Best kept secret for SMEs?

Hence the London roundtable last month, at which Eric Duffaut, SAP's global ecosystem president, stated that 80% of its business is with SMEs. Indeed, there are 32,000 out there on Business One ERP alone, he says – not to mention SAP's Business By Design cloud-based ERP, nor its BusinessObjects software. For him, it's clear: SAP develops the business systems, IT platforms, mobile technology etc, while its partners provide the rest. And that includes industry-specific functionality and wrap-around services. So manufacturing SMEs can buy into serious ERP and never run out of steam. Sounds rosy? Critics would argue that innovation and adaptability haven't typically been hallmarks of SAP software – and that matters today. However, if we are to believe SAP's manufacturing users, they would be wrong. Keith Ross, company secretary with aerospace seats manufacturer Ipeco, reports that his Business All in One ERP solution – which started life in 2005 and was rolled out to nine sites – remains "very successful". He challenges those who cast aspersions upon SAP, insisting that one of its great virtues is its consistency in the face of complexity. Meanwhile, Andrew Leese, IT director at Tennants Fine Chemicals, which went for Business By Design, also reports success. This organisation needed to get out of the then parent company's SAP R/3, preparatory to divestiture. "We needed a system in fast, and we wanted it to run the business, not spend money managing the technology," quips Leese. And he explains that the cloud approach is saving "well over 35% of yearly running costs". Could cloud be cathartic for manufacturers and SAP alike? SAP partner 2E2 reckons it could, stating that it's done more than £250 million worth of cloud-related business already this year – albeit only £25 million on SaaS (software as a service) ERP. 2E2 head of solutions David Maitland makes the point that not only do manufacturers get one-time savings by slashing the cost of infrastructure and IT people, but they can also evolve very fast. That, he says, is a direct result of Business By Design's sheer flexibility and adaptability, in terms of cloud provisioning and the rest. Did you see what he did there?