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►Strong demand for Workday and Oracle Fusion (SaaS):
≈75% of US HR clients using SaaS on periphery.
Half of HRO clients are evaluating Workday or Oracle Fusion – adoption still remains low however. Sunk cost in Oracle and SAP as well as immaturity of SaaS outside US are primary reasons.
►Demand for cloud-based email and collaboration picking up:
Microsoft 365 picking up steam over Google Apps.
More interest in contracting directly than via a SI.
►ServiceNow continues to displace traditional on-premises ITSM platforms; internal “all advisor” discussions picking up considerably.
►SAP as-a-service: client brings license, provider transforms to service
HR, CRM, ITSM and email lead the way; SAP as-a-service has moved into the mainstream…
►Renew, restructure, recomplete infrastructure clients want to evaluate new delivery models and expect cloud-like features to be a significant portion of new service.
►Reducing provisioning times from weeks to hours/days is #1 priority.
►However, final agreement typically has very little cloud. Here’s why:
Apps not considered upfront ; significant modernization required for legacy apps to run on shared platforms.
Retained org does not have skills, or see value, in self-provisioning.
Lack of business case; clients don’t know how much they use today.
Inability of provider to educate client on strategic benefits of shared platforms, and the relationship between different delivery models.
We’re seeing the promise of “as-a-service” giving way to gradual transition to dedicated, standardized & virtualized infrastructures…
Pay only for what you use High* Do you know how much you use?
Self-service provisioning High* Does retained org have skills?
Rapid provisioning High SLAs for both dedicated & shared
Lower TCO Medium Assumes large % of low tier storage?
Transparent pricing Medium Unit pricing vs. summary
Inherent modernization Medium Transformation required to get there
Highly elastic Low Is there a RRC threshold?
Robust service tiers Low What % of apps need platinum?
Fewer maintenance windows Low Will standard work for client?
Majority of time spent on deals with IaaS in scope: determining where applications will land, rationalizing delivery models and service tiers, developing business case.
* Initially high, then generally moves to medium or low during discovery
Cloud is a disruptive force; not a technology. Use this disruption to help clients move faster, and modernize.
► Clients do not yet understand the value of using a enterprise level partner for cloud; help them see significant value in exchange for marginal cost difference (e.g., Service Integration, SLAs, liability).
► Accept that hybrid, multi-sourced models are the new norm. Creating ITSM and orchestration layers to sit on top of this model is key.
► Clients do not yet fully appreciate the linkage between shared platforms and staying modern; key strategic benefit.
► Analytics generally inherent in shared platforms; key strategic benefit.
► For shared platforms, full transparency is key; this applies to external audits, pricing and operations. Provide web 2.0 forum for customers.
References
► Provide tangible, client-driven examples of how cloud technology can speed up operations, especially in upgrade avoidance and OS provisioning.
► Provide cost savings or cost avoidance case studies; reference-ready clients with production examples key.