Karen Liedl
Three years ago we were celebrating our first appearance into Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for SAP Application Management Services, among the world’s top 18 providers. Competing against leading business technology giants Accenture, TCS, Deloitte, we’ve now made it for the third consecutive year, with Gartner’s recent release of this year’s 2015 report.
We’re approaching our 33rd company anniversary in December, and I am reminded of the interesting success story that is Softtek’s beginnings; what started out as 4 innovative individuals in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1982, has blossomed into a global team of 10,000 some thirty years later.
With an 80% failure rate for business, how have we not only managed to keep afloat, but grow our profit margins? If I had to sum it up myself, I’d condense it into three factors: 1) Proven reliability; 2) Nimble business culture; 3) Passion for conquering new challenges. All three are responsible not only for Softtek’s inclusion into Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, but they are the common denominators in the feedback we receive from our clients industry-wide. 
Earlier this month I attended the Gartner Sourcing and Strategic Vendor Relationships Summit in Dallas—a 3-day event full of analyst guidance on sourcing strategies, peer networking and plenty of SWAG (our selfie sticks and tequila raffle were among the best, if I do say so myself…). In her session “Selecting Midtier Vendors: Bigger Is Not Necessarily Better,” VP Analyst at Gartner, Frances Karamouzis, showcased a Softtek case study to highlight our nimbleness/agility, proven capabilities in large-scale deals and why cultural fit is pertinent.
In fact, in 2014, Gartner stated:
“Softtek is one of the nimbler providers in this Magic Quadrant. Although relatively small, Softtek exceeds expectations for a company of its size and scale, to establish itself as a formidable competitor for a specific segment of SAP application management service deals: most of its clients are large organizations with over 10,000 FTEs.”
And this year, Gartner highlights: “It [Softtek] enjoys a certain exclusivity for being shortlisted in deals from large enterprises that are seeking nearshore delivery for North America and Latin America.”
When I asked Softtek Director of ERP Marketing Denise Weber what has been the biggest contributor to Softtek’s SAP success, she pointed to the great relationships Softtek builds with its customers and increased investments in the technologies that are helping their businesses move forward. “Once again our high scores in customer satisfaction set us apart from the competition when it comes to delivering world-class SAP Application Management Services,” says Weber. “We have been investing more heavily in SAP technologies like SuccessFactors, Fiori, Ariba, HANA and agile delivery, to keep up with customer’s changing needs.”
Softtek does not compete with Accenture or Infosys on scale – but our quality services for Fortune 500 clients speak for themselves. Our Nearshore SAP services are world-class; however, our strength does not stem from one offering, but rather from our culture.
Indeed, size may be an important consideration for your vendor sourcing strategy – but if size alone is your priority, well, you may be falling short.
