Podcast: The Power of Use Cases - How the BPM Resources on SCN are Helping SAP Users

[Former Member]

I invite you to listen to the latest BPX Community Podcast, hosted by JonERP.com: The Power of Use Cases: How the BPM Resources on SCN are Helping SAP Users, featuring Ruks Omar.

Some consider BPM a luxury item for better economic times. In this podcast, hear a different story: a growing number of SAP customers are using NetWeaver BPM (and the BPM resources on SCN) to develop better processes and improve their business results - now. During this 21 minute podcast, Jon Reed of JonERP.com interviews Ruks Omar, who is part of the BPM Go-To-Market team at SAP, about the realities of BPM today and how to take advantage of the BPM resources on the BPX community.

Ruks tackles questions such as the relevance of BPM in a downturn, why BPM will be a major focus at this year's SAPPHIRE event, and how the BPM use case wiki on SCN is becoming a central location for real life examples of BPM use across industries.

Podcast Highlights

:51 Why BPM is relevant in a downturn, and how SAP users are applying BPM approaches. BPM gives customers a more cost-effective way of improving SAP processes. More and more customers are citing BPM as a requirement during RFPs.

3:00 When we talk about BPM in an SAP context, what are we referring to? Is it a methodology, governance, is it a focus on the NetWeaver BPM tool, or all of the above? Why is the SCN community becoming a factor to SAP customers who want to learn from their peers?

5:00 Looking ahead to SAPPHIRE 2010, why is BPM going to be a key theme, and what kinds of BPM topics and activities can we expect to see at SAPPHIRE?

6:13 It hasn't been long since the release of the BPM Roadmap book, and SAP's Ann Rosenberg is already coming out with a new book in June called Coming soon the next SAP BPM book "Applying Real-World BPM in an SAP Environment". What is the motivation behind the release this new book? What kinds of use cases will be in the book?

7:45 If you're an SAP Community Network member, and you want to get a better handle on BPM in an SAP context, how would you do that? What kinds of BPM resources are available on SCN? Omar shares tips on how to get started with BPM on BPX, and how to select the right resources amidst the thousands of forum posts. Hot topics include AcceleratedSAP (ASAP) Methodology and Business Add-Ons, The specified item was not found., BPX certification, and BPM and BPMN.

11:15 The BPM use case wiki is one of the most exciting developments in BPM on BPX - there are more than twenty use cases in ten industries which contain specifics on when and how to use BPM. Omar shares an example of new product rollout, one of the cross-industry examples on the BPM use case wiki that has been discussed and viewed by many SCN visitors.

14:11: Omar shares some of the feedback the BPM team is getting on the use case wiki so far, and how community members can contribute their own use cases and provide feedback on what has been posted so far. "Master Data Management issues in BPM" is one popular discussion topic.

15:26 Omar provides a sneak preview of what SCN visitors can expect from new BPM content on SCN in the next quarter, including new use cases in five selected industries (Utilities, Retail, High Tech, Government, and Consumer Products). Process templates are another project in the works that will be going live soon. There is also more coming on BPM governance and methodology.

17:00 Jon gives Omar a chance to clear up any misconceptions about BPM prior to wrapping the podcast. Omar touches on two key issues: how SOA fits in, and why you don't use BPM for all business processes. She also emphasizes the importance of business-IT alignment and the need for rules, especially around complex processes.

If you are not a member of SAP Community Network yet, consider joining today!