What is UKISUG Connect?
Have you been living under a rock?
Okay, that was a little rude but basically if you’re working in SAP in the UK & Ireland then UKISUG Connect is an event that should be on your radar. A conference held over 3 days, it brings together all walks of life from the SAP world, from Execs to DevOps.
With workshops, keynotes, and breakout sessions there’s a whole host of knowledge and networking opportunities. And, with an exhibition hall full of SAP partners and consultants, if you're stuck on your S/4HANA journey it’s the right place for you.
It just so happens that we were there, I mean obviously, so we thought we’d quickly recap our thoughts from the biggest weekend of the year in UK SAP.
“There’s a problem looming with 2030 and no one wants to talk about it” - Julian Rawlinson, Resulting IT
Let’s get the rough part out of the way before we move on to the brighter experiences of UKISUG Connect. 2030 is basically tomorrow in tech-time, and if S/4HANA were the doomsday clock it’d be one minute to midnight.
It became apparent to us over the 3 days that the maintenance deadlines for ECC 6.0 are a real pain point for a lot of SAP customers.
With new product innovations, hosting options and implementation routes, SAP is attempting to make the move to S/4HANA as simple as possible - in theory. What’s being neglected are the ways and means of getting to S/4HANA.
RISE with SAP, Signavio and Business Technology Platform (BTP) are great options if you fit the criteria and have an unlimited budget. I’d argue that there are very few organizations that have those resources at their disposal.
The people we spoke to needed help with S/4HANA road mapping, business case and implementation - SAP’s other offerings are simply “nice to have.”
So what can you do if you’re struggling to get started on your S/4HANA journey?
That’s where we come in. We're 100% independent and work business side, so unlike SAP or the SIs, our only goal is to get the best outcome for your organisation.
To find out more about what services we offer and how we can help you tackle the 2030 problem, check out the list below.
- Pre-Flight Checks
- ERP Playbook
- Roadmap & Business Case
- ERP Project Management
- ERP Change, Adoption & Training
Now onto the fun bit…
“Oh, it definitely got people’s attention.” - Craig Berger, UKISUG
What did? I hear you ask. Well, the 10ft tall, bright yellow elephant of course.
We aren’t your typical SAP consultancy and we showcase that as best we can - and this year a giant yellow elephant seemed to fit the bill.
It gave us a great talking point with new and old customers and allowed us to really get into the nitty-gritty of what’s been bothering you. It was also good to see some of our past customers who came over to say “hi” and share the successes they’d had since we’d supported their S/4HANA journey. Just hear what Abigail Allman had to say:
"We had a really great event and met so many customers, partners and prospects."
- Abigail Allman, Resulting IT
Events like UKISUG Connect allow us to do just that - connect - with people and partners, we know, and those we haven’t had the chance to meet yet, through networking and knowledge-sharing,
“It was one man with 2 slides, a stick, a carrot and 3 drills.”
- Julian Rawlinson, Resulting IT
I did say we aren’t your typical SAP consultancy.
UKISUG Connect isn’t just about milling about on an exhibition stand all day and hoping someone wanders over (I mean we didn’t have that problem but I can’t speak for everyone).
No, you’ve also got breakout sessions. Those sessions are a great way of sharing knowledge with a group to really get them thinking. This year Stuart Browne had the honour and challenge of waking everyone up post-SUGFest with his talk first thing on Tuesday morning.
Despite a few red eyes in the audience, his session “Filling the holes in your S/4 business case” drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend and provided some much-needed clarity on how to strengthen your S/4HANA business case.
Now I’ll leave you to figure out exactly how a stick, a carrot and 3 drills help to fill the holes in your S/4HANA business case, cause I’m just your author, not an SAP whiz.
“It was great to see so many people, including UKISUG’s Craig Dale throwing shapes on the dance floor.”
- Abigail Allman, Resulting IT
Surprise, even a techy likes to party, and SUGFest is the only place to be when at UKISUG Connect.
Attending workshops, keynotes and breakout sessions is great for expanding your understanding of SAP and applying it to your organization. But all work and no play makes everybody really boring.
SUGFest is a well-earned break from all the learning, where you can let your hair down and strengthen those new networks over one too many shots.
So why not join us next year or get in touch and find out what we have to offer outside of UKISUG Connect? Don’t just take my word for it…
“It was my first UKISUG Connect so definitely wasn't what I was expecting, but it was very fun... I had a great time.” - Jack Ellison, Resulting IT
