Is SAP HANA the next revolution of EPM market? Probably it is...

The EPM market is changing and the biggest vendor are creating new platform to improve service and quality served.
But, first of all, what is SAP HANA?

SAP HANA is SAP AG’s implementation of in-memory database technology. An in-memory database (IMDB; also main memory database system or MMDB or memory resident database) is a database management system that primarily relies on main memory for computer data storage. It is contrasted with database management systems which employ a disk storage mechanism. Main memory databases are faster than disk-optimized databases since the internal optimization algorithms are simpler and execute fewer CPU instructions. Accessing data in memory eliminates seek time when querying the data, which provides faster and more predictable performance than disk. So, according with Wikipedia, HANA DB takes advantage of the low cost of main memory (RAM), data processing abilities of multi-core processors and the fast data access of solid-state drives relative to traditional hard drives to deliver better performance of analytical and transactional applications. It offers a multi-engine query processing environment which allows it to support both relational data (with both row- and column-oriented physical representations in a hybrid engine) as well as graph and text processing for semi- and unstructured data management within the same system. HANA DB is 100% ACID compliant. Now, the newest version of SAP BPC (SAP BPC 10) can take the advantages of a SAP HANA DB. This means a lot of things as fast data access, speed, and many other feautures. Of course this kind of implementation can be done by big customers that have a really complex database environment. By the way SAP HANA will be the next generation of EPM implementation giving owr customer all the power needed. Here the architecture schema: 

The importance of the right training on EPM solutions

Many customers doesn't care about good training session. Many of them thing that the most important things will be always done by consultats (reports, data entry sheets, dimension, user concept). If this sentence is true, is also true that many company can considerarly reduce project costs by training themselfs in the better way.

Of course this can only be possible with the right training session and the right peoples.
Usually, in fact, many customers overestimate the ability to train other people and let things go.
At the end, the perfect project can only be concluded with a really usefull training session; i usually spend 5-10 days at all with my customer in order to be sure they have the control of the EPM solution.

The advantages for our clients are:
-cost reduction
-reporting speed
-self motivation
-better use of the solution

In fact i had always a good feedback from my clients also after years; this mean not only lose of some money (for me), but especially customer retention and somethimes new and big projects!

So, if you think that training is not so usefull, you are wrong!

Is the Gross Margin Percentege (GM%) important for our customer?

Somethimes EPM consultants are more solution oriented than customer oriented. This means that for someone is more important to find a quick and dirty solution (IT solution) instead of thinking about the important things to offer to our clients.
For example many consultants doesn't knows the importance of Gross Margin Percentege (GM%) and doesn't understand the value of such important indicator.

But, what is the GM%? Why can be so important?

The calculation is:  (Sales - Cost of goods sold) / Sales

For example, a company has sales of $1,000,000 and cost of goods sold of $750,000, which results in a gross margin of $250,000 and a gross margin percentage of 25%.

This percentage is useful when tracked on a trend line, to see if there are any significant changes that may require further investigation. A decline in the gross margin percentage may be cause for considerable concern, since it can imply a decline in the competitiveness of a company's products and/or services.

Gross margin includes an allocation of factory overhead costs, some of which may be fixed or mixed costs.

The perfect EPM consultant should know all the main aspect of a financial statement in order to suggest the customer the best implementation method not only in terms of speed and performance, but also in terms of control and comprehension of their business.

What do you think about the importance of values communication?

Is the ITIL methodology useful in EPM projects?

ITIL is the most widely accepted approach to IT service management in the world. ITIL provides a cohesive set of best practice, drawn from the public and private sectors internationally. It’s based on capital equipment maintenance techniques that have been well documented and studied since the 50s – if not earlier. Furthermore, ITIL is about creating a learning organization that can identify stupid things, and avoid repeating them in the future. Is it important in EPM projects?

In my opinion everything is method or project governance is really usefull to help our customer to better understand what they are doing and the value we are trasmitting.

Best practise are always well accepted at each level and are easy to communicate and valorize. I mean...all best practise, especially if, as ITIL, are recognised all over the world. For many country ( i.e Italy, Spain, Greece ) the ITIL methodology is not yet been understood by many company, and customers dosn't care about this lack of "quality" provided...until thing goes wrong. It is possible that method, processes, money saving are not important nowadays?

 Why don't try to introduce that level of expertise and best practise?