation's landscape and help to design a target blueprint and set up a transformation project plan. They provide guidance through best practices and a detailed SNP Transformation Roadmap.

Benchmarking: SNP Transformation Warehouse provides templates and benchmarks built from more than 1 500 transformation projects.

In addition to these 'backbone' modules, SNP offers multiple units that are highly optimised for specific ERP transformation scenarios, such as SAP version upgrades and Unicode conversions:

* SNP Dragoman - automates and simplifies language translation
* Client Merge - harmonises and streamlines the merging of two ERP environments
* Client HR Merge - speeds the merging of diverse HR administration systems
* Client Split - automates the division of an ERP client into multiple target systems
* Client Move - moves clients from any number of systems into multiple target systems
* Unit Upgrade - provides expert tools to efficiently manage SAP ERP, Enhancement/Service Pack upgrades
* Repository Harmonisation - enables accurate and reliable harmonisation of ERP data from multiple systems

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SNP ZA

SNP ZA is part of SNP AG, the leading supplier of software and software-related services for the transformation of ERP systems resulting from the restructuring of companies or technical innovation. With its SNP Business Landscape Transformation products, SNP supplies the first available standard software to adapt IT and business landscapes.

The company was founded in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1994 and operates offices in Austria, Switzerland, South Africa and the US. The company is listed in the General Standard at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In the fiscal year 2011, SNP AG posted sales of EUR27 million.

For more information, kindly contact:

Geoff Earnshaw
SNP Schneider-Neureither & Partner ZA
Tel: (+27) 11 510 0510
Mobile: (+27) 83 650 6699
E-mail: geoff.earnshaw@snp-ag.com

References:
1. Digital Transformation Study by MIT Center for Digital Business and Capgemini Consulting

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Julia Tew
Julia Tew Marketing & Communications
(+27) 11 784 6071
julia@juliatew.co.za