S A P i n s i d e r sp e c i a l R e p o r t | C l o u d C o m p u t i n g
Can’t Decide Between an On-Premise
Procurement Suite and a Cloud Model?
You Don’t Have To
Hubwoo’s Hybrid Approach Brings Procurement to the Cloud
A
s business leaders plan SAP deployments, they
encounter new phrases seemingly every month:
on-premise, on-demand, software-as-a-service, multi-tenant,
public cloud, private cloud, and more. With all these buzzwords, what is really important in the world of enterprise
procurement solutions? The answer is time to value.
Increase Net Income by 45%
Lower IT costs and guaranteed service levels are certainly
important cloud computing benefits to consider in any
technology implementation. But when it comes to procurement projects, time to value and realized bottomline savings are paramount. Procurement savings are the
fastest way to affect net income. Per a 2009 benchmarking study, corporations can experience a 45% increase in
net income on average by decreasing external spend by
5%. Conversely, focusing efforts on a 5% increase in
revenue would increase net income by only 5%.
enablement, catalog content management, and other
SAP modules via a cloud model. Hubwoo’s electronic
Hub, which enables integration-as-a-service for business
transactions as well as master data across heterogeneous
systems, streamlines all of these hybrid components to
operate as an integrated, source-to-pay business process,
powered by SAP software (see Figure 1).
Unique Cloud Procurement Offerings
Hubwoo operates a suite of procurement solutions based
on SAP BusinessObjects Spend Performance Management,
SAP E-Sourcing, SAP Contract Lifecycle Management, and
SAP SRM. Complementary cloud technologies include a
supplier network, an automated content management
and search solution, and an electronic invoice management solution compliant with country-specific legal
requirements. Services such as strategy, implementation,
sourcing, supplier enablement, and buyer and supplier
support services ensure clients’ success.
Procurement via the Cloud: The Best of
Both On-Premise and On-Demand Worlds
Now that you recognize the importance of procurement
savings, how do you decide whether to implement an
SAP procurement suite on-premise or to subscribe
to a cloud model? You may already have significant
on-premise investments and projects underway. The
good news is that it is not an either/or situation.
Hubwoo, an SAP business process outsourcing (BPO)
partner in the area of procurement, offers a hybrid
approach to cloud procurement services. Compared to
doing one or the other — implementing an on-premise
suite or subscribing to a cloud model — this combined
approach has significant benefits, including immediate
cost savings opportunities, while following a holistic
SAP technology strategy. For example, customers can
run SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM)
on-premise and subscribe to a supplier network, supplier
See “Enabling Profitable Growth through Procurement: Transforming
the Sourcing and Procurement Organization,” an SAP Insight paper
by Vanessa C. Smith, Shruti Goel, and Tushar Gulhane and published
by the ASUG/SAP Benchmarking and Best Practices program.
Rinus Strydom
Chief Marketing Officer
Hubwoo
Leading the Way in Procurement
Hubwoo’s technologies, including its cloud procurement
solutions, are certified under SAP’s rigorous BPO certification process (www.sap.com/services/bysubject/bpo/
index.epx). To learn more, visit www.hubwoo.com. n
Reproduced from the Jul n Aug n Sep 2010 issue of SAPinsider with permission from its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com
Figure 1 q The Hub
enables integrationas-a-service across
cloud and on-premise
applications