SAP i.e. Systems Applications and Product industry furnish enterprise resource planning software to help businesses run their operations more effectively. It makes functions like sales, logistics, production, marketing, etc. much simpler and is currently used by more than 300,000 customers worldwide. However, the one trend SAP is currently facing, is the SAP HANA deadline for mainstream support, which has since been moved from 2025 to 2027. For many businesses, who had already decided to wait it out as per the previous deadline must have had a sigh of relief on getting a few more years to play catch up. But here’s what Chris Carter, the Founder and CEO of Approyo has to say about this, “While we have seven years until the deadline, we are encouraging customers to make the move now rather than later. We are following adoption trends, and predict that closer to the deadline, there will be a huge “lift and shift”, making it harder to find a valuable MSP to upgrade your system. Customers who plan on making the move ahead of the deadline will have much more time to perfect their tailored system to their needs and will be able to utilize the benefits of innovation, putting them ahead of their competitors.”
Approyo is a leading global SAP-certified cloud-centric solution provider, founded in 2013 in Wisconsin by Chris Carter, its mission is to help customers embrace SAP HANA and other SAP solutions without any complications. They have a dedicated team of experts who work tirelessly to tailor SAP solutions as per their customers’ business needs. They are regarded as the best of breed ‘technology and business partners’ who serve internationally across America, Europe, and Asia. Solutions provided by them include migrations, upgrade and implementation along with SAP consultation and monitoring services, SAP HANA cloud hosting, SAP S/4 HANA cloud hosting, SAP application cloud hosting, and SAP managed services. They offer twenty-four-seven quality support and strive to bring carefully customized and affordable technology solutions to their users. Today, they handle over 300 SAP cloud landscapes and have emerged as a leading SAP cloud-centric solution provider. But how did it all begin?
“The leap you have to take from being an entrepreneur and the leap it takes to get customers to the new world of Big Data and SAP; it just fell into that world of Alice in Wonderland for me," says Chris Carter, Founder, and CEO of Approyo.
The Boulevard of Innovation
The majority of the businesses today indeed find themselves struggling with outdated systems, unorganized information and lack of innovation; this is the void that Chris strives to eliminate. His organization takes care of all dirty work by dealing with the complexity of SAP, allowing their customers to rather focus on the most crucial thing, their business. Before beginning his own venture, Chris had over twenty-five years of experience working in the SAP industry. He always found himself fascinated by the kind of innovation and solutions businesses have to offer. However, it was after a short retirement from the industry, when he found about the release of SAP HANA which compelled him to get back into the game. Being a German-based company, SAP had a lot of gaps to fill before it could benefit its users due to the lack of managed service providers in the area, and this is where Chris finally found his purpose. He shares, “I saw the opportunity, took it, and ran with it. Look at it this way, the services we provide allow our customers’ businesses to operate smoothly on a daily basis. The systems that we provide benefit not only our customers but their customers as well. Companies can make better business decisions by analyzing advanced data pertaining to things like purchasing behaviors, inventory, and delivery schedules. Overall, the goal of implementing an SAP system is to better organize your business, and in doing so, it will help you maintain the highest amount of efficiency and Return on Investment (ROI).”
In these difficult times, when the whole world is fighting the COVID 19 pandemic, Approyo continues offering support to its customers to help them operate efficiently. Their most recent progression is adding Artificial Intelligence capabilities to their service portfolio which will help them keep an eye on things and predict the breakdowns before they even occur. Chris says this will allow them to no longer take a reactive approach but rather a pro-active one. He shares, “I hope to see Approyo experience great growth. I see more employees in the office, I see us adding more companies and partners to support, leading us to global expansion. With the rate we are growing at, I can’t help but look forward to the future.”
“I validate ideas by communicating with my team and customers to approve of decisions before they’re made....I might be at the head of the company, but hearing the opinions of my staff, customers, and partners is extremely important to me.”
Leading by Example
As the CEO, Chris regards his team and employees as the fortune of his company. He only believes in hiring the best, but he makes sure he is always there to their aid. The only expectation he has from his people is to see them grow along with the business and encourages them to refine their skillset and learnings by offering any kind of support they need. “I validate ideas by communicating with my team and customers to approve of decisions before they’re made,” shares Chris. “I might be at the head of the company, but hearing the opinions of my staff, customers, and partners is extremely important to me.” Even though Approyo is a tech-based company, Chris ensures they have a culture of work and play so that his employees can unwind and enjoy a stress-free work environment. They have everything from nerf guns, electric scooters to all kinds of exciting company events. He tells Aspioneer, “I believe that employees will always work harder when they love their job and that working in a casual environment such as our own will motivate them to do their best.”
In his everyday routine, Chris wakes up at five a.m. and heads to the office to get things set up for the day- starting from getting the coffee pots ready to checking-up on the staff outside the United States. His rest of the day goes by conversing about the on-going and upcoming projects with their customers and partners. He contributes strategically to all the activities, but he leaves the SAP projects to his expert support and delivery team which he strongly believes in. He asserts, “One way I have separated some of the responsibilities for myself is by dividing management. I now focus much more on the sales side of the business, rather than managing my technical team. It allows me to have more time to not only strengthen our current business relations but brings the possibility of new ones as well.” Although Chris spends most of his day at his office, he feels more than blessed to be able to go back home to his wife and two beautiful daughters at the end of each day. He says, “It makes all of my hard work worth it.”
Ultimately Chris sees his life’s purpose in a very simple and clear way. “I hope that Approyo will be a part of my legacy, but most importantly I hope that when I leave this earth, people will remember me for my love of helping others,” says Chris.“The entire reason I got into the SAP industry, is to help other business professionals like myself navigate the technology landscape.”
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