Published on the 16/09/2015 | Written by Donovan Jackson
SAP is working on future technologies intended to transform the relationships companies have with their customers…
Under its hybris brand, SAP says it is looking to introduce tools to enable in-the-moment customer profiling, digital commerce and community development. The idea is to go ‘beyond CRM’ into an era of digital connectedness, customer service and support.
The planned tools, the vendor said, will simplify the front office, helping to produce a single, contextual view of customers while giving each customer a consistent, personalised experience across all channels. They include hybris Profile (intended to serve as the foundation of the system, capturing all interactions, contexts and behaviours), Customer Experience (for omnichannel contextualisation of customer experience) and hybris as a Service.
In a lengthy press release which included the word ‘envisioned’ seven times, ‘plans/planned’ seven times and ‘intended’ four times, the vendor provided no timeline for the introduction of the tools, though it indicated interest from potential launch clients including Nestle and sports team the Yankees.
Asked when the products will be available, SAP hybris APAC Japan and China SVP Graham Jackson said the ETA is as follows:
- SAP hybris Profile will be in beta by October 2015, with General Availability by Q1 2016
- SAP hybris Customer Experience – currently available with hybris Commerce; Generally Availability as a standalone in Q1 2016
- SAP hybris-as-a-Service – in beta at present, with General Availability in October 2015.
“Legacy cloud-based CRM technologies create business complexity because their foundations predate the rise of social media and mobility. Companies today need innovative, integrated solutions that simplify the front office, making them easy to do business with and fostering greater customer engagement,” said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP SE.
Reading between the lines, it looks like SAP is taking a crack at Salesforce.com; in response to a query, Jackson didn’t answer directly, but said “Simply put, nobody can go beyond CRM as we have. This is a growth area for SAP and our customers.”
Jackson said legacy, cloud-based CRM solutions were designed to manage the customer record and not the relationship. “Today’s customers are in control – they are digitally connected, socially networked, better informed, and they interact with you at every channel. The onus is now on the brand to provide a seamless, consistent omnichannel experience.”
In terms of ANZ, he added that, “Many of our customers are already well into their customer technology journey with SAP hybris, and we look forward to sharing their success stories with you in the future.”
