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SAP All-in-One – Future Proof ERP for Midsized Enterprises?

Helmuth Gümbel

 

Why You Need to Read This Paper

This paper is intended to supply CEOs and CIOs with the information needed to critically
assess their future investments in SAP All in One.

In this paper, we analyze the main architecture of All-in-One, the consequences for key features
such as scalability and adaptability for users and partners, the future of the product,
and the background that future developments will occur against. This background is formed
mainly by SAP having to redo its whole product set in the next five years. SAP needs to reinvent
its business and address its two most critical issues:
1) free customers from their current cost and complexity and
2) deliver a new architecture to carry them into the future.

SAP has been successful with its high end enterprise application software. However, SAP
has been trying to replicate this success in the lower end ERP market for more than 10 years
with mixed achievement. The first attempts all focused on solving this task by repackaging the R/3 suite of products.
Various names for different attempts spring to mind: Heidelberg (a project name for R/3 on a laptop),
Ready to Run, Ready to Work, and, lately Kayak (a project name) spring to mind.
Of all these, only All-in-One made it to the market. All-in-One is particularly attractive for enterprises
that want to have access to the rich functionality of mySAP (previously R/3)
without having to go through the pains of implementing and running a vastly complex ERP-product like mySAP ERP.
Here, we discuss the following issues:

  • How effective is All-in-One in reducing complexity and cost of operation? Is it really “All-in-One”?

  • What are the issues of customers outgrowing All-in-One?

  • Is All-in-One well aligned with SAP’s product cycle? Is it “future-proof”?

  • What is the role of SAP’s All-in-One partners?

  • SAP is restructuring its product set around a new service oriented architecture based on NetWeaver.
    This has started to affect All-in-One. While the Enterprise Service Architecture opens new possibilities,
    it also makes the product potentially more complex. We will also discuss the consequences for All-in-One users and partners.


    You can view or download this white paper in PDF-format by clicking here: A1 Paper 1.0 r.PDF