SAP PPM (Portfolio and Project Management) is the solution offering from SAP that supports the planning and execution of projects and portfolios of projects.
It is often confused with SAP EPPM (Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management), which is the official name of the solution from SAP.
SAP PPM is used to collectively manage and analyze for investment a portfolio of projects. In this sense, it is truly a traditional portfolio management tool.
There is some confusion as to what SAP EPPM includes. According to SAP, EPPM includes SAP PPM and SAP PS (Project System) – which is the tool where the projects are actually executed. For the rest of this article, we will use “PPM” to refer to SAP’s EPPM product, which includes both PPM and PS.
Why SAP PPM Doesn’t Work for Most Companies
While PPM (from SAP or others) is a useful tool for some companies, its major downfall is that it is not a project business system. As such, it has limitations around what it can do and the benefits it can bring your organization.
In the Diagram below, SAP runs your company financials. What runs your projects?
We don’t manage our customer relationships or company financials in spreadsheets anymore. Why should projects be any different?
When something matters to your business, you need a business system.
Just like SAP organizes your company’s finances, Project Business Automation (PBA) organizes your company’s projects.
Control and streamline all your project business processes throughout the project lifecycle in one system.
For many companies where projects are central to their business (such as AEC, energy, aerospace and defense, project manufacturing, biotech and pharma, and professional services), PPM tools simply are not robust enough to manage their business. There are some crucial capabilities missing in these tools. If you are expecting a completely integrated business system for your project business with SAP PPM, you may be disappointed.
Bring Order to your Projects
Project Business Automation (PBA) is the first vertically integrated business system for projects designed to provide the financial and operational tools, controls, and insight that you need throughout the entire project lifecycle. PBA is built from the ground up to reduce complexity and seamlessly connect all your project business processes in one system.
Are looking for these advantages with your project business management and SAP environment?
Adeaca PBA easily integrates with top-tier ERPs. PBA consolidates your project processes and data and then exchanges essential information with your ERP.
SAP touts many project and portfolio management capabilities with its PPM solution. Here is a summary of those features.
Portfolio Management
Generate project proposals, prioritize them, and monitor progress.
Project Management
Oversee projects, tasks, and timelines, assign resources, and track progress.
Resource Management
Identify the resources, check availability, see utilization, and manage project bottlenecks.
Commercial Project Management
Do issue and change management and project financial planning.
What is missing?
Managing your project business requires much more, including detailed financial controls that are managed in a cost breakdown structure separate from your work breakdown structure, such as EAC, earned value, CTC, variance analysis, and more.
PPM is not Project Business Automation
It is important to know that SAP PPM is not a Project Business Automation system. PBA eliminates the silos of applications and data that Project Businesses typically use in favor of one platform that incorporates key Project Business functions, including:
Adeaca has been working in the PBA space for 15 years with many great customers using our PBA solution. PBA and PPM are not the same thing.
When to use SAP PPM
Knowing when SAP PPM makes sense for your company requires the answer to a few simple questions.
Are projects a small part of your company?
Are your projects simple and short in duration?
Are you happy running your project financials and cost management in spreadsheets?
If you answered yes to all three questions, then SAP PPM may work for you.
If you answered anything other than yes for any of the three, you may need to explore other options.
Don’t buy a business system if it doesn’t support your whole business. If an application only covers a small portion of your needs but you still need to support the bulk of your processes with ancillary apps, tools and spreadsheets, or make massive custom modifications to it, keep looking.
If your goal is to eliminate the need for those spreadsheets and ancillary applications and be able to manage your project business in one comprehensive business system, then Adeaca PBA may right for you.
Learn More: Project Business Automation
