SAP SuccessFactors raise the user experience bar for a digital workplace

2013-05-24

Yesterday I attended day 1 of SAP SuccessFactor's SuccessConnect conference in Sydney. I was there to learn more about SAP's roadmap for its enterprise social software offering (SAP Jam) and also to see how well it currently extends into the broader SAP's HR technology ecosystem.

One of the pleasant surprises of the day was seeing the latest mobile app from SuccessFactors, which integrates JAM and other applications from their suite:

I have to admit this app really raises the bar in terms of both the mobile user experience and the integration it offers into backend (HR) systems.

I also spent some time looking at Employee Central:

On the face of it, you could probably build a half-decent intranet simply with Employee Central and JAM. And if we take what SuccessFactors is offering as either an indicator of what the HR technology market wants or what they think it wants, then very clearly HR professionals are very interested in creating a digital workplace.

(Thanks also to Michael Specht, an analyst with Navigo Research, who was kind enough to share some of his insights about the HR technology industry over a coffee and point me in the right direction.)