KPIT named Leader in IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Professional Services Firms for SAP Suite on HANA in Utilities 2015 Vendor Assessment

The utility sector is facing a particularly pressing set of well-documented challenges from numerous directions. As a result, there are some poignant value propositions for the updating of utilities' legacy systems (see Business Strategy: Application Modernization in the Utility Industry, Document # EI253211, December 2014).

“The market for SAP Suite on HANA is still in its early stages, a fact that several service providers made poignantly clear to us on several occasions during this research. Given this, and how intertwined the service offerings for HANA and Suite on HANA are, from the service providers' perspective, the IDC MarketScape’s assessment of Suite on HANA services is multilayered, taking into consideration: the availability of service provider references for Suite on HANA; Suite on HANA offerings and capabilities (including Design Thinking, HANA Live, Smart Business Cockpits, and SAP Fiori); HANA experience and capabilities; and SAP experience, capabilities, and co-innovation.

For utilities, the primary decision factors for selecting a services firm for Suite on HANA will be: 

• The firm's focus on the utilities industry, and commitment to, and experience in, the utility industry
• The firm's demonstrated commitment to building out the its services and capabilities to Suite on HANA
• The intellectual property the firm has developed for Suite on HANA, whether it is rapid deployment solutions it has developed, smart business cockpits, or how it is incorporating design thinking to be able to leverage Suite on HANA's capabilities, and the firm leveraging such technologies as Fiori to put the best possible front end on the utility's business processes

"Utilities are looking at new technologies that can help them achieve greater operating efficiency and manage through the multiple disruptions hitting the industry. SAP Suite on HANA, with its potential for business transformation, is just such a technology. Utilities need service providers that bring both the SAP expertise and the utility industry experience to help them leverage SAP Suite on HANA," according to Robert Eastman, research manager, Utility IT Strategies, IDC Energy Insights. "Even at this early stage of this market, there are service providers that are aggressively building their capabilities and offerings, and we would expect to see an even more robust picture of the Suite on HANA service provider landscape a year from now."

The IDC MarketScape model reviews both quantitative and qualitative characteristics that describe current market demands and expected buyer needs for professional services. The evaluation is based on a comprehensive and rigorous framework that assesses the offerings and capabilities that service providers are delivering to the market, what they have to offer relative to the other service providers in the assessment, and the key success factors expected to be the most significant over the short term and the long term.

IDC MarketScape criteria selection, weightings, and vendor scores represent well-researched IDC judgment about the market and specific vendors. IDC analysts tailor the range of standard characteristics by which vendors are measured through structured discussions, surveys, and interviews with market leaders, participants and end users. Market weightings are based on user interviews, buyer surveys and the input of a review board of IDC experts in each market. IDC analysts base individual vendor scores, and ultimately vendor positions within the IDC MarketScape, on detailed surveys and interviews with the vendors, publicly available information and end-user experiences in an effort to provide an accurate and consistent assessment of each vendor's characteristics, behavior and capability.

For additional information about this report or to arrange a one-on-one briefing with Robert Eastman, please contact Sarah Murray at 781-378-2674 or sarah(at)attunecommunications(dot)com. Reports are available to qualified members of the media. For information on purchasing reports, contact insights(at)idc(dot)com; reporters should email sarah(at)attunecommunications(dot)com.

IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of IT, telecommunications, or industry-specific suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT, telecommunications, or industry-specific vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a transparent foundation to allow companies to independently compare the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.

All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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