Impression of Solution Manager 7.1 by the angel

[TomCenens]

26/09/2013:

<update>please note that this is an outdated blog post - you can expect an updated perspective soon. I've formatted this blog post since I noticed the formatting was messed up due to the SCN migration</update>

Introduction

Some weeks ago we installed a Solution Manager 7.1 to be used for internal training and setting up demo’s. In this blog series I provide some thoughts on Solution Manager 7.1. You can expect more content from me on #solman as time progresses.  Let’s take a look what the angel on my right shoulder has to say about it.

Solution Manager 7.1 knowledge available

There is a lot of good content made available by SAP.

One of the best sources for those looking into Solution Manager 7.1 is https://service.sap.com/rkt-solman which is the Ramp-up Knowledge Transfer base for Solution Manager. The guides are nicely done and pretty clear, something that cannot always be said about documentation that is available.

Then there is the coverage done by vivid community members such as Tony De Thomasis who has nice videos on YouTube on Solution Manager 7.1 which are worth checking.

You can learn more about expert-guided implementations by checking the introduction video from SCN-TV and read up on it on SAP Service Marketplace where you see which topics are currently available and where you can also book an expert guided implementation. A prerequisite to benefit from an expert-guided implementation is the need of Enterprise Support.

All of this in combination with recorded sessions from SAP TechED make up for a nice catalog to start learning about Solution Manager 7.1. Even if you don’t have it running yet you can already learn a great deal about new features and possibilities.

A big +1 for SAP on this point.

CRM based end-user experience

The combination of SAP Netweaver Business Client and CRM 7 is really nice. It’s one of the most remarkable differences for end-users compared to previous user interfaces. It’s not used throughout Solution Manager though. In area’s like IT Service Management the end-user can benefit from a really nifty interface that can customized according to his/her preferences. You can drag parts around on your screen and you can easily add and remove parts. You can even place a weather widget on your screen for example.

Reporting / dashboard possibilities

The fact that almost all scenarios place data in BI is in my opinion a positive thing since it also enables you to easily pull reports and adjust the results according to your own taste. On the same note the recently announced dashboard are also very much welcome.

Looking at raw monitoring data is a drag and even a simple dashboard can make a big difference in that case. For monitoring purposes you should be able to spot SAP system issues by having a single look at the screen that has the dashboard outputs. I know some third party vendors had similar dashboard applications available for Solution Manager 7.0 and it comes in very handy to properly display monitoring data on a screen hanging on the wall.

It shows SAP has listened to the feedback of customers and influencers and acted upon it as well. It’s nice to see activities of the new SAP.

Conclusion

SAP TechED 2011 has a lot and I mean a lot of content and sessions related to Solution Manager. It shows that SAP has a strong believe in Solution Manager 7.1 and that actually means something.

SAP is doing a lot of effort to show the customers that you can have a positive impact on IT and Business by implementing Solution Manager scenario’s. I really feel like they are leaning into Solution Manager now and that’s needed to make it successful.

I’ve always found Solution Manager an interesting area and I will keep on digging in Solution Manager 7.1 to see what value can be extracted. Very small things happening in and around the SAP atmosphere tell me this time around Solution Manager will get much more implementation projects at customer side than it ever did in the past.

Before you get too excited you should also read the accompanying blog “Impression of Solution Manager 7.1 by the devil”.