Recognising the shift towards wider business involvement in a range of IT initiatives, the SAP Australian User Group (SAUG) has expanded the scope of its former CIO Council to include other senior executives.
The new SAUG Executive Council (SEC) will bring together IT and non-IT C-level, VP and director-level participants, to be the executive influence body within the SAP ecosystem, providing a voice to SAP on products, strategy, service offerings and new initiatives.
The penetration of new technologies, including mobile applications, cloud computing and enhanced data analysis capability, has resulted in C-level executives from business units such as HR, marketing, procurement, sales, finance and operations being involved in high-level IT decision-making.
John Ansley, chairman of the SEC Steering Committee and president, supply chain solutions and CIO, Linfox Australia, says, “The advent of new products and services coming from SAP over the last few years has really broadened the audience we needed to reach. In many cases, SAP and the implementation partners are having direct interaction with the director of HR, chief procurement officer, or chief security officer, so we wanted to make sure we were being much more inclusive.”
Brett Proposch, CIO at Officeworks, says because IT is such an enabler across the business, more senior executives want to understand it better. Greater involvement can also help to reinforce the value of new initiatives.
“From a CIO’s point of view, when you’re trying to deliver something new, you need your sponsor involved and to buy into what you’re doing – whether it’s the technology or what you’re delivering,” he says. “So it’s helpful to be able to bring them along and hear from other people that you’re on the right track.”
In planning the evolution of the CIO Council towards broader membership, the SAUG consulted with the Americas SAP User Group, which has successfully transitioned its executive group from purely IT to a wider C-level audience.
The SAP Executive Council will meet twice annually, with the aim of fostering three-way engagement between SAP, SAUG and customer senior executives.
“As part of this group, C-level executives actively participate in both the long-term roadmap and short-term solution investment opportunities with SAP and become part of ongoing discussion and evolution of SAP initiatives,” Ansley says.
Aside from this close interaction with the SAP leadership team, the opportunity for knowledge-sharing with industry peers is highly valued by members, with each meeting featuring presentations by those who have walked the path before.
“A lot of people are interested in how people are faring with their various SAP solutions, including cloud-based and mobile technologies, what are the lessons learnt during implementations, and where are the quick wins and benefits to be gained,” Ansley says.
Proposch agrees.
“Whether it is on projects, resourcing or new technology, there is a huge amount of value in meeting other CIOs and decision-makers in that area to share experiences around SAP,” he says.
The maturity of the SAP footprint of member organisations varies considerably, and this is another advantage of the group.
“Some companies have only really used SAP for the back office, and some have far broader and deeper uses of the technology, so if you’re thinking about how to move into mobility or what you should do with analytics in the whole big data push, then you’ve got a variety of people in the room who you can talk to or request a presentation from,” Ansley says. “In comparison to a lot of councils I’ve belonged to in the past, it seems to get the best engagement, as we’re all trying to gain benefit out of the same toolset.”
To join the SAP Executive Council, SAUG members must apply online on the SAUG website at www.saug.com.au, with applications subject to approval by the SEC Steering Committee.
The SEC’s next meeting will coincide with the 2013 SAUG Summit in Sydney.
This article was first published in Inside SAP Yearbook 2014 (September 2013).
