trouble for a 7-8 year SAP Functional Consultant
Hello All,
Having spent close to 7 years in industry working primarily in the area of SAP CRM consulting I belong to a much larger community of similar folks like me. and we are feeling the trouble. the trouble of this changing world, the trouble of all these SAP technological changes.
To be honest I have playing this wait and watch game so far of knowing between the many things which are the one going to succeed and I will start focusing on that. but as soon I begin to understand one new thing there is another poping up in market, Now I agree some of you might say that well that is how it works here budddy. fine I agree to some extent but isin’t it bit trouble some,
few months back I started to get going with C4C and the next moment I figured out about HyBris and then recently this S/4HANA. I mean come on atleast pause a moment, and now I have these all 4 here without knowing which one to pick up and go further.
1 On premise world – I know, I know days are over for this largely but there are still medium size companies in europe and latin america implementing it and we are still making some numbers there.
2. C4C – Picking up well but at ground level still some pacing to do
3. Hybris – Yes agree with the way it is being promoted. Got to be something. for now we are being customers only watching videos and all.
4. S/4HANA – Thats pretty recent and looks like the biggest innovation since R3. well lets just see.
So Back to my point of being a trouble with all these floating around in the world choosing the next step is difficult, yes the domain and functional knowledge does not change. the base of doing business is on same principals and no knowledge go to waste.
Could some of the veterans look from this lens of 7-10 yr old industry guys and point out some things to look out for in next run. there can not be a completely correct answers to it I am only looking for views and comments that can help me take the next step. Thanks
Hi Ravi,
I can understand it might be a bit much for you, and frankly, for anyone. There are IMHO a few ways out of this:
If you go for the second option (specializing), and you want to figure out which product to take on: I can't help you, and I doubt anyone can (even seasoned SAP professionals). SAP moves in mysterious ways. If you have a good overview of the other stuff, and are a true CRM consultant, individual products will come and go, but general conceptual knowledge and experience will always be valuable. So again, you probably can't go wrong.
Just go for it!
Fred
Thanks Fred. your post kind of summed up things and provided a bit of guidance too.
First one seems to be the best for now to atelast answers client's Basic questions about all these they are also troubled like us and know much, If I can atleast help draw a basic map of things may be they will become clear in decision making and so will I.
And yes in not of long run while keeping up pace with all update I might as well start to like/understand 1-2 more then the other and build some expertise to leverage later.
Yes it cant really be a quick call at the moment and no one can make it for me, thanks fred for your valuable points, Am sure these help.
I don't know about any of the options you mentioned. But why don't you stick to SAP CRM and try to get better and better? Each module in SAP is so vast...one needs many many years to get to know lot of things in one module.
TW
That is a great suggestion but you and I both read industry reports and those are not fancy at the moment about SAP CRM on premise per say. some competitors are picking up and many other reasons. there are not many no of projects for SAP CRM. and this is where problem for 5-8 years group comes, we are still associated to a firm and serve clients implementing SAP CRM solutions. but those projects need to keep coming.
Ravi,
I realized recently that I should not care (or think or worry) about my being assigned to a project. I should keep bettering my skills, keep learning and projects will come, clients will hire, interviews will be successful.
If SAP CRM is not attracting clients....then you need to think of a step before the one I mentioned above ("hard work"). Do you want to stay in it or want to select something else? (some other module etc.) and then follow other things....
One thing I am certain, it required minimum of 5 years to be good at a SAP functional module. (for me it is SD)
TW
It is difficult, and the consultant and to some extent the consulting firms are feeling the pain too.
I did go into CRM and with CRM 7.0 I saw something great and I still think it is a good solution, though a little heavy for some clients. The CRM cloud I think is now cheaper than SalesForce so SAP are pushing into this area to reduce the TCO and grab more customers.
You have to stay ahead somehow "head above water" and continue to learn and adapt. Ultimately I see most of us will work directly in these firms away from our client base in the future .... so the business consultant will no longer exist .... this is only a prediction, I know SAP failed to deliver on BPX, so this tells a shor story!!
Good Comments Warren and Yes I agree Lets stay ahead somehow "Head over Water". Keep Learning. keep moving.
Hi Ravi!
I'm not a consultant with many years of experience in SAP field, but quite recently I discussed this point with one consultant that works in the area more than I live. He always stresses one point: "Consulting is not about the instrument, it's about functional knowledge. Functional knowledge is the same not matter what instrument you use. Today your instrument might be SAP, tommorow Oracle, but functional knowledge will remain the same!".
So the only way I see is to stay in constant touch with the evolving technology and learn about new technologies supplied by SAP (or any other provider if that applies). On the other hand, I think that the more experience you have, the more easier it should be to learn something new. Because in technology world each new piece of technology is built upon the pieces of older technologies and so on. Besides some artichitectural components will remain the same.
Anyway, don't give up!
Best regards,
The Wirtschaftsmann
Hi Ravi,
I think like Fred. I like the Fred sugestion.
It's difficult too see what SAP wants, but make your choice. It's bad doing nothing. Pick one or two ways and go on.
Regards,
Manuel