SDN Blogs: mid market: the skills shortage pain point

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Weblog: Is There Really an SAP Skills Shortage?

Subject: mid market: the skills shortage pain point

Date: 2008-05-13 15:11:30

From: david footeBusiness Card

I think one of the issues that you didn't mention is how size of company matters on this skills questions. When SAP focused on the mid market and
increased its penetration dramatically (with 2/3 of all SAP implementations now comprising that segment), it took on a tough skills challenge. This segment has different staffing behaviors than large companies, many more constraints nad fewer options, and much less wiggle room when it comes to internal skills development as a near term strategy to avoid having to go out to the market for talent or hiring expensive consultants from SAP. SAP's aggressiveness in developing mid market share and moving so fast with new products has caused the supply/demand gap to widen considerably, opening them up to criticism. You will see this played out in the press soon when they begin to report SAP implementation horror stories. There is much historical precedent to suggest this that shortages in specific categoies of workers cause poor implementation and blown projects. And in this economy, patience can wear awfully thin with executives approving SAP budgets.

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Weblog:		Is There Really an SAP Skills Shortage?
Subject:		mid market: the skills shortage pain point
Date:		2008-05-13 15:11:30
From:		david footeBusiness Card


I think one of the issues that you didn't mention is how size of company matters on this skills questions. When SAP focused on the mid market and increased its penetration dramatically (with 2/3 of all SAP implementations now comprising that segment), it took on a tough skills challenge. This segment has different staffing behaviors than large companies, many more constraints nad fewer options, and much less wiggle room when it comes to internal skills development as a near term strategy to avoid having to go out to the market for talent or hiring expensive consultants from SAP. SAP's aggressiveness in developing mid market share and moving so fast with new products has caused the supply/demand gap to widen considerably, opening them up to criticism. You will see this played out in the press soon when they begin to report SAP implementation horror stories. There is much historical precedent to suggest this that shortages in specific categoies of workers cause poor implementation and blown projects. And in this economy, patience can wear awfully thin with executives approving SAP budgets.