Sapient helps sap customers realize the full potential of their business intelligence initiatives

Gurgaon/Bangalore/Noida, Apr 10 (ANI/Business Wire India): Sapient today launched a new line of business and IT services aimed at customers with large SAP enterprise software installations who are eager to implement highly impactful business intelligence (BI) strategies across their organizations.

Sapient's new services are designed to eliminate the challenges associated with the complex BI implementation process, while helping SAP customers enhance the value of their corporate data and finally realize the full potential of BI investments.

For years, SAP clients have struggled with cumbersome BI solutions that are unable to provide real, actionable information from complex corporate systems quickly and seamlessly.

Moreover, BI implementation approaches are often still ERP-focused and lack the capacity to connect with a dynamic business environment-making it even more challenging to align a complex implementation with critical corporate decision-making requirements.

With a history of challenges preventing enterprise-wide analytical BI solutions from truly meeting business expectations, many SAP customers are turning to Sapient-an experienced BI partner with deep expertise in SAP NetWeaver technology, best-in-class BI tools and business applications-for help.

By bringing together its strengths in '360 degree' marketing analytics, custom application integration and package-based BI, Sapient is uniquely positioned to help customers create a sustainable BI strategy and transform vast amounts of data into a true business asset.

Moreover, with easy access to Sapient Interactive and its customer data expertise, Sapient can provide clients with the ability to use its corporate data as a competitive advantage.

"With SAP beginning to open its platform to the public, systems integrators with a single threaded SAP delivery focus will no longer be able to solve the holistic problems of typical clients. Nor will large-scale integrators with multi-practice ERP implementation and outsourcing disciplines be able to translate the need for better analytics into concrete technology solutions," said Sapient Vice President and Global SAP Practice lead Hagen Ruff.

"Our new BI services can assist all SAP customers, no matter what stage of the BI application lifecycle they're currently in-planning, implementation or management. Customers can improve enterprise-wide decision making, enhance business and IT efficiencies and become more operationally transparent, making compliance an easier task," added Hagen.

Sapient's BI services include four disciplines: business performance management, information management, data lifecycle management and governance.

These disciplines allow clients to successfully meet the challenges of BI, improve their organization's ability to use its information - and provide a roadmap for long-term success. They also allow clients to leverage the power of analytics to better use information to make critical business decisions in real-time across the organization. The four service components are as follows:

-- Business Performance Management enables enterprises to measure their business strategy with BI solutions that provide actionable insight into past and future performance. Key services include:

-- Performance Management Solutions - EPM (Enterprise Performance Management) Value Model (Utilities, Oil and Gas, Retail).

-- Business Strategy Management - providing the thought leadership and BI solution best practices that support strategy management as well as operational performance management operational practices.

-- Information Management provides a stable and sustainable BI platform that helps enterprises develop a Single Version of Truth (SVT) as a foundation for Business Process-centric BI applications. Key services include:

-- Planning, Analytics and Reporting Implementation Services - comprised of three implementation components; Embedded Analytics and Reporting Solutions; Business Planning and Consolidation Solutions; and SAP Enterprise Portal services.

-- Platform Optimization Services - including Performance Enhancement and Stabilization and BI warehouse consolidation initiatives.

-- SAP NetWeaver 7.0 upgrade services.

-- Global Support - Quality Assurance, maintenance and outsourcing services.

-- Data Lifecycle Management establishes a framework for ensuring that data is effectively integrated into business processes and that information management becomes pervasive within the enterprise's culture. Services are comprised of two key components:

-- Master and Meta Data Implementation Services that provide architectural support for designing and implementing corporate master data solutions; and

-- Master and Meta Data Strategy Services for the implementation of solutions to establish aligned definitions and reports across the enterprise.

-- Governance provides a model for building BI competency in small and global enterprises as well as establishing best practices, focusing scarce resources on business value enhancing activities while enabling compliance with Government and Regulations. Key services include:

-- Program Support Models, such as Sapient's BI index/maturity assessment of people, process and technology.

-- BI PMO Best Practices and Assessments, including initiative and organizational models; BI guidelines, procedures and process controls development; and BI services to assist clients in building BI programs and self-sufficient operations to reduce IT costs and ensure compliance.

-- Resource Outsourcing Services, provided as GDD-centric quality assurance services.

A number of key SAP clients are already turning to Sapient's new BI services to help them make greater strides with their corporate BI strategies.

"Sapient has significantly optimized the performance of the SAP Business Information Warehouse (BW) system platform and made it the cornerstone of our Enterprise Data Warehouse strategy," said Katherine Tatum, director of applications and vice president and chief operating officer of United Illuminating.

"Sapient's impact has also extended into CCS, SAP's utilities industry solution. Through our long-term support relationship of CCS and BW, Sapient is empowering our client teams and improving our business," added Katherine.

ANI