SAP SuccessFactors Review

I've found the system is not fully integrated as SAP SuccessFactors sales and marketing tout. You will find that only certain modules integrate with other modules and only certain data can be used in certain modules, in my experience. I believe the data model and permissions are rigid, challenging to administer, and just piled into the application over the years. SAP SuccessFactors additions and fixes that might look good when you're just touring, but then you settle in and realize how schlocky the work is, in my opinion. I believe it is in real need a of a rebuild.

SAP SuccessFactors would be best suited for a very large organization (tens of thousands of users at least) for which the most important factor is having a software to both serve as the company's HR information system (e.g. employee data, payroll) and supporting talent system (learning, performance, succession, compensation, etc.) The desire for one system must outweigh the desire to 1) have modules that are flexible to configure and update and 2) are kept up-to-date from the vendor with advancements in technology and HR thought. In my opinion, SAP SuccessFactors falls short on both. In addition, you must be prepared to make a significant (think $100K + per module) investment in configuration partner costs. This is because there is still much configuration that can only be done in what SAP call the "Provisioning client" to which only SAP configuration partners (not customers) can access. And this will not only impact your configuration costs, but you will also need an ongoing support contract with a configuration partner, as even very minor changes, if they require access to the "Provisioning client", can only be done by a configuration partner. Standard usable reports are nonexistent, so also be prepared to devote much resource to configuring reports.