What answers can I expect, in detail ?
Classical benchmark approaches are based on a manual evaluation of the captured data. That is not the case with the VMS Benchmark approach. We have software that has been developed over a number of years, that is able to illuminate all of the above-listed aspects, of: use, quality, and operating expenses, and to determine differences, compared to others.
Only then does the experience of the VMS employee come into play:
- How can the divergences with respect to best practices be explained ?
- What are the relationships and dependencies among the divergences ?
- What are the cost drivers, and how can they be influenced?
The knowledge that is gained is related to all the above-mentioned areas (hardware, infrastructure, software, personnel, company-own work, services, etc.). And in detail, not just on a general level.
Potential for improvements are made transparent, which, by their nature, are within the realm of IT:
- Purchase prices for systems and work
- The load on existing infrastructure
- Inefficient systems (a lot of work, little usable results)
- Inefficient set-up of system landscapes, technically and personally time-consuming and/or expensive interfaces, etc.
- Hidden performance problems (a lot of hardware and often excessive or unnecessary IT resources installed, due to very specific bottlenecks)
But in addition to that, in particular potential for improvement, which lies in part within the realm of IT, and in part with the responsibility of the user, or owner of the business processes:
- Customizing of SAP Standard, vs. customer development
- Existing customer developments, their quality and actual use
- Costs of specific business processes, and suggestions for an improved cost/benefit relationship through technical or organizational restructuring of the process
- Balancing service level requirements, vs. costs of work
- But also demanding a certain service level, in order to secure the required IT work and quality for the business
- Definition of solid measurement points for fulfilling SLAs, for example, definitions of response times for the really important business processes, that are real-world-practice relevant.
Our customers confirm that the ability of the VMS Benchmark to shed light on all these and additional aspects of the SAP operation in detail make the VMS Report so useful.
The VMS Benchmark’s detail accuracy is so solid, that many of our customers use the VMS Benchmark in the form of the VMS Monitor, even on a monthly basis.