SAP Expands Next-Generation Support to Improve Customer Experience in the Digital Age

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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For more information, press only:
Martin Gwisdalla, SAP, +49 (6227) 7-67275, [email protected], CET
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Erin Albright, FleishmanHillard, +1 (617) 692-0543, [email protected], ET

SOURCE SAP SE

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