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"Who says maintenance can come cheap!"

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CIOL Bureau
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Anantnarayan Seivur — AVP - Head ISG & PMG, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd,  is at a unique vantage point, as he wields the IT functions at a company that creates IT solutions itself. While he has cut his teeth on multiple portfolios and delivery projects setting up large ODCs etc; he has recently overseen implementation of a SAP platform at KPIT Cummins but what he shares is a two-pronged perspective, and that can give a lot of depth and breadth to some tough questions that keep stirring the industry’s pot. Here’s how he sees the glass as he takes questions on ERP Industry, maintenance brouhaha, Business Suite 7, third-party maintenance dark horses etc.

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Tell us first your experience snapshot with the SAP solution just deployed? Specially in context to your legacy set-ups and the triggers for change? How much did the lineage with acquisition of a Sparta Consulting have any bearing on the choice of SAP?

Providing a unified picture of business across all functions; enabling integration of business, process and ensuring long term flexibility; enhancing control across Business; and improving project estimation as well as project-wise profitability. These were some challenges for our company that clocked a revenue of over Rs. 730 Crore (FY 10). With SAP, now we have a single platform. Earlier we had heterogeneous set-ups running on Java and Microsoft environments. Our core MIS has evolved over five to seven years was on MS ASP. development environment with Oracle database. With a scale over 4900 employees , who were loosely integrated with other applications, there was no single view. And therefore issues of cost of ownership.

It was good for day to day needs but there was definitely a void on big analytics. Linear as well as non-linear expansion called for IT strategy alignment so we started exploring possibilities. We were looking for a market leader. We zeroed upon right integration, modules and scalability. We chose SAP for filling in the requirements we had. We used SAP ECC 6.0. Phase I implementation of SAP started in October 2005 with a specific focus on core FICO comprising of Finance, Controlling, Asset Management, Materials Management and Sales & Distribution modules. Phase II implementation of SAP began in July 2007, comprising of HCM modules like OM, PA, ESS / MSS, Funds Management, Travel, cProjects, and Project systems.

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Your expectations from this investment?

Our objective was standardization, financial control, country-specific reporting, predictability, accounting and pro-active decisions. We were exactly looking for metrics we would want to measure, and how to monitor dashboards, check performance tracks as per targets, spot variances, correct deviations and mitigate risk. Benefits spanned across improved data transparency, accelerated transaction time, optimized workflow objectives etc.

How was the migration path?

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Phase III implementation of SAP began in Oct 2009, comprising of HCM modules like Time Management, LSO, Qualification Catalogue, Objective Setting Appraisals, eRecruitment, Solution Manager, XRPM, Enterprise Portal and BO Reports. In the year 2007 KPIT engaged with SAP as Implementation partner and went full-fledged on Phase 2 and Phase 3of SAP modules. It was a journey from legacy to SAP. This phase involves a lot of factors like discipline, emotions, time for unlearning, acceptance of resistance for an enterprise-wide application. To overcome these, we put down SAP modules in multiple phases.

Do you think test environments today meet the adequacy levels for such large-scale and deep roll-outs?

As part of the technology landscape, we have different environments. Each implementation goes through a different landscape, before formally rolling wide for employees. We follow specific SAP processes. It is also an opportunity for Business Process Engineering and to make processes more efficient.

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Upgrades are a constant butt of concerns in this industry and specially for the big players. What’s your making of the Business Suite 7 by SAP as an attempt to address concerns of costly, time-consuming and complex re-installs?

From a service-industry point of view, when SAP came and established as a product leader it was focused on manufacturing segment, and we definitely expected it to adapt to an industry like ours and instill confidence. Customization and whether it touches core architecture of SAP is a big question. For example-If some reports do not meet my requirements, is it ok to go for custom-built reports? When we go for upgrades, the architecture part makes things easier from a long-term perspective. As to BS7, I would agree when applications are made in silos, we miss on integration of different aspects. The true benefit of an ERP is in its integration and in avoiding redundancies.

Do third-party maintenance players like Rimini Street appear as good alternatives to bet on, in a space plagued by complaints about AMCs being expensive, vague and erratic?

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Maintenance is always expensive. It is never cheap. Therefore it is very important to know how we reduce ongoing costs. So it is important to understand product features, and not go solely by customization of processes. Are they able to map according to SAP’s features? Do they even have ‘why these features’ kind of understanding? Not many people spend time and efforts on cracking the blueprint well, they jump on solutions and deployment. And that again becomes a costly affair.

You have had an MS environment and now SAP has been weaved smoothly inside. But should the industry, and how much should the industry be concerned about ‘different solutions’ ability to talk to each other’?

They are already working together. It is a duet scenario. My bigger concern is about end-users having an UI. That is a bigger issue than integration. We have put in SAP Netweaver and are working on a good UI with Java apps, and third-party apps of different platforms. The end user is not involved or interested in the technology details, but seamless environment on his side is what matters a lot.

Going forward from here, what’s your company’s IT and Business strategy alignment looking like?

We have already invested in VMware, and are now looking at social networks booming in current scenario, specially with everyone talking about the revenue and productivity potential of the same. SAP CRM, and Payroll will also be done. The plan was deferred earlier because current CRM was working fine. But as now acquisitions and growth are anticipated, we would plan to migrate to SAP CRM and Payroll too.