SAP responds to BusinessObjects support concerns

Software giant SAP has responded to customer concerns about the level of technical support offered to users of its BusinessObjects products.

BusinessObjects is the name given to SAP's suite of business intelligence tools and applications, which are aimed at SMBs and enterprise customers.

Research published by the UK and Ireland SAP User Group claimed this week that 40 per cent of BusinessObjects users were unhappy with the level of technical support they receive from the vendor.

We have listened. We are acting.

Fifty-seven per cent said they encountered difficulties when trying to use SAP's Service Marketplace portal, and 63 per cent said they found it hard to find support information.

The group's research was compiled using feedback from 96 BusinessObjects customers from across the UK and Ireland.

Alan Bowling, chairman of the UK and Ireland SAP User Group, said: "These figures show that there is still work to do when it comes to supporting and communicating with BusinessObjects users.

"As such, we have been working closely with SAP's Customer Experience team to make sure this happens," he added.

In a statement to IT Pro, SAP said the user group's gripes were already being worked on.

"The SAP Service Marketplace support portal is under review and certain areas are undergoing a redesign," said a SAP representative.

"We are also creating a customer focus group made up of SAP customers to help us validate any new designs, layout, content structure and navigation. We have listened. We are acting."

Meanwhile, in response to end user complaints about how difficult the service portal is to use, the firm is now offering customer demonstrations.

"We know we cannot change everything overnight, yet we want our customers to be successful and have created a service that allows customers to receive a one-to-one demonstration of the portal," they said.

"We can provide a vanilla or a bespoke demonstration, dependent on the customer's needs."

The user group's research also urged SAP to let customers have more of a say in how the BusinessObjects product range is developed in future.

SAP confirmed, in the same statement, that this is something it is keen to collaborate with customers on.

"[The company] has created a dedicated area, called IdeasPlace, for customers to submit an idea to provide direction for future product functionality," the SAP representative added.