It’s no surprise the flourishing SAP ecosystem is a gold mine for service providers throughout the IT ecosystem. In a new study from IDC, it’s estimated that SAP partners around the world may earn $33.6 billion in revenue over the next five years with cloud and managed services.
According to IDC: ”…customers are moving to the cloud and managed services from traditional IT platforms, which in turn is driving new opportunities for the SAP partner ecosystem to aid in the transition. Customers want to move to the cloud to reduce costs and IT staff size, shift expenses from capital expenses to a pay-as-you-go subscription model, access new functionality quicker, improve resource utilization, increase direct IT solutions control and have the ability to generate revenue faster.”
Suffice it to say, the opportunity for today’s IT service providers is massive and spans everything from professional services and software support to re-selling and distribution (and the list goes on). Value-added resellers (VARs), managed service providers (MSPs) and system integrators (SIs) are all chomping at the bit to get a piece of this lucrative, billion-dollar pie.
To complicate matters, a global SAP talent shortage is making it increasingly difficult for them to access the talent they need to bid on contracts and service existing deployments. “The shortage of experienced SAP talent is so severe that some companies could be putting their deployments at risk, and in other cases on hold,” says David Foote, president and chief research officer of Footer Partners LLC, a research firm that closely follows IT skills and pay trends, including those related to SAP.
On-Demand SAP Talent Pools
So how are today’s service providers tapping into the SAP talent they need to remain competitive?
Some are turning to on-demand talent marketplaces, like WorkMarket, that aggregate a diverse collection of the industry’s top SAP talent–professionals ranging from pre- and post sales to HCM and CRM consultants. These marketplaces allow businesses to create, and curate, talent pools of specialized SAP talent they can access as needed (i.e. on-demand) to bid on new deployments, augment existing resources and more efficiently scale their workforce.
With billions of dollars up for grab, the ability to access SAP talent on-demand can provide businesses with a massive competitive advantage. Not only can they reduce overhead costs by deploying a workforce of 1099 SAP consultants, they can pursue more market opportunities without having to invest into full time-resources to do so.
Leveraging on-demand marketplace capabilities (talent pools, eBay-like marketplace ratings, etc.), businesses can not only access the SAP talent they need, but also engage them in a multitude of ways to drive value for their organizations. What are some of the ways today’s service providers are engaging SAP talent?
Proof-of-Concept (POC) Work
- Identify current process
- Identify pains (isolate technical issues)
- Suggest overall direction; showcase SAP solution
Custom, On-site Demo Work
- Capitalize on new, custom SAP projects
- Ensure your team has access to the technical requirements documentation
- Discuss project timelines and deliverables to ensure expectations are aligned
Agents of Discovery (due diligence)
- Determine the number of hours required to perform the required due diligence
- Arm your team with the requirements for discovery
- Identify the final project deliverables
Delivery
- Implementation of Rapid Deployment Solutions
- Improves the reach, quality, and user experience
- Supports new solution deployments and expansion of IT landscapes
Service
- Standardize the delivery of IT services across business units and suppliers
- Implementation of software, infrastructure and operational processes
- Support and maintenance of on-site equipment
Considering what’s at stake, it’s no surprise how competitive the SAP talent wars have become. Simply put, today’s IT service providers must find new ways to find and engage the free-agent SAP professionals in the marketplace. On-demand SAP talent pools will be instrumental in driving growth and allowing today’s businesses to expand their piece of the $33.6 billion pie.
WorkMarket is helping service providers of all sizes bridge the SAP talent gap and arming them with the tools and capabilities they need to engage SAP talent and generate value for their business.
Check out WorkMarket’s different SAP groups and be sure to stay tuned to our next post in this series about using WorkMarket to respond quicker to SAP market opportunities using intelligent routing and streamlined assignment flows.
