Looking ahead to SAP TechEd && d-code 2014

[Former Member]

What I like best about SAP TechEd && d-code is the variety of learning experiences available to attendees. SAP Security and GRC professionals might be surprised to learn that there is a good variety of sessions for us if you look for them.

 

My location: definitely Las Vegas. Not that I am a huge fan of Vegas excess, but the ASUG customer-driven content makes that the right choice for me, besides the travel time and expense being much less.

 

My plan: I like to fill my personal agenda with as much security and GRC Access Control content as possible, then fill in the blanks with samplings of other topics. I also plan to attend Demo Jam and do lots of networking. My agenda is still a work in progress, but here are some highlights:

 

ITM113 Overview of Security Features, Functions, and Services in SAP Products. You can't go wrong with a session presented by gerlinde.zibulski , who leads the Security Product Management team at SAP. This session covers both security *and* GRC Access Control, making it a winner for me.

 

SEC104 Security Notes, System Recommendations, and Business Process Change Analyzer. Speaker frank.buchholz has been presenting an excellent web cast series for ASUG on topics related to security patching, so I know he is expert on this topic, and I look forward to learning about BPCA.

 

SEC260 Security Control Center by SAP Active Global Support. This session is related to SEC104. We have not yet used the Configuration Validation application at my current organization, so I hope to be able to give it a test drive in this hands-on session.

 

SEC834 Road Map Q&A SAP Product Security, Strategy, Features, and Functions. This road map and Q&A session is a follow up to ITM113, and Gerlinde can be counted on to answer questions with frankness and expertise, so don't miss this session for the real scoop on security, GRC Access Control and more.

 

SEC200 Security in Different SAP HANA Scenarios. I attended speaker mark.hourani 's  overview presentation on SAP HANA Security at the ASUG Annual Conference, and I look forward to this more technical dive into it.

 

SEC107 SAP Access Control On Going Management and Lessons Learned. The speaker, my SAP Mentor colleague greg.capps has been working on GRC 10 Access Control since his organization was in ramp-up, so he already has years of lessons learned to share. This ASUG education session is a don't miss whether you have already implemented GRC Access Control or are still thinking about it.

 

SEC201 Implementing LDAP within SAP Access Control. Greg is also presenting this session, which will give you some ideas for improving your GRC Access Control user experience. We have already implemented LDAP with Access control, but Greg's real-world tips for making our users' experience even better will be worth hearing.

 

SEC203 SAP HANA Security - How Newell Rubbermaid Simplified Security Administration. Speaker gautam.patel is Newell Rubbermaid's SAP Lead Technical Architect, and his lessons learned and leading practices are sure to be informative.

 

Advice to first-timers: Plan a personal agenda, but don't worry if it has scheduling conflicts. In fact, that can be a good thing: if a session you are attending is not what you expected, you can slip out quietly and head over to your alternate session. If a session is offered twice, put both of them into your agenda. Be sure to visit the Community Clubhouse and the evening events; even if you are not a developer, Demo Jam is great fun. If attending in Las Vegas, be sure to include some ASUG content in your agenda for real world case studies and lessons learned. Try to eat healthy foods and stay hydrated; it is easy to get run down with the hectic schedule and late nights, and you don't want to be so exhausted by Thursday that you miss the Huey Lewis and the News concert. You might spot some people in SAP Mentors shirts, leading networking sessions, assisting in hands-on workshops, and just chatting in the Community Clubhouse; don't be shy, come up and join the conversation. Most of us are SAP customers or partners, dealing with the same challenges at work as you are. We don't necessarily have all the answers but we look forward to meeting you and sharing your TechEd && d-code experience.