The Perfect Lap Issue no.2 | Page 9

taken considerable time to adapt HANA to be run on
a completely in-house basis – months, in fact, rather
than weeks. And by taking this decision we were able
to have a greater focus on solutions, rather than the
challenges posed by implementation.”
Another notable aspect of McLaren’s adoption of
HANA is that the group has been to some degree a test
bed for the HANA-HEC service, with the result that the
co-operation between the two companies has grown
into a true technical partnership, far beyond a simple
customer-client or team-sponsor relationship.
“We were pretty much the first SAP partner to be
operating like this,” says Wetton, “so we’re helping
them iron out a few wrinkles along the way.” And in
so doing, McLaren are helping mould SAP’s products
to their own, very particular requirements. Not many
businesses, after all, produce Formula 1 cars, ultrapremium road cars, while also using their technological
know-how to provide bespoke solutions (through
McLaren Applied Technologies) for some of the world’s
best-known corporations.
“Core processes such as finance and HR were
implemented pretty quickly, within McLaren
Group” says Wetton, “but now, as we progress to
implementing SAP with Automotive, it will be more
bespoke and tailored.”

Bending the future to their own
will? How very McLaren.

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