SAP Support can be a complicated field to navigate and understand.
We sat down with Richard Taylor, Partner at Birchman, to help define and explain the support that is on offer whilst also exploring the services Birchman can help with.
What SAP support models do Birchman provide?
Birchman provides two core support models:
- UK SAP Support Services delivered by UK-based application and technical consultants
- Global SAP Support Services powered by United VARs members
How is the Birchman UK support model different from the competition?
There are three key differences:
Highly experienced, skilled senior application and technical consultants – They improve the quality of the service with their expert knowledge and reduce the effort to resolve incidents and deliver changes. This results in a market-leading cost-to-value model.
Birchman Advanced Monitoring – By continuously monitoring a range of KPIs, Birchman is able to provide a preventative technical support service. Our objective is to avert serious incidents, and if they cannot be prevented, to get the solution up and running as quickly as possible. Whilst Birchman does offer a flexible model, most customers choose between 24×7 or 10×5 monitoring and technical support.
Continuous Business Improvement – Birchman can offer a high value-add service by completing functional and technical health checks, reviewing ticket trends, and root cause analysis alongside improvements from SAP.
How is the Global support model different from the competition?
It’s the Birchman UK support model powered by United VARs members, to provide a global model. United VARs has a membership of 70+ SAP companies covering 100+ countries. Collectively, we are one of the leading SAP Global Platinum Partners.
Most worldwide support offerings are based on global or regional centres of resources. This has the advantage of lowering cost but doesn’t often provide the best service.
Our global support model is fundamentally different. The United VARs members can provide local support across 100+ countries with consultants that speak the local language, are culturally aligned, understand the localisation requirements, who are in the same time zone, and are geographically close. All under one model and contract. This is a unique offering in the market place.
Whilst most global support is delivered in English, it adds a great deal of additional value if you can communicate with consultants in your local dialect, who also understands your local uniqueness.