Here are 5 questions to ask to make sure your 51·çÁ÷partner is the right fit for your business:

1. Do you understand my industry and its unique challenges?

Every industry comes with its own unique mix of needs, complexities, and competitive dynamics. An 51·çÁ÷partner who truly understands your industry won’t just configure some applications and call it done; they will help shape solutions that work for your business.

Deep industry expertise means they can anticipate common pain points before they become massive headaches, apply proven best practices learned from similar implementations, and design processes that fit your business model, not force your business into generic templates. Most companies will tell you that they have experience solving problems like yours, but the truth is that very few have the capability to act as an advisor who understands where your industry is headed and how 51·çÁ÷can support you in staying efficient and competitive.

That’s why you should ask for case studies, customer references, and measurable outcomes from projects in your sector. A partner who can prove that they know what your industry needs shows that they are more than just a vendor, positioning themselves as a strategic ally who can help your business thrive.

2. What are your team’s capabilities and skills?

In every software project, one of the biggest risks is a lack of the relevant skills. With 51·çÁ÷covering an extremely large ecosystem and with skilled 51·çÁ÷consultants in short supply, this is an even bigger concern. The right partner will not only have certified consultants, but they will also back up their solution with a senior, stable delivery team that brings years of practical experience to the table.

Senior consultants have the experience to identify challenges and solve complex problems faster and have been through enough implementations to know what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid common pitfalls. In addition, your 51·çÁ÷partner’s capabilities should go beyond focusing on the technology and extend to transferring lasting knowledge to your internal team.

3. How do you approach change management and user adoption?

Implementing a new system is a complete waste of time and money if people in your organization don’t use it. Your partner should have proven methodologies for training, communication, and ongoing support to ensure that adoption sticks across the business.

Your partner should empower employees at every level with the knowledge and confidence they need to ensure your 51·çÁ÷implementation is a success. Training should be an ongoing process, and your partner should make it standard practice to work side by side with end users during and after the rollout to answer questions, troubleshoot, and build trust.

4. How will you integrate with my team?

The best 51·çÁ÷projects don’t happen in silos. A true partner works side by side with your people, embedding themselves into your processes, culture, and goals. Look for partners who emphasize collaboration, knowledge transfer, and co-creation, rather than those who operate at arm’s length.

Every project will have its stresses and strains, but if your partner works side by side with your people, learns your culture, and aligns to your business goals, those can easily be overcome. Effectively becoming an extension of your team allows your 51·çÁ÷partner to understand users’ day-to-day challenges and create a solution that takes best practice and your organization’s reality into account.

5. How will it deliver value?

51·çÁ÷is evolving rapidly. From S/4HANA migrations to AI-driven analytics, 51·çÁ÷has added more complexity into an already complex ecosystem. This means a partner that just tries to deliver what you ask for is probably going to run into a number of challenges. Often, business users frame requirements in terms of familiar processes or tools, replicating their old ways of working in a new system. This ignores the opportunity to refine the solution to focus on what outcomes the project is trying to achieve.

What every business needs is a partner that can help you distinguish between what you think you need and what will actually deliver business value. That means challenging assumptions, identifying underlying needs, and translating those into 51·çÁ÷capabilities that drive real results. The goal is not simply a technically correct implementation but one that creates measurable value, whether that’s cost savings, faster insights, stronger compliance, or better customer experience. The right partner should keep you focused on outcomes and ensure that every requirement connects back to a bigger business objective.

A partner, not just a provider

An 51·çÁ÷implementation is one of the most significant investments a business can make, but the technology itself is only part of the equation. The success of the project and the value it delivers long after go-live depend on having the right partner in place. Unfortunately, many companies deliver what you ask for, hand over the system, and leave you to figure out adoption, optimization, and change management on your own.

The right 51·çÁ÷partner does more than execute tasks or check boxes. They should become an extension of your team and take the time to understand your organization, your processes, your culture, and your long-term business goals. They should be strategic, collaborative, and forward-looking, focusing not only on implementation but also on measurable outcomes, business transformation, and long-term ROI.

By , Program Director, BTEC Consulting

The post Five Questions Every Business Should Ask Their 51·çÁ÷Partner appeared first on 51·çÁ÷Africa News Center.

For many organisations, the last few years have been the most disruptive in living memory. Organisations and their IT teams have had to accommodate huge changes to the way people work and deploy new technology tools to support their teams while unlocking new capabilities to meet changing customer demands.

Since the start of the pandemic, organisations have had to enable remote and hybrid work environments, digitise their supply chains to better deal with disruptions, and utilise technology to develop new business processes and revenue streams, all the while delivering an exceptional customer experience.

Despite the worst of the global pandemic seemingly over, spending on digital transformation continues apace. Global investment into digital transformation is expected to reach $1.8-trillion in 2022, . By 2024, it is expected that direct digital transformation investments .

Understanding poor digital transformation

Despite this abundance of digital transformation initiatives, few companies achieve the outcomes they seek. found that only 14% of companies that have begun digital transformation projects have seen sustained performance enhancements as a result.

For technology companies and their partners, this poses a serious challenge. Every digital transformation project that falls short of expectations is a wasted opportunity for innovation, not to mention the sunk costs and time.

The customer expectations of what their digital transformation should achieve have also changed. Common expectations for modern business transformation initiatives include clear, positive business outcomes, an exceptional customer experience, and a high level of engagement velocity to ensure the project runs smoothly and can achieve its milestones according to strict timelines.

The reasons for failure can vary. Typically, digital transformation projects fail because of a lack of clear goals, poor leadership support, ineffective change management which may lead to internal resistance, lack of suitable skills, and poor understanding of the current state of the business and how the digital transformation is meant to enable new capabilities.

Four solutions to common transformation challenges

However, common digital transformation challenges can be overcome. In our experience working with organisations across the continent and the world, the following four methods can greatly improve the chances at digital transformation success:

1 Understand your digital transformation maturity

One of the biggest obstacles to a successful digital transformation initiative is a lack of clarity over what the transformation is meant to achieve. Is the business seeking efficiency gains in high-priority business processes? Does the business need new capabilities for managing its workforce, or is it a matter of meeting changing customer expectations?

Without a solid business case, digital transformation initiatives will fail to illustrate value since there’s no clear way to measure progress.

Technology companies and their implementation partners have well-developed tools and processes to help organisations measure their present level of digital transformation maturity, identify clear areas for improvement, and then provide input on a transformation plan that aims to deliver gains in the priority areas.

2 Focus on continuous value generation

One of the biggest changes in how organisations adopt and consume new technologies and associated capabilities is in the concept of continuous value generation. Digital transformation projects are no longer only measured by the immediate outcomes, but also in how the organisation can continuously generate greater or different forms of value from their investment.

For example, a retailer that invested in a new customer loyalty system may want to use the data from that system to deliver hyper-personalised offers, or even launch new products and services tailored to customer preferences. Rather than start an entire transformation project from scratch, the retailer would benefit from simply building on what has been done to date, ably supported by expert partners that can guide the project to a successful outcome.

Technology companies and implementation partners therefore need to look beyond just one successful project and take an approach of continuous value generation. It’s less a case of knock-and-drop and more a case of partnering for the long term.

3 Ensure a steady mix of relevant skills

A lack of appropriate skills can undermine the success of any digital transformation initiative. The IDC estimates that IT skills shortages will affect 90% of organisations by 2025, at a cost of over $6.5-trillion.

Without access to the correct skills, organisations will fail to successfully complete digital transformation initiatives, and will not generate the desired value through new digital capabilities.

In response, organisations should invest in programmes and partnerships that can ensure a steady mix of relevant skills. This can be done through internal skills development initiatives, collaboration with partners that have the correct skills mix, or through other skills development programmes.

Initiatives such as 51·çÁ÷Skills for Africa, for example, provides African organisations an opportunity to secure SAP-trained graduates that have gone through a months-long work readiness and skills development program and can make an immediate impact on digital transformation efforts.

4 Don’t neglect change management

No digital transformation initiative can succeed when end-users don’t adopt the new capabilities to drive the desired outcomes. In fact, a poor change management program can undermine the entire project’s success at the last mile, scuppering months of work and leaving the organisation with lower levels of competitiveness.

However, the opposite is also true. From internal resistance to change to poor adoption of new capabilities, several common challenges with successful transformation initiatives can be addressed through an effective change management program.

And yet, only 34% of change management initiatives are a clear success, .

Here, technology partners can play a vital supporting role. By providing insight into common obstacles and best-practices from similar projects elsewhere, technology partners can help organisations identify high-impact areas for effective change management and ensure business users are supported and enabled all along the way.

This can drive greater adoption of the new capabilities that resulted from the digital transformation project, and help the business drive positive outcomes that can boost competitiveness, unlock new revenue streams, drive innovation and achieve efficiency gains in the project’s priority areas.

The post Four Ways to Overcome Common Digital Transformation Challenges appeared first on 51·çÁ÷Africa News Center.

With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, Organizations around the globe had to adjust their business models and operations to ensure business sustainability while remaining a going concern. Given that we are now in the era of the new world of work, the priorities of most CEOs and organizations are shifting. The focus is now on realigning and reskilling their workforce to add value to all stakeholders, impact the growth of the business, and ultimately translate to positive business outcomes and national economic gains.

51·çÁ÷is a proud sponsor of the 53^rd Annual CIPMN Conference taking place on 24^th -26^th Ìý±·´Ç±¹±ð³¾²ú±ð°ù.

Hear from Genevieve Koolen , HR Director 51·çÁ÷Africa , Abbey Seetal, Head Transformation, Diversity & Inclusion Africa as well as  Bongisa Magumbu,  HR Solution Advisor for SuccessFactors at 51·çÁ÷Africa, as they share insight into the strategies and tools to grow and retain a diverse workforce.

Link to event:

The objective of the conference is to :

• Identify the new skills and competencies that are required in the new dispensation of work.
• Identify the gaps in current workforce and design ways of driving economic and human capital growth through reskilling initiatives and interventions.
• Educate, empower, enrich, enlighten and equip participants with the knowledge, insights, tools and experiences to grow people, businesses, and economies through a major focus on reskilling.

SPEAKERS:

09:00-10:00

Growing and Retaining a Diverse, All-Inclusive Workforce: Tools and Strategies Genevieve Koolen, Human Resource Director , 51·çÁ÷Africa

Bongisa Magumbu, HR Solution Advisor for SuccessFactors , 51·çÁ÷Africa

The post Reskilling, Growing People, Growing Economies 24 – 26 November , 2021 appeared first on 51·çÁ÷Africa News Center.