Embrace the all new SAP – Welcome Change

Hello my fellow learners,

SAP is the past was known to be stale solution for the customers. It was also notorious to be rigid and closed system. Like the infamous mafia, data within SAP stays within SAP 🙂

Since the times of SAP NetWeaver 2004, then 2004s SAP has opened up. It is on the continuous path of evolution from being a closed box to an open system. The past year has seen tremendous movement in the SAP Ecosystem. SAP is now geared to take it a notch further with SAP HANA and SAP Cloud based mobile platform. SAP UI5 is another steps towards accommodating the latest features of Java Script and HTML5.

As SAP consultants, its an exciting period to be working with SAP solutions. But, are we left behind in the journey? Are we still stuck in the world of ABAP functions or Web Dynpro UI screens? How do we catch up with the technological developments within SAP and outside? Some of these questions could be bothering the SAP consultants. In my interaction with the experienced SAP consultants there is a sense of fear among them. They feel left out in the crowd. Its a sense of growing panic. Panic is driving the consultants to the the path of instant fame, certification. Technical developers are taking up certification in SRM/SD modules and functional consultants are taking up ABAP certification. How to reign in this noise?

SDN space is pushing out new content every other day. As senior consultants the fear of an unknown technology, has to be handled with the tried and tested method – “Embrace change“. Now, to the action process.

At first, each individual needs to introspect about his/her skills. Then, try to find the technologies which are of his interest or second best to their current domain. As a natural progression, it would be preferred for technical consultants to process in the technical domain and so with the functional consultants. There are various other aspects apart from the standard developments or standard transactions to work upon.

Once, the consultants are totally comfortable in their domain and decide to learn a new skill, then they need to first build the theoretical knowledge in the new domain. The more we read, the better. In tandem, the consultant has to identify the team within the organization which is working on this technology/domain. An active engagement with the team members and management with result in knowledge sharing and practical experience on this domain. It will also prepare the platform to build the skills in the new domain. As a subsequent step, it will create the right noise about your intentions in the new domain for the management. It gives you an edge over a novice.

It is always good to have a view outside SAP. Time to time, its good to read the developments in the non-SAP space. Slowly, with better understanding, map the new domain with the current trends and understand the purpose behind this domain. The key to utilization of any new technology is to understand its core purpose. Only then, can it be given as a solution to the customer.

Its good to be associated with COE(Center of Excellence) teams but not for long. Nothing replaces real-time projects. Always be on the look out for the real-time projects and once in it, explore the possibility of using the newer features/solutions of SAP for the benefit of customer. The fundamental driving force of any solution is the CUSTOMER’s Excellence. A solution is successful only when its useful to the customer.

Filter the noise. In between all the noise about the new technologies, try to filter the unwanted distractions(specific to each consultant) and try to focus your attention to 1 or max 2 new innovations. This will increase the probability of your association with this technology.

Stay calm, Stay focused and Stay determined. Welcome Change, Welcome the new SAP.

Thank you.

Regards,

Sharath