Organizations are always looking for ways to streamline their operations and improve efficiency. One way they are doing so is by adopting SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), according to recent research from ASUG and SAP. The research found that most SAP customers either use or plan to use SAP BTP, and that they value having one environment for data analysis, building applications, automation, and integration.

‘Strong’ Awareness of BTP

Nearly all survey respondents know about SAP BTP, with 35% currently using the platform. And the use of the platform is delivering value to organizations. Current users of SAP BTP feel the platform is extremely beneficial (nearly 60%), while the bulk of those considering it for future use mostly see it as somewhat beneficial.

The research also found that, of the technologies that make up SAP BTP, integration is overwhelmingly the most important technology to organizations currently using SAP BTP, with more than half noting application development and analytics as important features. Also, among those currently using SAP BTP, connecting business applications and data across the enterprise is the top benefit SAP BTP users experience. This reflects the importance of SAP BTP as an integration platform. The ability to customize SAP applications while keeping the core clean and gaining access to technologies on one platform from one vendor is also seen as a significant benefit.

Most respondents (62%) agreed that a single, unified technology platform from one vendor is more beneficial than a best-of-breed approach. Customers also make decisions that align with their beliefs in a single vendor. Most choose to run SAP BTP with only SAP Cloud and using SAP for most of their application development/process integration needs.

SAP customers feel that access to more passive forms of learning like online technical tutorials/videos and customer case stories of real-use cases of SAP BTP would be most useful to better understand and expand their knowledge of SAP BTP. This suggests that customers want to learn hands-on information at their own pace and on their own schedule and would benefit from having information available in one place.

For respondents not using SAP BTP, they anticipated fewer benefits than SAP BTP users experienced in connecting business applications and data across the enterprise. They expected more benefits in automating/optimizing business processes and driving better decisions with analytics and/or planning. More benefits were also anticipated than experienced in enabling insights and visibility into operations and offering users the freedom to develop with low-code/no-code tools.

Key Takeaways

  • Customers not currently using SAP BTP need more information to manage their expectations of outcomes better, while current users need more guidance on how to optimize their investment in certain areas.
    • Special attention should be paid to automating and optimizing business processes as this is the number one outcome that could ideally benefit organizations not currently using SAP BTP and was one of the least noted outcomes current users benefit from.
    • Driving better decisions with analytics and/or planning, enabling insights and visibility into operations, and giving the user freedom to develop with low-code/no-code are all other outcomes that current users experience the least and need more support to optimize.
  • Organizations can better connect applications and data across their enterprise with SAP BTP. This is the highest benefit received by current SAP BTP users and a top benefit prospective users hope to receive.
  • Current users said SAP BTP improves their ERP journey to the cloud, with the seamless integration of SAP S/4HANA Cloud with applications in their technology landscapes.

You can explore more of this research on SAP BTP here. And for all ASUG Research, log in to your ASUG.com account.

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