Last month, NorthgateArinso launched euHReka OnDemand, a multitenant, software-as-a-service (SaaS) application based on SAP’s global Human Capital Management (HCM) solution. It is the first truly global solution delivered “in the cloud” today to support both HR administrative processes as well as full-fledged talent management capability (including recruiting, performance management, learning management, and compensation). While it is an SAP HCM application at its core, it is delivered with a much improved, Ajax-based user interface and pre-configured with HR and talent management best-practice processes.

Some History: 

For several years NorthgateArinso, one of Europe’s leading HR services providers, has been successful delivering SAP HCM implementation services for on-premise solutions as well as a business process outsourcing (BPO) service based on SAP’s HCM solution.  The success of these services is due to the many add-ons the company has developed to accelerate and improve SAP implementations and lower the cost of delivery.

Now with euHReka OnDemand, the company is offering their experience and the product enhancements in the SaaS delivery model. I was pleased to hear that this offering is not a typical OEM arrangement, which typically keeps the solution provider one or two versions behind the “generally available” release.  Rather, NorthgateArinso is committed to staying in sync (and even ahead) of the current release and Enhancement Packs from SAP. Today, euHReka OnDemand is based on SAP ERP HCM 6.0 Enhancement Pack 4. Given the marketing push from both NorthgateArinso and SAP, it is clear that SAP is invested in the long-term success of this offering.

For the euHReka OnDemand solution, NorthgateArinso is targeting large multinational companies requiring truly global capabilities (i.e., adherence to country-specific regulatory requirements, localization, configurability, distributed administration, local data centers, 24/7 support in local language etc.). They are also focusing on SAP’s install base still on earlier versions and looking to make the switch to SaaS or to support hybrid delivery models as needed to meet their business requirements. With this solution, the promise is that customers have the choice and flexibility to go from SaaS to a BPO scenario (or vice versa) without technology interruption as their business conditions demand.

Some Caution:

euHReka OnDemand is still SAP HCM application at its core, with many of the same data model and functional limitations.

Pre-configuring user experiences and talent processes through workflow is dangerous, and potentially a limiting factor, in sales situations. It is one thing to prescribe best practices workflows for payroll, name changes, and time and attendance, but an entirely different story for talent management, which is so bound to a company’s unique management culture and micro-cultures across the enterprise.

While NorthgateArinso has made significant enhancements to improve SAP HCM , they have also made considerable changes to deliver the solution in multi-tenant architecture. One question is can the company keep up and scale as SAP HCM innovates and evolves the technology stack? Workforce analytics through web services was an area that crossed my mind during the briefing.

One final caution: the product is still in its pilot program. We recommend interested companies talk directly with the pilot customers to understand the roadblocks and potential mind fields. As with any new and complex offering, there are bound to be some challenges with such a mighty undertaking.

All things considered, we are optimistic about this offering. It is truly global, is has the horse power of SAP, it is truly multi-tenant, and the user experience is significantly improved.