Outsource support to an SAP MSP for better control of IT budgets

Successfully controlling an IT department’s budget is no easy task. Between unforeseen events related to ongoing projects (and now the economic climate), the difficulty of anticipating changes in usage, and the need to be ever more innovative, knowing how to control and adjust are often key! Solutions exist!

In 2023, more than 80% of IT departments called on an external Managed Services Provider (MSP) to support them.

Certified in 2013 (SAP Partner Centre of Expertise), the Sileron Service, Maintenance and Expertise Centre has been supporting its customers since 2014 and helping them to outsource TPAM (Third-Party Application Maintenance). Thanks to an SAP portal developed as a comprehensive customer request tracking tool (ticketing), the Sileron SAP MSP team can respond remotely to all corrective, preventive and upgrade maintenance requests from level 1 to 3, as well as providing user support and training. This ensures that IT solutions remain operational throughout their entire life cycle.

David Doukhan, with over 25 years’ experience in SAP solutions, is in charge of Sileron’s Service, Maintenance and Expertise Centre. He explains how and why outsourcing support to an SAP MSP can be good for your business.

How does a support request work with Sileron’s CSME?

It’s quite simple, really!

Step 1: The customer creates a service request via our Fiori interface (the customer portal). I am then notified directly.

Step 2: I then need to classify the request. Is it a request for assistance, corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance or upgrade maintenance? By analysing the information provided by the customer, I try to understand the request as best I can and fill in any missing information if necessary.

Step 3: Once the corrective or upgrade maintenance request has been clearly identified, I need to determine the appropriate resources to allocate to the request so that it can be handled as quickly as possible. I will therefore forward it to an available consultant with the appropriate expertise.

Step 4: The customer’s request is then considered to be in progress. Thanks to the Fiori interface, the customer can see all the stages of their request’s processing. They know when it has been received, assigned and then processed. At this stage, the consultant in charge of the file can contact the customer if they need additional information. The portal also allows files (photos, screenshots, files, etc.) to be sent.

What are the processing times for your service, maintenance and expertise centre?

Our average processing times depend on the type of request, but I can guarantee that all requests will be handled within four hours. When submitting a request for assistance, the customer assigns a priority level to their request. There are four priority levels. Depending on the priority level, the request may, of course, be handled much more quickly.

Who can submit a request for corrective, preventive or upgrade maintenance?

If I am not an IT expert, can I submit a request to your Service, Maintenance and Expertise Centre?

In general, these are authorised users. Obviously, not everyone in a company can submit a request for assistance with an ERP system. These users are often specialists in their field, whether it be logistics, finance, purchasing or sales. They submit requests based on their own use of the system, so no specific IT skills are required. Nevertheless, we often recommend that our clients designate “key users” who are more familiar with the system in order to centralise requests and be able to assess internally whether the problem encountered is due to an input error or a real system problem.

Why outsource support to an SAP MSP?

When implementing an ERP system, it is often very difficult to estimate future needs and predict how the system will evolve. This is simply because today’s businesses are constantly changing and an ERP system must be able to adapt to these changes. Outsourcing your support to an SAP MSP guarantees optimal cost control in relation to your needs. This allows you to rely on experts rather than having in-house employees who are not specialised in all areas and may not be working full-time. At Sileron, we offer our customers a subscription service that gives them access to consultants on demand. This subscription can be adjusted according to their consumption of our services. They can purchase service tickets or units of work and therefore only pay for the time spent. Thanks to a monthly report that I send them, customers can closely monitor their IT budget and adjust it upwards or downwards according to their needs and priorities.

Are the SAP MSP services provided by Sileron reserved for its clients?

The ERP support and maintenance services offered by our Service, Maintenance and Expertise Centre are available to our customers, but also to companies that have implemented their SAP ERP with another integrator. Corrective, preventive or upgrade maintenance can be carried out by a different MSPs. Companies often come to us because they are attracted by our adjustable subscription model and our time-based billing, which allows them to better manage their IT budget.

How is your service, maintenance and expertise centre structured?

We have a team of consultants dedicated to corrective, preventive and upgrade maintenance, as well as a network of specialised partners. But we can also draw on the expertise of all Sileron consultants, who are capable of handling both project work and support, which is a real strength for our service. This means we can guarantee our customers an expert response to every request!

This interview was conducted with David Doukhan, Support Manager at SILERON.