Customer Influence and Adoption
We offer a range of programs that give customers the opportunity to influence SAP software development decisions and adopt new innovations early on.
Get connected and influence software development at SAP
Do you have a great idea for a new product? Would you like to see a specific SAP enhancement or feature? Want to experience SAP beta software – and implement new releases as soon as they hit the market? If so, we have the perfect offerings for you.
Engaging is easy
How can customers benefit from SAP's influencing opportunities?
See how influencing offerings such as SAP Customer Engagement Initiative, SAP Beta Testing and SAP Early Adopter Care can help customers to go live early and successfully.
How can customers continuously shape SAP solutions?
Find out how customers can continue their influencing journey with SAP by leveraging the offerings of SAP Customer Connection and SAP Continuous Influence to help shape the SAP solutions they are using.
Explore our existing opportunities
The Customer Influence site is the central hub for your software influence and beta testing opportunities. Projects are grouped by line of business, industry, or product category. The activities within the projects range from short to long-term – and include idea submission, beta test participation, customer collaboration, and more. Login required.
ERP and Digital Core
CRM and Customer Experience
Network and Spend Management
Digital Supply Chain
Intelligent Technologies
Cross Products
Energy and Natural Resources
Consumer Industries
Discrete Industries
Join Customer Influence
Step 1: Get ready
Get started and browse the Customer Influence website, which uses SAP Cloud Identity for authentication management and is open for all people with an SAP user account.
Step 2: Stay up to date
Find out how to set up your areas of interest, receive notifications or follow a project.
Step 3: Get involved
Learn how to register for a project as well as submit and manage improvement requests.
Explore our programs
We have five main customer influence programs. The SAP Customer Engagement Initiative asks for your ideas during the development process. Our SAP Beta Testing program lets you weigh-in on a new product before its release. The SAP Early Adopter Care program helps you deploy new innovations ahead of the competition. SAP Customer Connection provides an easy way to request enhancements post go-live. SAP Continuous Influence enables you to suggest improvements on SAP products directly to the development teams. For delivered improvements you can refer to the SAP Improvement Finder with an easy search functionality for you to benefit from them immediately.
Do you have a session or project suggestion for SAP Continuous Influence or SAP Customer Connection? Contact your local SAP user group, who can help provide SAP with user feedback in all technical and functional areas of interest.
Get involved early in the development process
The SAP Customer Engagement Initiative provides you with early insights into new SAP product developments. This is an your opportunity to provide feedback, input and ideas at early stages of development.
- Participate in remote or on-site sessions to discuss ideas and see if they fit your requirements*
- Collaborate with SAP product management to shape new product features
- Build a network with other SAP customers and partners using the same product
Provide feedback on products before they’re released
SAP Beta Testing allows you to test and experience our upcoming, soon-to-be-released products. Working closely with the SAP team, you can review the software, conduct beta tests and provide feedback for future releases. There are different ways to experience SAP software before its official release:
- Rely on SAP test data provided on SAP systems to follow pre-defined test scenarios, either remotely or on-site at selected SAP locations.
- Use your own data and install the beta software in your own landscape to explore new features and functions with your own processes before official release.** You can autonomously download and test the software by yourself or rely on the support of SAP experts who guide you through the process.
Implement new SAP innovations ahead of the competition
Be among the first to adopt new SAP software with the SAP Early Adopter Care program.*** Our dedicated team of experts will work with you to ensure a successful implementation. Interested? You can register for the program during the first few months after new software has been released.
- Realize business benefits right from the time of market availability – at low, managed risk
- Get a dedicated SAP Early Adopter Care project coach to ensure a successful implementation
- Get a head start with access to the Stay Current learning program
Collaborate to improve on-premise software in maintenance
SAP Customer Connection enables you to incrementally improve the on-premise products and solutions in maintenance you are using today. Typically initiated by SAP User Groups and special interest groups, the program's focus topics are of limited duration and often focus on a version, component, or audience of a product. Improvements are mostly delivered in SAP Notes or the SAP Support Portal for easier consumption.
- Fine-tune your SAP products and solutions – and influence SAP direction to benefit your organization
- Collaborate with SAP on improvement projects – organized by defined focus topics
- Get quick-to-adopt, non-disruptive enhancements delivered via SAP Notes and support packages
- Use the SAP Improvement Finder to search and find enhancements made publicly available. View the 2-minute demo.
Continuously suggest product improvements
SAP Continuous Influence provides you with the opportunity to suggest improvements on SAP products directly to the development teams. Formerly offered through SAP Idea Place, this program is specifically aimed towards customers using newer SAP products and cloud solutions that require an open channel for the continuous collection of improvement requests and resolutions. It is similar to the SAP Customer Connection program, which is targeted at customers using on-premise products in maintenance.
- Fine-tune your SAP products and solutions – and influence SAP direction to benefit your organization
- Collaborate with SAP development teams anytime through a continuously open channel
- Submit your improvement requests, vote on other ideas and get regular notifications about the status of your improvements requests through the Customer Influence site
- Use the SAP Improvement Finder to search and find enhancements made publicly available
See how customers are succeeding with SAP
Collaborating to improve existing SAP solutions
Discover how InCloud Solutions is enhancing the SAP solution landscape by working with a community of SAP experts and customers.
Live in weeks using the SAP Early Adopter Care program
Learn how Döhler now benefits from a fast and accurate end-to-end reconciliation process after going live in just four weeks.
Building relationships and loyalty with SAP solutions
Find out how Ravensburger is improving customer reach with consumer-centered, omnichannel communications driven by insight.
*A Feedback Agreement between your company and SAP allows SAP to work with your ideas and potentially include your voluntary feedback in our products and solutions.
** Access to the solutions is provided under a test and evaluation agreement (TEA) and can be used for testing purposes only. Productive usage is not allowed and is not supported under the maintenance and support agreement.
*** This offering for selected SAP products complements SAP support services, and is available to all customers with a valid SAP license and maintenance contract.