atos: delivering expertise that keeps businesses up and running

SAP Customer Success Story | Professional Services | Atos

Atos: Delivering Expertise That Keeps Businesses Up and Running

©2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved.

2 / 7 ©2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved.


CompanyAtos S.A.

HeadquartersParis

Industry, products, and servicesProfessional services, IT project services, managed services, and support

Revenue€8.5 billion

Web sitewww.atos.net

Solution and servicesE-academy remote-learning programs from the SAP® Education organization

Failure is not an option

The pressure’s on. A retail company has just 24 hours to switch to a new software system that will power all business-critical processes. It must be running by Monday morning or customer orders will be lost.

But IT staff can relax. They know they can trust in the expertise of consultants from IT service provider Atos S.A. And, thanks to e-academy remote-learning programs from the SAP® Education organization, team Atos won’t let them down.

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Major software deployment projects or application management services involving SAP software affect processes at the core of business operations for Atos customers. So, consultants at the IT services provider have no margin for error. Any delays could result in lost business, loss of earnings, and damage to the customer’s brand reputation.

However, organizations in 48 countries around the world have faith that Atos consultants will deliver. They choose the company for the in-depth knowledge

and technical skills of its people, and they trust those people with their business.

To underpin Atos’s high standards, training takes top priority for junior consultants when they join the com-pany. To bring new graduate recruits quickly up to speed, the company’s Finnish operation chose a self-paced, remote-learning e-academy program from SAP Education. This allowed junior staff to complete the training over a six-month period while gaining prac-tical experience meeting the needs of real customers.

http://www.atos.net


Introduction

Vision

Why SAP

Solution

Benefits

Future plans


Hitting the ground running

Atos’s Finnish operation is part of one of the world’s largest IT services providers, which has revenues of €8.5 billion and employs 74,000 staff in 48 countries. Atos workers number 400 in Finland and Estonia. More than 150 SAP consultants are based at the regional headquarters in Espoo, Finland, and of these, 25 are junior consultants.

With 95% of all work involving SAP solutions and a growth strategy that focuses on delivering SAP soft-ware projects and services, it is critical that Atos staff

provide a high level of expertise in this area. However, not all staff members join the company with extensive experience working with SAP solutions.

For this reason, the training received by junior staff is of paramount importance. “We want to develop well-rounded consultants who can make confident decisions,” explains Marko Lumppio, head of expert sales in systems integration at Atos. “But we also want them to hit the ground running, taking an active part in live customer services and gaining valuable hands-on experience at an early stage.”

“Customers choose Atos because they believe they will receive first-class service, and the skills of Atos consultants are key in delivering this.” Marko Lumppio, Head of Expert Sales, Systems Integration, Atos S.A.



Flexible training where and when it’s neededRecently, to achieve its training goals, the company opted for an e-academy program from SAP Education. This program supported remote, self-paced learning over a six-month period, allowing trainees to contribute to ongoing customer projects and application support while they studied.

Atos previously had had a positive experience with the academy program from SAP Education, an inten-sive classroom-based training course, but were look-ing to switch to a remote model. “We’ve always been very happy with the quality of both the content and the support provided by instructors on training programs from SAP,” confirms Lumppio.

Another important consideration was the fact that with a six-month window to access training materials online, the learning process would be spread over a lengthy period. This would give junior consultants the flexibility to work on the training programs at a time and place that would fit in with existing customer

projects or application management services. In this way, the trainees could apply what they had learned to real-life scenarios, cementing their knowledge.

Cost was another important factor in the decision to take a remote-learning approach. “A classroom-based course would require trainees to travel to attend each session in person,” comments Lumppio. “As well as incurring travel expenses, this would result in a signifi-cant opportunity cost with junior consultants having to take time out from ongoing projects or application maintenance services.”

Introduction

Vision

Why SAP

Solution

Benefits

Future plans

6 monthsWindow for course

completion



Comprehensive learning tools

A total of 25 junior consultants completed the e-academy program, which was funded in part by the Finnish Center for Economic Development. The training covered SAP solutions for financials, logistics, business intelligence, and human capital manage-ment, as well as the ABAP® programming language.

Trainees accessed online courses that included pre-sentations, system demonstrations, and practice sim-ulations. To ensure maximum retention, participants completed each stage twice, and individual study was underpinned by group sessions where trainees could review issues and discuss lessons learned.

In addition to the remote-learning materials, a one-day event run by SAP Education brought all trainees together. “A business process simulation game – ERP Sim – showing how SAP solutions help to inte-grate different business processes was particularly well received by the participants,” remarks Lumppio. “In addition, the day really helped people to get to know each other and bond as a team.”

Atos was pleased with the results, with most consul-tants passing the certification test the first time and all remaining trainees achieving the necessary standard at a second attempt.

Introduction

Vision

Why SAP

Solution

Benefits

Future plans



Making learning come to life

As trainees didn’t have to attend lengthy classroom-based courses, they could become involved in cus-tomer projects or application support quickly. Typically within one month of joining the company, trainees may be involved in junior roles such as prelaunch testing.

Junior consultants undergoing the training found that these early opportunities to apply knowledge in live project environments gave them greater confidence in their newly acquired skills. “Hands-on experience really makes the learning come to life,” says Riitta

Koivuoja-Hattunen, a consultant at Atos. “Right away you are a valued member of the team and can con-tribute to the success of real customer service.”

Senior consultants also felt that opportunities for knowledge transfer during training enabled trainees to have a deeper level of understanding of the chal-lenges they may face and how to ensure a successful solution outcome. “Many of our colleagues can offer years of experience, and working side by side with these individuals offered trainees invaluable insights,” comments Lumppio.

Introduction

Vision

Why SAP

Solution

Benefits

Future plans

“For a prestigious brand such as Atos, quality is everything. Thanks to e-learning academy training from SAP, we can be sure of delivering just that.”Riitta Koivuoja-Hattunen, Consultant, Atos S.A.

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Atos

Supporting business growthImpressed with the success of the e-academy pro-gram, Atos anticipates that remote learning services from SAP will play a key support role in the future. Plans are already under way to roll out the next phase of the e-learning program.

“Thanks to the e-academy training from SAP, we’ve been able to expand our consultant base quickly and cost-effectively,” concludes Lumppio. “In this way, the program enables us to meet market demand for exper-tise in SAP solutions and grow our business in Finland.”

Introduction

Vision

Why SAP

Solution

Benefits

Future plans

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atos: delivering expertise that keeps businesses up and running

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