WALLDORF, Germany, May 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced new tools and services to extend the
Next-Generation Support
approach, SAP's answer to customer service in the digital age and part of its continued commitment to simplify the customer
support experience.
With Next-Generation Support, SAP aims to use innovative technologies to help customers get support anytime, anywhere and from
any device. The goal is to help IT users work more effectively with SAP® software by simplifying solutions and
providing context-sensitive help through a readily accessible knowledge base and expert consultation.
"Providing always-on omnichannel support for our customers, in which users can find answers in the channel of their choice –
or in multiple channels, if they like – is essential in the delivery of a delightful user experience," said Andreas Heckmann, senior vice president and head of Support Delivery, SAP. "Live and direct access to our
support experts helps the people using our products to get answers quickly. Bringing support into the product itself is a big
step forward. SAP will continue to rethink support, putting the customer experience first, and provide innovative solutions to
support customers in running their business."
The extension of the Next-Generation Support approach moves help for customers directly into the product with built-in
support. The Schedule an Expert service augments the Expert Chat service to provide customers with a second live support channel.
What's more, Next-Generation Support has added the Guided Answers service to the self-service and knowledge base SAP
provides.
New Next-Generation support features include:
- Built-in support for the SAP S/4HANA® Cloud suite allows customers to stay within the application and get
help exactly when they need it. Presented this year at the SAPPHIRE NOW® conference as a preview, the built-in
support will be piloted for SAP S/4HANA Cloud, moving support features and access to SAP support experts right into the
product.
- Schedule an Expert is SAP's second live support channel. It offers customers the chance to schedule a 30-minute
call with an SAP expert at a time convenient to them to collaborate on a specific inquiry or incident. Customers are connected
directly with the expert to pinpoint the issue. The direct contact helps avoid delays, improve efficiency, and reduce future
incidents. The new service will be launched at SAPPHIRE NOW for selected products.
- Guided Answers empowers customers to solve incidents on their own using structured decision trees. Customers begin
with a question and are guided to an answer after narrowing down solutions and ruling out irrelevant issues. This automated
self-service tool is based on knowledge created from SAP customer experiences.
These new features of Next-Generation Support are part of support offerings provided on-premise or in the cloud at no
additional fee, reflecting SAP's commitment to simplifying customer support.
SAP launched the Expert Chat service in 2016. Unlike traditional ticket-based models, Expert Chat connects SAP users to technical
experts from SAP instantly. Instead of filing an incident, customers can interact in real time with SAP's support organization
through this live chat function. It creates a faster and more direct route to issue resolution, which improves customer
satisfaction and cuts project and operational costs.
Also introduced in September 2016, the SAP Knowledge Base Article service via Google Search
enables customers to access articles that relate to technical support questions specific to SAP software. Customers can find
popular knowledge base articles using the SAP Support Portal service as well as familiar search functions.
For more information, visit the SAP News
Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better.
From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work
together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and
services enable more than 350,000 business and public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow
sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.
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Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast,"
"intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to
identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in
SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F
filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
their dates.
© 2017 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered
trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx#trademark for additional trademark information and
notices.
For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)
For more information, press only:
Martin Gwisdalla, SAP, +49 (6227) 7-67275, martin.gwisdalla@sap.com, CET
SAP News Center press room; press@sap.com
Erin Albright, FleishmanHillard, +1 (617) 692-0543, erin.albright@fleishman.com, ET
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SOURCE SAP SE