“SAP Solution Manager” that great unknown
I was just reading some content on SNC and think about one common situation related to our SAP Solution Manager, that SAP Solution that a huge number of SAP consultant don’t know, especially if they are from functional / logistic part, MM, SD, BO, BW, WM, etc… beside sap system administrators that know the software but don’t like it 😉 . So think about that, a huge number of SAP specialist don’t know Solution Manager, don’t know the goal of solman and sap system consultant don’t wanna to use it. One reason for that is currently crisis situation and some project manager ( 😡 ) don like to use solution manager on huge sap installations because they are afraid to lose time or resource while implementation project. I don’t think so and know all adantaje to use solution manager for manage landscapes, support maintenance projects and support also implementations or upgrade project but that’s not the topic that i’am trying to explain on that post.
Look at that screenshot, look at a few most of the common SAP solution around the world and compare it to Solution Manager.
Solution Manager SCN places have near 727 followers, and on the other hand we have for example SAP ERP sales and distribution with 652 followers, that’s a surprise for me 😯 and is a good new, solman community are growing; if it is hard for you to understand that. ask any SD consultant about solution manager functionalities (you will lucky if they tell you that solman is only for send sap notes to SAP). 😉
But someone can tell me that this is not true, because inside ERP sales and distribution forum there are 2 sub places for SD billing with 202 followers, and SAP ERP SD sales; correct you can sum all that and get more than solution manager places but remember that solman place no not include subplaces for different functionality’s as was request by friend Wences Lacaze some time ago on that post
http://scn.sap.com/thread/3355102
See how many sub solman place can be available inside solution manager forum:
On the picture you can see 11 solution manager functionalities Groups and sub-functionalities not less important and tools for offer IT departments a tool for manage they operations, they systems, they service, etc, etc…
Solution Manager is a huge software, but need a better marketing pland than message like ( the mandatory option to download software and create XML files ) that get situations like that http://scn.sap.com/community/it-management/alm/solution-manager/blog/2011/10/06/download-basket-approvals-gone-with-the-wind ( don’t take that as an attack Tom Cenens 😀 ) and customers don’t get information about whole ALM functionality.
Well, as a finish words ( own personal words and personal idea ), i’m happy to see how solution manager community and people interesting on it are growing every day, now it’s on the hand of SAP A.G. to send that message to they customer outside forum like old one that I get the opportunity to join #RunSAP13 where attenders can see a lot of solution manager sessions; but here on Spain SAP presentations there is not a good number of Solution Manager Sessions.
We all have to spread the word better
Regards,
Luis
The part that torques me about Solution Manager is that you on your own as the Administrator can't enable the full functionality without the help of your functional counter parts...I'm almost 3 years into SAP at my company and I still can't convince people to put the BPB into Solution Manager....and even with team members on Basis, I find the lack of wanting to make life easier for the team irritating! 😡
Even with knowing that we have 5 EGI sessions yearly offered by SAP, I need functional people to also attend and learn how this will just make things easier for everyone.
Hi Billy, your situation is usually in a huge number of companies, i work on a SAP partner side and i have similar problem of adoption trying to convince colleague and customers.
Talking about BPB (i think is BPO, Business Process Operation) you can try to setup it, will be hardest if you don't know functional part but you can do it with a few collaboration of the functional part, try to setup a process that you own; what about to setup ITSM ()for example) on your solution manager and setup BPO for ITSM processes, if you successful do that, then you can sow the benefits to your colleagues and will be easy to convince they to collaborate.
I know you trough SCN forum i don't think that you will not be able to setup it with some functionally part, will be hard bat you can get it, i'm sure.
Check that https://www.dropbox.com/s/4y9v2xem2sep02p/BPO.zip, Billy Warring
Regards,
luis
We have the ticket system "Track-IT" which was post SAP being decided upon for our next ERP solution; and is currently owned by a different director in the IT dept, who being close to retirement age isn't going to have things change. 😐
Business Process Blueprints changed names to BPO now, arg these name changes are going to kill me one day! 😉 The only functional pieces that I am a part of is ensuring that printing happens, and being the point person who can identify where to fix the problem preventing the printing.
Also to shed more light on how we enjoy shooting our selves in the foot, we refreshed our original Dev system from Prod 😯 (we had some very poor things done by an implementation partner). I have recently finished this book, and tried to convey that we shouldn't do this again; however someone has conveyed to my supervisor that we are going to do this prior to preparing for every go live location (or set of locations) we have remaining....we also setup our <SID> as a letter letter number, naming scheme....I have no doubt that we are going to eventually re-use a previous SID and I can only imagine how this is going to foo bar the landscape!
So finishing SolMan tasks isn't high on anyone list...with perhaps me being the exception... 🙁
Hi Billy, I know how can be frustrating that situation, but you have to think in positive beside that adversities 🙂
You make me think hard, about one of your functional pieces that is monitor printing processes, have you think on make a "Printing Business Process with Interface monitoring with solution manager (docu inside previous zip), i never do that but i think that can be possible if you can make interface with printers, link it to business process, etc...
To avoid that you comment about (..very poor thinks from implementation partner...), i use a message on some customer's presentation and related to change management.
"...Solution Manager Change Management helps your company to get all systems landscapes more stable; controlling all change that each third party sap consultant do on your system's; you can control that trough charm workflows, approvals and also (related to that book ) you can manage transports trough charm including if you use it CTS/CTS+ or CCTS.
Tell me if you try to manage printer process with solution manager, that could be a good challenger 😉 , we can start a scn blog discussion about how to setup it within solution manager, i will happy if i can help you with that.
Best regards,
Luis
I have been pushing for ChaRM and Quality Gate to be setup, I currently just setup CTS+ for BoE and started domain link'ing the other domains to SolMan...its been over a year we have had this capability. It also doesn't help matters when my supervisors are being told that ChaRM is a huge pain to setup and use......lets not find out ourselves, lets just take the word of others without finding out the whole picture of WHY it was a pain!! 😡
Currently everyone is satisfied with using a web page in SharePoint and some custom scripts to move transports; the Basis has to move QA/Tng/Prd/Sbx transports for every approved item. Some days I have over 200 some emails for a transport move, Basis member responds, and then a final response providing transport results....I can't imagine ChaRM being that bad compared to what I see now! 😕
BPMon on printing would be interesting to try out, currently I have no visibility of the Windows print server(s) and I don't know all of the business processes that trigger outputs...Plus I can't think of a way to monitor condition rules from being modified or event rules.
I would have to think that I need the business to provide the blueprint so I can start investigating anything like this?? 😥
Just think about it 🙂
Hi Luis,
Thanks for the metion, anyway, still looking for the forum split 🙂
BR
w
Good morning Wences, i hope some SCN forum moderator take that request in consideration, actually is hard to find old post on solution manager forums.
Best regards,
Luis
That's true. Sometimes I had to bookmark my own threads, so that I will not have to search for them again in the vast sea. I am in for splitting the forum.
Hi Lluis
No offence taken. The blog wouldn't exist if that particular proces would make sense. It would serve SAP well to do something about it. In fact, I'm still pursuing this idea and I've just recently identified who can help me within SAP so the story might continue in the near future.
I do believe in SAP Solution Manager as a product that it can add value. Today, I spend most of my time working on SAP Solution Manager for customers so it wouldn't make sense that I would go advertise against it but then again, SAP needs to be pushed from time to time to improve the product.
SAP Solution Manager is thriving and things are moving pretty fast in terms of new functionality being delivered and existing functionality being improved. There are scenario's which are already great and other scenario's which feel unpolished.
If we all go in cheerleader mode (not saying you are doing that but I mean in general) then the progress will slow down. Raquel Cunha has been collaborating with SAP on the CHARM front, I've been doing the same on the System Landscape management front and I've got plans to expand my activities with SAP to further influence other parts of SAP Solution Manager.
Best regards
Tom
Thanks for your comment Tom, i understand your argument and position.
Best regards,
Luis
Hello,
I created some Information for Administrators to survive at least the BW Upgrade
Three things to know when migrating NetWeaver BW on HANA
SAP First Guidance - SEM/BW Modelling in SolMan 7.1 with MOPZ
Hopefully this will help a little bit ...
Best Regards Roland Kramer
PM BW/In-Memory, SAP AG
I see that too late Roland, too late ¡¡¡
I write a comment on your document post,
Great,
Luis