SAP SuccessFactors Pushes Cloud Platform and Integration Beyond its HCM Apps

SAP’s Cloud platform and integration strategy is gathering momentum as the enterprise software heavyweight is pushing its stack beyond the boundaries of its applications, all in the hopes of gaining wallet shares among its key accounts.

Nowhere is that more apparent than at SAP SuccessFactors, the HCM software operations that are already spreading the use of SAP HANA – its flagship database – across its 3,400 Employee Central customers including the likes of Wal-Mart (Latin America and Europe), Ball Corporation and HSBC. A year ago, SAP was the first large enterprise to run SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central on SAP HANA.

At SuccessConnect conference last week, Executive Vice President of Products & Applications Engineering, Amy Wilson unveiled that SuccessFactors will identify and close the employee experience gap with SuccessFactors HXM, a AI/ML powered platform that will combine the O-Data, the operational data from SuccessFactors and X-Data, the experience data from Qualtrics, SAP’s recent $8 billion acquisition.

The voice of the employee should be loud and clear in any organization and that will put employees in the driver’s seat. The HR trailblazers who take HXM (Human Experience Management) seriously will have a competitive edge, not only in talent management but in business performance as well.

After all, SAP SuccessFactors is now being led by Greg Tomb, who became its president in July 2017 after a 19-year career at SAP running different parts of its sales operations. Unlike his predecessors with limited exposure to SAP prior to their appointments at SAP SuccessFactors, Tomb is a consummate SAP insider with a firm belief in the integrated value of SAP’s vast technology portfolio.

During SuccessConnect, Greg pointed out that the number of SuccessFactors customers reached 6,800 unique logos with 125 million end-users and he expects that number to hit 7,000 by the end of the year. In the second quarter of 2019, SuccessFactors saw a 20% growth with its mounting Net New Name and Accel2Sell Customer Acquisition campaign. For the quarter, 25 customers moved from Workday to SuccessFactors, Tomb said. APJ, which is led by SVP and Head of APAC Jill Popelka, was the fastest-growing region for SuccessFactors with 35% increase in new users. 

Source: Apps Run The World, September 2019

SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals solution has surpassed 5,000 customers. Over 300 new clients chose the solution in the first half of 2019 to help keep their workforces passionate, performing and focused on the right objectives. These customers include Arrocera Los Corrales S.A. (ALCSA), CLAAS Group, Constructora EBCO S.A., Compartamos Banco and TÜV Rheinland Group.

With customers’ growing use of SuccessFactors for everything from analytics, performance management to recruiting and core HR, Wilson said SuccessFactors wants to place People at the Center of the business, including Individuals, Teams and Organizations, rather than just a cost item on the balance sheet anymore. The new SuccessFactors HXM platform, which is going to run on SAP HANA is expected to be generally available in 2020, along with the enhanced UI and easy to use mobile app.

Furthermore, SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics, which also runs on SAP HANA and leverages SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), will deliver business intelligence, advanced planning, and predictive capabilities within one product, according to Rob Wood, Principal Product Manager for SuccessFactors People Analytics. The umbrella names include:
– SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics, embedded edition (formerly Reporting)
– SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics, advanced edition (formerly Workforce Analytics)
– SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics, planning edition (formerly Workforce Planning)

The vendor’s roadmap also calls for extending SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) to other applications like SAP Concur, Ariba and Fieldglass, not to mention incorporating the analytics engine into its next-generation ERP product S/4 HANA.

Then, there is the use of APIs to help extend the SAP Cloud platform and integration strategy. In many respects, the HXM umbrella is a manifestation of how API integration is propelling SAP to reach beyond the four walls. Hundreds of microservices from over 200 HR-specific apps from Ingentis org.manager, Workforce Software, IBM and many other partners like Paradox, gnowbe, RallyBright and Censia from SAP.io, the investment arm of SAP, are already accessible by SuccessFactors customers.

Brian Ellison, SuccessFactors CTO, said among its 6,800 customers and 125 million users that are generating 1.2 billion transactions like leave request per day, 60% of API traffic is done outside of SuccessFactors apps.

At this week’s Tech-Ed event, SAP said more than 1,400 partners are building on SAP Cloud Platform, with more than 750 SAP Cloud Platform–based apps available on SAP App Center. The SuccessFactors Partner App ecosystem grew significantly this quarter to 235 unique apps in the SAP App Center, up from 180 in the previous quarter.

SuccessFactors customers are able to enhance and extend their enterprise and line-of-business and to drive innovation thanks to start-ups such as SafetyFactors for EH&S, Semos Cloud for employee engagement, and eightfold.ai for AI-powered Talent Intelligence. Underscoring the importance of employee recognition, SAP has selected Semos Cloud JobPts Employee Recognition from the SAP App Center for its 96,000 employees. A partnership with ServiceNow was also announced at SuccessConnect, where ServiceNow HR Service Delivery will be available on SAP App Center.

With the help of these partners, Scott Lietzke, VP of Product Design of SuccessFactors, said the result of a more robust Cloud platform is that it will enable SuccessFactors better answer employee questions, and get employees more engaged with SAP Conversational AI, SAP Leonardo Machine Learning and Indexed Search. Furthermore, the embedded Qualtrics survey and feedback capabilities, with both qualitative and quantitative being collected, will help managers improve employee engagement and productivity. 

The Cloud platform is also benefiting its implementation partners. According to Bruce Hiller, a GVP of Partner Delivery Management, Successfactors has 13 Global Strategic Service Partners, 84 additional implementations and 500+ VARs globally, which account for 80% of the Net New Names. The top 25% VARs deliver 98% of the Channel business.

The enlarged SuccessFactors ecosystem, covering key partners such as Deloitte, Infosys, Capgemini, and Accenture, which together have thousands of consultants specializing in SuccessFactors, are reporting tremendous progress. Tak Kusano, VP of Global Strategic Services Partners of SuccessFactors, reaffirms SuccessFactors commitment to the channel by giving system Integrators access to expert knowledge and enforcing minimum requirements including at least three consultants and one Customer Success Manager.  

Kirsten Allegri Williams, SuccessFactors CMO, showcased Purolator, one of Canada’s biggest transportation and logistics companies that are embracing SAP’s Cloud platform along with a host of SAP on-prem and Cloud applications.

Purolator adopted SAP SuccessFactors solutions several years ago to replace its disparate legacy applications and has been systematically implementing the suite. Purolator is working hard to upskill and prepare its employees for the autonomous vehicle era. The Purolator use of SAP platform has resulted in significant wallet share for the vendor.

Purolator Enterprise Application Landscape

Source: Apps Run The World, September 2019

One of the latest SAP SuccessFactors customers wins is Ball Corporation with 17,500 employees, which is currently in the process of implementing SuccessFactors Learning as one component of an overall SuccessFactors implementation.

Still, the challenge for SAP is the conversion of its 9,000 large SAP HCM on-prem install base to SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll, which supports localized payroll processes for 45+ countries, and at the same time providing the insight and flexibility companies need to globally manage payroll. The move from SAP HCM on Prem to SuccessFactors Employee Central Cloud Payroll is not going to be easy since it is not a simple migration, it is a re-implementation. Additionally, certain sub-hr-processes such as Workforce Management (moving to Kronos or Workforce) and Benefits Management (moving to BenefitFocus) will require the customers to rethink their HR roadmap.

At the event, Rizing Solution introduced Synchrony Payroll, an offering that makes Employee Central Payroll accessible to small and medium enterprises and is an excellent turnkey solution for large enterprises that have smaller locations or acquired companies for whom a payroll solution is needed.

In the burgeoning SuccessFactors ecosystem, the philosophy to tackle such challenges is to think out of the box. For example, Eva Woo, Global VP Product Marketing at SuccessFactors, gave an update on the SAP’s Autism at Work program, launched in 2013, which leverages the unique abilities and perspectives of people with autism to foster innovation. The program taps into an underutilized talent source, reducing barriers of entry so qualified individuals can fully develop their potential. Autism at Work employs over 500 colleagues and in 20 countries and the goal is to reach 650 by 2020. 

SAP SuccessFactors Customers Around The World

Source: Apps Run The World, Customer Database, September 2019

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