Breaking news: Implementing SAP doesn't help your business! It's the actions taken after go-live that ensure continuous success. Learn how to assess your SAP maturity, how to make business talk to IT (and vice versa), how to keep your end users happy, and more.

PrefaceIntroductionSAP Marital Counseling: Addressing the Most Common Post-Go-Live IssuesAn SAP Maturity ModelDenial, Realization, DeterminationFrom Core Implementation to Evolving Center of ExcellenceElements of SAP MaturityAssessing Your SAP MaturityBest Practices for Evolving to a Mature Center of ExcellenceThe Overriding Importance of a Rational Business/IT DynamicBuilding and Sustaining a Center of ExcellenceNew LifecyclePre-SAP Implementation Strategies and Best PracticesWhy Firms Need a Center of ExcellenceCenter of Excellence OrganizationTransforming the ""Build"" Team into a Continuous Business Evolution TeamBuilding a Center of ExcellenceVariant Structures for Centers of ExcellenceMastering the Business/IT DynamicA Word about SAP Solution ManagerWhen It All Goes Wrong: How Centers of Excellence Become Centers of MediocrityWe Do It Themselves: Outsourcing SAP Applications SupportWe Do It ThemselvesApplications Are What We DoWhy on Earth Would We Outsource Our Applications?Application Outsourcing AdoptionCrossing the Bridge from Maintenance to ManagementGovernance for Outsourced SAP Applications SupportFee StrategiesBasis Is Eternal (and Can Be Done from Anywhere)ConclusionStaffing, Sourcing, and EvolvingThe SAP Ecosystem and the Wisdom of CrowdsStaff for Surprises, Not Just the PredictableBe Your Own Systems Integration PartnerBeyond ""Hyphenates"": Business Process ExpertsThe Relative (Un)Importance of CertificationsThe Art of the UpgradeThe Changing SAP Upgrade LandscapeTypes of UpgradesNine Best Practices for Upgrade SuccessConclusion: The Upgrade as a Competitive WeaponIntelligent Business IntelligenceSAP Business Intelligence MaturesThe Data Fur Ball and the Cluttered ToolboxSources of TruthWho Generates What and How and Why?SAP as the Engine Behind Measurable Business BenefitThe Daily DoughnutSitting Tight is Not a Winning OptionMeasures of SuccessGetting Business to Take the WheelThe Enterprise Applications Value ChainIterative Business Process Improvement--A Sample ExerciseThe Deeper Green: SustainabilityKey Performance Indicators: A Basic ListThree-Point PlanningDrivers at Work: Supporting Your SAP End UsersSkills Gap--Training CanyonNeglecting The Real Drivers of Business ProcessThe High Cost of Penny PinchingFrom Inventory to Team BuildingSAP End-User Maturity ModelSuper Users Provide Super ResultsSources and Methods of Continuous TrainingConclusionFrom Supplier to Advisor: A New Hat for SAPSAP Life After FunctionalityNews Flash: SAP is Not a Not-for-ProfitWorking Toward Partnership by Leveraging Your Efforts and InvestmentsDrive at Your Own Pace (and Show SAP Where You're Going)Last Word FreakPostscript: The House I Live InAppendicesSourcesThe AuthorContributorsIndex