Nordic Enterprises Moving Forward with SAP S/4HANA Initiatives to Meet Challenges of COVID-19

Enterprises in the Nordics are addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting cloud services and reworking their IT strategies and technology roadmaps, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ SAP HANA Ecosystem Services report for the Nordics finds large-scale, long-term system transformations in the region, including SAP S/4HANA projects, have continued despite slowing down briefly early in the pandemic. To continue operating under the new business conditions, many companies are moving their workloads to the cloud.

“With help from service providers, companies in the Nordics continue to innovate with SAP applications,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Providers’ skilled management of offshore services have kept SAP projects on plan, with only minor delays due to the pandemic.”

Many enterprises in the region used SAP S/4HANA transformations to keep supply chains running smoothly and enable new channels for reaching customers under sudden lockdown requirements, the report says. Providers developed and deployed proprietary warehouse management solutions using SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and helped clients quickly deploy cloud-based SAP solutions for business continuity.

SAP has major plans to grow in the Nordics, and providers are preparing to capture their share of the burgeoning market with new services and contract renewals, ISG says. As applications move to the cloud, providers increasingly are deploying analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to derive information from SAP that can drive business decisions.

The shift to working from home during the pandemic has led service providers to rethink the mix of onshore and offshore talent in their delivery models to focus on employee safety and cost optimization, according to the report. Most of their work around SAP services, including showcasing proofs of concept and managed services, is now being delivered remotely.

Many SAP service providers now offer outcome-based engagements with clients, including risk-sharing and gain-sharing arrangements, and Nordic enterprises increasingly are embracing these models, ISG says. Providers are using historical data to determine the optimal percentage profit level for delivering outcome-based services. In addition, while some providers are focused on cloud propositions and partnerships with hyperscalers, many are delivering business transformation services through the recently introduced “RISE with SAP” program.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ SAP HANA Ecosystem Services report for the Nordics evaluates the capabilities of 29 providers across four quadrants: SAP S/4HANA System Transformation, Managed Application Services for SAP ERP, SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and Intelligent Technologies, and Managed Cloud Services for SAP HANA.

The report names Accenture, Capgemini, HCL, IBM, TCS and TietoEVRY as Leaders in all four quadrants. It names Atos as a Leader in three quadrants and Cognizant and Tech Mahindra as Leaders in two quadrants each. Infosys, Neomore Consulting, NTT DATA and T-Systems are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Infosys is named a Rising Star—a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential,” by ISG’s definition—in two quadrants. Neomore Consulting and T-Systems are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant each.

A customized version of the report is available from Neomore Consulting.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ SAP HANA Ecosystem Services report for the Nordicsis available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, the U.K., France, the Nordics, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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Contact information

Will Thoretz, ISG
+1 203 517 3119
will.thoretz@isg-one.com

Erik Arvidson, Matter Communications for ISG
+1 617 874 5214
isg@matternow.com