Communicating Language Strategies for SAP Projects

Language strategy is an SAP OCM communication issue in many ways. Naturally, native language menus help end-users to do their jobs in a “language-friendly” environment. However, it is also important to communicate to all end-users what the language strategy is, why it is, and how it will affect their jobs.

OCM communications about language strategy should take place at the appropriate time, which is generally sometime during ASAP Blueprint. This timing is important so that all project stakeholders are clear on the strategy and can weigh in on their language issues and needs.

There are basically two ways to implement an SAP Language Strategy.

1. One language Worldwide for Menus and data entry.
2. Local language Menus and one language for Worldwide data entry.

Both implementations may need to allow local language data entry for legal, statutory or compelling business requirements of the operating country.

Take for an example an America company may deploy a worldwide SAP system allowing it's end-users to have local language menus, but specifying that all data is to be entered into the system in English. Its Chinese subsidiary is allowed to enter postal addresses in Simplified Chinese for business reasons.

Most often, a decision will be made to limit data from being captured in multiple languages on SAP. The driver for this decision is the resulting complex business and technical issues. Implementing multiple languages for data entry may affect low-level system functions such as data consolidation from software providers or third party service providers. Alternatively, it may affect administrators’ ability to make changes to the SAP database tables and profile files.

In summary, menus and data entry are the two main areas to explain when communicating a language strategy for your SAP project.

Branding an SAP Project

Managers of successful IT projects are often those who bring brand recognition to their project. Successful IT projects have managers that understand the value of communicating regularly to business stakeholders.

The science of brand management brings many marketing communication skills to the arena of project management in order to establish and keep at the forefront the value of the SAP project being engaged in.

Branding has been around for ages. To see branding, we simply have to look at the logos on our favorite products or the slogans, names and colors that are associated our favorite sports teams. These images, colors and phrases are all ways of branding. The purpose is to impress components of your brand – certain colors, key phrases, shapes, images and sounds —into your audience’s mind repeatedly.

SAP Project Branding is to imbue the project with certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. A brand image may be developed by attributing a "personality" to or associating an "image" with a project, whereby the personality or image can be "branded" into the consciousness of End-users.

Not all projects will benefit from branding. If your SAP project is very short-lived or will not have a significant impact on a large number of people, the time and thought spent on branding may be wasted. In order for a brand to be effective, it must have a target upon which to land and the value of the project must merit the effort to brand. In addition, value can be a primary concept conveyed by the brand.

Your SAP project brand will require words, color, and design upon which your communication team will agree. You may require senior management buy in for your brand, to ensure it is in keeping with overarching corporate goals and standards. An ideal brand name or slogan will convey some of the project benefits, thereby reinforcing the project value whenever the brand is used.

As communication experts, your team should be fully competent in the skills required to do so. They’ll include developing style guidelines for your various project communications as well as planning the frequency and scope of such communications so that they are correctly targeted and memorable to those who receive them. Project newsletters, websites, logos, stylized graphics and icons are all vehicles for reinforcing your SAP project brand.

If you think the ideal brand name is SAP ERP Implementation. You should develop your brand around that. Many companies develop a obscure name for example "Vision 2020" and put it on T-shirts the problem is the first question everybody asks is what is "vision 2020" and you have to tell them it's an SAP ERP Implementation. Remember you are not marketing a new car you are marketing an internal IT project. Keep it simple.