Keeping the business running when implementing software changes – Manage TCO better
Focus on the business
In a globally operating company maintenance windows are scarce. The longer the business can operate as usual the more revenue can be generated. Keeping the business up and running no matter what maintenance activities need to be performed is therefore key. This improved productivity reduces the overall cost of ownership.
Keep business continutiy
SAP summarizes the efforts to keep the business downtime as low as possible with the term “business continuitiy”. A dedicated Business Continuity space is now dealing with the different mechanisms how you can reduce business downtime for SAP systems. It provides useful information, and is the platform to share tips and tricks, and best practices to reduce downtime for planned and unplanned scenarios.
Reduce downtime
One of the featured examples in that space is a new procedure that is available with the Software Update Manager (SUM) to reduce downtime significantly. This procedure called Near Zero Downtime (nZDT) supports the following, for example:
- Installation of Support Packages for ABAP systems with NW 7.02 basis, e.g. ERP 6.05
- Installation of Enhancement Packages for ABAP systems, e.g. ERP EHP 4 to EHP 5
- Upgrade to ABAP systems with NW 7.03 basis, e.g. SAP R/3 4.6C to ERP EHP 6
A significant reduction of the technical downtime could already be reached. It took, for example, only 2.5 hours instead of 8 hours to install an EHP on ERP.
For more information on nZDT or other aspects of Business Continuity, see the space Business Continuity.