As we head into our fast-approaching ASUG Best Practices: SAP for EAM conference in March, we’re reflecting on our recent EAM research. Earlier this week, ASUG presented its State of Enterprise Asset Management for SAP Customers in 2022 research in a webcast. We underscored some of the key trends, pain points, and technologies that ASUG members have observed in the EAM field. For this webcast, Jeff Smith, master data program manager at Loudoun Water, joined Marissa Gilbert, research director at ASUG. Together they broke down the data and provided insights and context regarding what the research means. Here are some highlights from the webcast.
Top EAM Trends
Gilbert and Smith kicked off the webcast by detailing the most prevalent trends gathered from the research. A main trend present throughout the research was the importance SAP EAM customers are placing on the transition to proactive—as opposed to reactive—maintenance by leveraging real-time analytics.
“SAP EAM customers are aspiring to be more proactive with their approach to EAM projects,” Gilbert said.
Smith further underlined the importance of this trend, noting that access to real-time analytics helps customers make better-informed decisions faster, which is crucial in business operations.
Another key trend from the research was the sheer importance of mobility capabilities for EAM customers. Gilbert noted that mobile technologies give users access to real-time asset monitoring, and these technologies are quickly becoming vital for businesses. The research showed that 40% of respondents are currently using mobility-related technology across their entire organization. Meanwhile, 35% are using it in the field, and 24% are planning on implementing the technology in the near future.
Pain Points for EAM Customers
The webcast also focused on the major pain points respondents indicated their businesses were facing. One of the recurring points focused on cybersecurity and managing cybersecurity threats, especially as many organizations have shifted to remote working in the wake of COVID-19. This has presented some security challenges for companies. Additionally, many respondents indicated that migrating to the cloud has also raised some cybersecurity questions.
Another pain point Gilbert and Smith covered was upskilling employees and finding adequately trained talent fast enough to meet the speed of technology development.
“Customers feel like they aren’t able to train staff adequately,” Gilbert said.
Smith underlined the importance of continuous training.
“We need to get back to training,” he said. “There are just so many new platforms to use."