Month: May 2018

Leading the Third-Party Support Market with Certification Achievement for Both ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013

May 30, 2018 | Devan Brua | Vice President, Compliance and Risk

Since inception in 2008, Spinnaker Support has consistently delivered service the right way. When operational, financial, and legal risk profiles are essential buying considerations, Spinnaker Support is the undisputed smart and safe third-party support choice. As part of delivering Oracle and SAP support the right way, Spinnaker Support has become the only third-party support provider to achieve both ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certifications.

The ISO 9001:2015 highlights our firm commitment to quality management principles and demonstrates Spinnaker Support’s commitment to providing consistent processes for our customers under a comprehensive quality management system. Across the world, delivering support from nine regional operations centers, our experienced engineers consistently follow proven processes that drive the industry’s highest customer satisfaction ratings (98.7%).

Confirming our ongoing commitment to maintain data security effectively, we achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification earlier this year. The ISO/IEC 27001:2013 drives a systematic approach for managing sensitive company information so that it remains secure within our organization’s Information Security Management System (ISMS). This certification spans people, processes, and IT systems by applying a risk management process that is recognized internationally. Our quality management system directly impacts the success of our business and demonstrates our continued commitment to always put the customer first.

What value does the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification add for Spinnaker Support customers?

It is imperative that our information security management system integrates with our global processes and overall management structure, and that information security is fundamental in the design of processes, information systems, and controls. These global standards provide a framework for policies and procedures that include all legal, physical, and technical controls involved in an organization’s information risk management processes.

“The ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification validates our organization’s commitment to deploying an Information Security Management System(ISMS): a system that is supported by our leadership, incorporated into our organization’s culture and strategy, and constantly monitored, updated and reviewed. Following a process of continuous improvement, Spinnaker Support will be able to ensure that the ISMS adapts to change both in the environment and inside the organization – to continually identify and reduce risks,” states Devan Brua, Vice President of Compliance and Risk.

The international acceptance and applicability of ISO/IEC 27001:2013 is a primary reason why certification to this standard is at the forefront of Spinnaker Support’s approach to implementing and managing information security. Spinnaker Support’s achievement of ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification points to our commitment to respecting intellectual property rights for our customers and our competitors. Obtaining both certifications validates our documented and standardized support delivery processes that meet or exceed the levels specified by ISO – proving Spinnaker Support’s continued investment in our customers and strategic business plans for future advances, like GDPR compliance.

Endorsement for Spinnaker Support’s GDPR Compliance Readiness

The ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification demonstrates our commitment to GDPR Compliance:

  • Data Encryption – ISO/IEC 27001:2013 encompasses 114 different control measures to reduce information security risks. Data encryption protects confidentiality by delivering the data in an unusable form to anyone that accesses the data internally or externally.
  • Risk Assessment – ISO/IEC 27001:2013 mandates all organizations conduct a full risk assessment to outline possible threats and vulnerabilities, and document steps taken to alleviate that risk.
  • Business Continuity – ISO/IEC 27001:2013 requires organizations to plan out how to protect their information in case of an incident or major disaster.
  • Independent Assessments and Audits – ISO/IEC 27001:2013 mandates that organizations have their ISMSs independently assessed and audited by an accredited certification organization to ensure certification is followed and maintained.

Our continued investment in the ISO 9001:2015 and the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 quality management processes protects our customers and provides consistent, value-added services covering SAP and Oracle support.

A Basis Administrator’s View of SAP Third-Party Support: From Skeptic to Believer

May 23, 2018 | Ken Conz | Director, Technical Support Services

When organizations are considering third-party support, it’s common for the SAP technical team (Basis Administrators) to be reluctant or apprehensive about moving away from SAP-provided support. When I was first introduced to the concept of SAP third-party support, I was highly skeptical. After years of working with SAP and their solution portal, I didn’t believe that issues could be found and resolved without SAP code and tool access. After nine years as a third-party support engineer, I am no longer a skeptic.

There is a misconception that organizations cannot survive and thrive without continuous SAP-provided support. However, third-party support organizations typically provide more precise and tailored solutions that even out-deliver SAP’s MaxAttention offerings; for a fraction of the cost. How? SAP often addresses issues in broad strokes, meaning they package solutions in large, all-encompassing support packages or patches. Any Basis Administrator will tell you that these patches often introduce new issues that, in turn, require further fixes to implement a working solution. Catch-all patches can put the system in a cycle of instability for extended periods of time and need significant time and effort for testing. With SAP third-party support, after an initial issue is reviewed, a specific solution is built and modeled. Such solutions resolve the issue strategically, avoiding the introduction of problems unrelated to the primary issue reported. With Spinnaker Support, my team has successfully onboarded and supported numerous companies that run SAP – large and small, private and public. Without driving them to a self-support portal, we provide personalized, fast response service to maintain their extensive configurations and comprehensive SAP environments.

Prospects have believed the SAP myth that they must give up everything that is accessible from SAP’s support portal. Under a third-party support model, SAP still allows customers to get object, developer, and hardware keys for your systems. Information related to security is also available to you via the non-maintenance customer portal.  (Service Marketplace redirects you after you log in with your existing OSS ID).

Getting Started

Spinnaker Support guides new customers through an extensive process during the onboarding phase the termination date of SAP support. This process creates a tight alignment between Spinnaker Support’s hand-picked team of engineers with the customer’s internal team and SAP environments. It facilitates the learning and understanding of the customers’ business processes, IT capabilities, geographic footprint, and product components. This approach reduces issue resolution times and eliminates the need for customers to “tell their life stories” every time they call for support.

Spinnaker Support’s SAP third-party support model is a paradigm shift in the thinking of how SAP support is delivered. It is a safe, proven way to help IT departments become more strategically aligned with the business to address issues and plan projects. Our customers switch even when their innovation plans are aligned with SAP’s long-term product vision because they realize SAP’s future vision does not necessarily support their immediate business needs. We provide customers with world-class software and technology stack interoperability support until they are ready to reunite with SAP’s support.

From one Basis Administrator to another, you can continue to support your organization’s SAP systems, under a third-party support model. Our 20+ year SAP experts augment your internal staff, providing supplemental support beyond customer resource skillsets. This extension to your team has proven to bring out the best results. We handle the heavy lifting. You can focus on strategic, innovative items.  Granted, you won’t have access to all that SAP has to offer on their portal, but nine years removed from SAP support, I can guarantee you won’t need it!

Contact us to learn more about SAP third-party support.

Merichem Company Redefines Their Oracle E-Business Suite Support with Spinnaker Support

May 17, 2018 | Karen Blazek | Director, Product Marketing

Merichem Company is a recognized global enterprise serving the oil and gas industries with focused technology, chemical, and service solutions. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, their relationship with the oil refining industry dates back to 1945.

Merichem runs Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) applications and completed their latest upgrade to R12.1.3 in 2012. Since then, their EBS environment has become highly productive and stable, and Merichem sees no business value in the incremental updates rolled out by Oracle. Rather than continuing to pay high maintenance fees for a diminishing level of support, Merichem replaced Oracle-provided support with Spinnaker Support in May 2016.

Why Merichem Made the Move to Third-Party Support

Due to falling oil prices, Merichem senior management was forced to implement a cost reduction program. The business placed constraints on the IT organization to immediately and drastically reduce the overall IT spend. Comprising more than half of total IT spend, EBS application maintenance was identified as a primary cost savings opportunity for Merichem.

Merichem engaged Oracle to discuss the matter. Oracle was unwilling to negotiate a lower cost contract and offered no concessions for unused software licenses and shelfware. Merichem expressed deep dissatisfaction with Oracle’s support regarding the lengthy process of logging tickets, lack of fast response or adequate issue resolution, and the lack of ownership for critical, severity one issues. Rather than step up, Oracle pushed for an upgrade, but Merichem saw limited to zero future return-on-investment based on Oracle’s EBS roadmap.

The business environment challenges were not easing, and it was time to right-size the EBS support predicament. In 2016 at the Collaborate conference (Oracle user conference), Merichem had their initial discussions with the two leading third-party Oracle support providers.

Why Merichem Chose Spinnaker Support

Merichem identified four primary criteria for selecting a third-party EBS support provider: (1) Cost, (2) Risk Profile, (3) Timing, and (4) Intangibles.

Cost

Spinnaker Support delivered the lowest cost option for Merichem, providing an immediate 55% reduction in maintenance fees. Spinnaker Support remains the only third-party support provider to give concessions for unused licenses and shelfware – which contributed to the lower pricing level.

Risk Profile

Like many companies, Merichem is risk-adverse. Selecting the right business partner to maintain mission-critical enterprise applications was imperative and several risk factors were considered. Merichem went through an exhaustive legal review of the third-party support contenders and learned of the longstanding litigation battle between Oracle and Spinnaker Support’s main competitor. Spinnaker Support has maintained a clean track record, always delivering support while respecting the intellectual property rights of others. Merichem also found that Spinnaker Support ran a healthier business from a financial perspective; growing the top line rapidly while maintaining a strong balance sheet. Finally, from a risk profile standpoint, Spinnaker Support’s customer references expressed high satisfaction regarding the delivery of EBS support and found the service provider very easy and flexible with which to work.

Timing

Merichem found themselves on a tight deadline for switching away from Oracle support. Spinnaker Support was able to successfully archive all legally-entitled updates and files for future availability based on Merichem’s list of licensed products in less than 30 days.

Intangibles

Merichem examined some intangibles and once again gave Spinnaker Support the nod. Merichem appreciated Spinnaker Support’s consultative sales approach, designed to understand the unique business and IT objectives and challenges. The comprehensive pricing model that aligned support fees with actual software usage drove more cost savings. Finally, Merichem felt they might benefit in the future from Spinnaker Support’s unique blend of services including managed services and consulting.

For more details, read the Merichem case study.

Should Oracle Customers End the Constant Push to Upgrade?

مايو 2, 2018 | كارين بلازيك | Director, Product Marketing

Most Oracle users have a good handle on their short-to-mid-term ERP upgrade release strategies. إلا أنّ تكاليف الترقية الباهظة تزيد من صعوبة الشركات في تبرير الاحتفاظ بمستوى دعم متميز في المقر لـ Oracle. While third-party software support is a viable alternative, many companies considering a switch are concerned about forfeiting upgrade and enhancement rights and access to future development features.

Upgrading to End of Support

As some versions of Oracle software approach their sunset release, end of support is highly significant and uncertain. Oracle has moved out Premier Support dates, attempting to reassure customers, but haven’t stated actual release dates for next versions on product roadmaps. إلا أنّه، ومع التركيز على التحول عن تطبيقات ERP الأساسية إلى السحابة، يصبح من غير المجدي بالنسبة للعملاء تمويل ترقيات باهظة الثمن لمجرد للاحتفاظ بدعم Oracle Premier Support.

Customers who are not already en route to Oracle Cloud are probably still somewhere between the “when to move” phase and a “hybrid cloud model adoption” phase. In this time of uncertainty, more customers are looking for an alternative to Oracle’s high support costs until their business strategies force a change to their current ERP systems.

Upgrades, Enhancements, and Third-Party Support

Spinnaker Support provides an alternative for Oracle customers who are undecided on whether to upgrade. We find that prospective customers have a lot in common, and before choosing third-party software support, have similar questions.

What enhancements and future technology features would we be sacrificing?

As an Oracle customer, you are legally entitled to any upgrade or enhancement that is available up until you exit your contract. في حالة توفر ترقيات أو تحسينات لم يتم تثبيتها، يمكن لشركة Spinnaker Support المساعدة في تنزيلها وأرشفتها حتى تتمكن من استخدامها بعد تاريخ الانسحاب. تبعًا لوضعك الحالي في المنتج والإصدار الخاص بك، من المرجح أن توجد جداول تحديث إصدار المنتج متاحة للتنزيل. عند العودة إلى دعم Oracle، يمكنك إعادة ترخيص وحدات المنتج الحالي للوصول إلى أي تحديثات فاتتك عندما كنت على الدعم المقدَّم من طرف خارجي. Read more about archiving in our new white paper entitled Why It’s the Right Time to Sever Ties with Oracle’s Application Support.

How is it possible to replace customizations and core functionality with a generic cloud replacement?

It’s possible that the next significant “upgrade” involves migration to the cloud, which could be the case for many of the legacy Oracle applications like E-Business Suite, Siebel, and JD Edwards. But, moving to Oracle’s cloud subscriptions is different from a product release upgrade. سيكون الانتقال إلى Oracle Cloud أكثر شبهًا بتنفيذٍ جديد لمجموعات البيانات ووظائف المنتج. يحتاج العملاء إلى الدخول في إعادة تهيئة لعمليات التكامل والتخصيص، والتدريب، وعمليات توثيق جديدة للمستخدمين النهائيّين. The considerable cloud subscription discounts can get lost in enormous implementation costs associated with cloud deployments.

How can I compare the ROI of Oracle support against the cost savings Spinnaker Support?

Oracle makes it easy to outline fees. ومع ذلك، هل تفكر في كل شيء عند حساب عوائد الاستثمار باستخدام Oracle؟ هل تقوم بتتبُّع عدد بطاقات الدعم التي تم تسجيلها وحلّها؟ هل تأخذ في الحسبان الوقت الضائع في التعليم الذاتي والدعم الذاتي؟ كم تدفع لموظفيك لحل المشكلات من تلقاء أنفسهم من خلال My Oracle Support؟ كم تدفع مقابل البرامج على الرف (المنتجات المرخّصة التي لم يتم نشرها أو لم يعُد يتم استخدامها)؟

تأخذ Spinnaker Support كل ذلك في الحسبان عند التنبؤ بوفوراتك السنوية. Customers save an average of 62% when they switch to Spinnaker Support; check out our savings calculator to see what you can save!

What Severing Ties Means for Your Oracle Vendor Relationship

While you may have heard that your vendor relationship is over once you choose to end your Oracle support contract, that is just a myth. والحقيقة هي أنّ عملاء Spinnaker Support يبقون معنا لمدة تتراوح من 4 إلى 5 سنوات ويمكنهم إمّا الانتقال إلى نظام ERP جديد أو العودة بنجاح إلى دعم Oracle عندما يكون الوقت مناسبًا. In fact, after a two-year break, you essentially become a net new customer in Oracle’s eyes which means you won’t have to pay penalties or back support fees.

تتحول بعض المؤسسات إلى الدعم المقدَّم من طرف خارجي لخفض التكاليف بسبب ضائقة مالية. ومع ذلك، فإنّ معظم المعتمدين حديثًا هم من روّاد السوق الصاعدين الأقوياء ماليًا. They view a switch to third-party support as part of their strategic roadmap – where savings on support fees can be redirected to accelerate innovation. وقد اختاروا إبقاء خياراتهم مفتوحة وتحديد خرائط طريق منتج ERP الخاصة بهم. ستدعم Spinnaker Support أنظمتك بغض النظر عن مستوى الإصدار، طالما أنّك بحاجة إليها.

For a full understanding of upgrades, enhancement rights, and Why it’s the Right Time to Sever Ties with Oracle’s Application Support, read our full whitepaper. بعد قراءة المستند التقني، يمكنك وضع نهاية لجميع العوامل الأخرى التي قد تمنعك من التفكير في الدعم المقدَّم من طرف خارجي، واكتشاف كيفية التحويل إلى طريقة أفضل للحفاظ على تطبيقات Oracle ERP.