University still living in the Nineties seeks help with move to SAP S/4HANA
- Reference: 1673947806
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/01/17/leeds_university_sap/
- Source link:
The institution said it wanted to migrate away from its existing SAP ECC6 environment that has been in place from 1999.
"Since then, the environment has been added to, extending SAP and expanding the systems supporting HR, Finance and Purchasing with other third-party offerings. This has led to an environment in need of simplification and systematisation," it said in a [1]procurement notice .
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"The university now wishes to upgrade to SAP S/4 HANA (to ensure interoperability with current systems to be maintained) and move to a new operating model for business support services which is compatible with the institution's existing infrastructure."
[3]
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Myriad customizations, additions and extensions to set alarm bells ringing in the ears of experienced ERP professionals. Not only does the technical complexity need to be understood, users must also accept new ways of working to get to grips with the new system. The combined challenge represents the rocky headland on which many an ERP migration voyage has foundered.
To stay afloat, the university is seeking an SI to help with the migration to SAP S/4HANA software as a service "to implement, integrate and configure that solution."
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The initial contract value is around £11 million ($13.4 million) for implementation, with annual recurring charges of approximately £1.5 million to £2.5 million ($3 million), the notice said.
Additional documentation pointed out that the university's current technology solution for finance and payroll, purchasing and HR, based on ECC6, will see support end in 2025 "with extensions likely only available as far as 2027 and then at much-increased cost."
"A replacement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution needs to be implemented in advance to ensure the University has continuity of operations… The University needs to switch from operating variable non-standard, often complex processes with an undue reliance on manual activity to business-led process re-design to implement standardised, streamlined processes that are technology-enabled," it said.
[6]$20m SAP ECC replacement project delayed because UK university unsure what it wants
[7]When ERP projects go bad: Surrey County Council's £30m ditch SAP effort delayed again
[8]Don't expect another SAP support deadline extension, user group warns
[9]SAP still struggling to convert ECC customers to S/4HANA, says Gartner
The university expects to appoint a supplier by September with the initial contract lasting three years with options to extend for two years. It said during 2022 it had worked to create a "Target Operating Model" for new processes covering finance, purchasing and HR.
To migrate to S/4HANA, SAP [10]stipulates a "clear core" approach, meaning there are minimum dependencies on the existing ECC software.
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Customers have been warned that cloud-based SaaS implementations should not carry over any customization. In 2020, Oliver Betz, SVP head of product management for SAP S/4HANA, [12]told UK users the transition "requires standardization which needs to happen on the customer side: they have to agree on standardized processes. You cannot have these modifications that you had in the on-premises world, that's not how the cloud works."
In a [13]blog published in December 2022 , Gavin Beere, the university's director of the corporate processes and systems program promised it would standardize business processes, clean up data and make it easier to transact, plan, forecast and report.
"It's no simple task. Before arriving at Leeds, I led a similar transformational programme at Yorkshire Water. Change on this scale is complex. The team is working hard to understand the systems and processes we currently use, where we need to get to, and how we get there," he said. ®
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[1] https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/74a75c6a-3c84-42a4-9383-6e0f45e8863b
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y8Z-1vfMfAlIQFE32a1zxQAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y8Z-1vfMfAlIQFE32a1zxQAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y8Z-1vfMfAlIQFE32a1zxQAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y8Z-1vfMfAlIQFE32a1zxQAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/03/city_london_delays_sap_rollout/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/19/surrey_county_council_30_million/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/13/dont_expect_another_sap_support/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/06/sap_ecc_s4hana_gartner/
[10] https://blogs.sap.com/2021/06/04/practical-guide-to-clean-core-custom-development-for-s4-hana/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y8Z-1vfMfAlIQFE32a1zxQAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/09/erp_cloud_sap_ukisug/
[13] https://forstaff.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/7898/blog-from-gavin-beere-director-of-the-corporate-processes-and-systems-programme
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
That isn't going to work. That would mean that all Universities are equal. Clearly, (at least to themselves), some Universities are more equal than others.
(It's not a bad idea, it just won't work)
Unseen University is closer to fact than fiction.
and then all use the same one
I can't believe it's not Cambridge!
Cloud
You cannot have these modifications that you had in the on-premises world, that's not how the cloud works.
Such a patronising statement. I thought the cloud is just someone else's computer that is supposed to have better uptime than the one in one's closet?
But this was inevitable - once big corporations take over the means of hosting, they'll dictate the terms of what you can't or can't run and what your organisation has to do.
It's a huge overstep.
Funny thing is that there is absolutely no reason for these apps to run on the "cloud" other than greed. Maybe regulators should look into that.
Dodged this bullet!
In 1997, I had the option of 2 jobs, one of which was with Nestlé as part of their big SAP project. That would have pushed my career into SAP ERP.
So glad I went for the other job - I still like playing with data.
Project already pre-doomed
"Since then, the environment has been added to, extending SAP and expanding the systems supporting HR, Finance and Purchasing with other third-party offerings"
The very definition, according to SAP, of an installation that is not going to work in S4.
Surely, if the existing system kinda-works, the correct move is to find a new system (not SAP) that does what the core of ECC6 is doing, integrating with the existing 3rd party components. That would be cheaper, solve the "going out of support" problem, and is less likely to crash and burn.
But looks less impressive on the Chancellor's CV.
Minor correction
>>> But looks less impressive on the Chancellor's CV.
No it won't. A University's Chancellor is typically a figure-head. You are probably thinking of the Vice-Chancellor who is more-or-less the University's Chief Executive. (Title may vary at different Universities but the distinction typically remains.)
In my day at Leeds the Chancellor was HRH The Dutchess of Kent, from whom I recieved my own degree diploma. Today it's Professor Dame Jane Francis.
Re: Project already pre-doomed
Can't they get students to write such a system as a part of curriculum?
Universities should be able to prove that they can "produce" students being able to work in real world situations. Creating such system, that other universities could also contribute to could be one of the ways to refresh the image of stagnating education system.
Why does every university apparently have completely differing requirements; surely it would make most sense for them to get together, establish what they need and then all use the same one - the savings both in monetary terms and aggravation should be massive.