SAP Solution Manager ChaRM vs. 3rd Party Tools… Stay tuned for more info
Great Discounts on Alpha Sirius Solution Manager Training June 4, 2010
Opportunity To Work With SAP Certified Firm
Building Your Career With Solution Manager
SAPPHIRE 2010 Presenter & SAP Partner announces Memorial Day Training Event with $300 Discount on all Alpha Sirius Trainings.
Alpha Sirius Inc. being SAP Partners thrives on combining Project Management and Information technology. With expertise in PMI ( Project Management Institute), ASAP ( SAP implementation ) PRINCE2 and Six Sigma processes, Alpha Sirius Inc. helps and aids its customers in successful IT implementations.
Solution Manager is a software tool, content and gateway to create, operate, manage and monitor business management solutions. SAP Solution Manager is one of the products of software company SAP AG.
Alpha Sirius is RunSAP certified firm is one of the leading consulting practices for SAP Solution Manager.
Batches Starting From June 16, 2010
Alpha Sirius has developed a number of detailed, powerful training courses, dedicated to several SAP Solution Manager Areas. The main focus of our courses is on –
Solution Manager Consultants
Project Managers
End-users & Business Teams
Basis team
System Administrators
We conduct FREE introductory sessions on SAP Solution Manager training. By attending these sessions you will get to know about Solution Manager demand in today’s industry & Attendees will learn how the establishment of a COE is the most effective approach in supporting the SAP Solution Manager
Attendees will learn how solution manager supports the COE.
Delta-training and Cross Training for SAP Consultants who desire to upgrade their skills.
Help with SAP certifications.
Help with SAP Jobs and Job Interviews.
We provide placement services for qualified students
For more details, please visit – www.alphasirius.com. Please send us your interest and resume on rzaveri@alphasirius.com
We look forward to hearing back from you!
Solution Manager 2.1 to 7.1 June 3, 2010
Solution Manager 2.1 to 7.1
SAP Solution Manager – is it a tool, a system, part of a process, part of a methodology, it is a standard or part of best practices.
Is it one or is it all. The mere definition of the word is – “A manager of your Solution”. A manager of your SAP Solution or your IT solution?
After reading all the blogs, listening to multiple podcasts and webinars, I wanted to share my thoughts on the most discussed topic – SAP Solution Manager.
Comparisons have been made to Solution Manager as a ‘Swiss Army Knife’, or a ‘shed with lots of tools’. Case is true – a Swiss army knife is very successful and Victorinox had made its name on it.
HISTORY:
SAP solution Manager has been out for a long time, since 2001. Here is a history of the tool with its functions.
CHALLENGES:
An interesting statistic – SAP Solution Manager is the 2nd most installed SAP product after SAP ECC. Much more than CRM, BI, APO and other SAP products. But the utilization of the tool – less than 10%. This leads to many questions and myriad answers. Depending on whom you ask the answers are:
Customer:
- Yes we have solution manager installed and use it for installation keys and early watch reports.
- Not cognizant of the fact that it has much more functionality than just systems monitoring.
- Well we have 3rd party tools for change management, service desk, too late in the game to change it
Integration Partner:
- We have our own best practices and methodologies and the tools.
- Too complicated to implemented – no specific roadmap
- An added layer of tool for our already tight project schedule
Functional Consultants:
- Ah! An additional layer for tool for our configuration
- Why do I have to follow the business process structure when I can directly to my configuration
- I can go do my development directly in SE38, why do I need Solution Manager
Most of the talk today around is by the technical folks who have been using Solution Manager for their particular trade – BASIS RELATED FUNCTIONS.
What customers/consultants/SAP professionals do not realize that it has lot more potential to it. Few reasons for it:
- The perception is still that it is a technical tool as it was in Solution Manager 2.1
- It is an IT tool and not a business tool, hence not in the priority of systems/tools to be implemented
- Most of the customers have been using SAP for a long time, how do we bring in the history into Solution Manager so they can extend it for other functions
- There are other 3rd party tools that have been out in the market for some time, to difficult to give up on them.
- What is the business case for Solution Manager – where is the hard data and customer references that in fact this has been a successfully implemented and utilized tool.
Some of the customer survey’s today show that less than 20% use it for systems monitoring and less than 10% use it for Change Management. When asked the main challenges for Solution Manager Utilization, the response includes complexity, value of Solution Manager and actual cost of implementation. Refer to a great survey by Panaya at http://bit.ly/aJ4x4x
The other big challenge for Solution Manager is the skill set and expertise out in the market. The expertise need for Solution Manager is a mix of project management, technical, functional and much more. The customers need to understand that implementing Solution Manager is similar to implementing any other SAP tool – like ECC, BI, and CRM but at a smaller scale. Check our my podcast with Jon Reed on the skill set required for Solution Manager – http://www.jonerp.com/content/view/255/33/
The key for the success is also maintaining and being up to date with the latest Solution Manager Versions and enhancement packs. A top BASIS associate and a SAP mentor, suggest that having a sponsor for Solution Manager with realistic budgets is key otherwise prepare for disappointment.
The challenge is also the perception of the implementation timelines. When it is advertised that ChaRM can be implemented within few weeks, while we have seen the simplest ChaRM implementation took about 6 months. Hence it is taken with the wrong perception that it can be quick and dirty and implemented within few weeks with one consultant.
Unfortunately, in many SAP Solution Manager Implementations the focus is not on what the customer actually requires, but on those functions offered by SAP Solution Manager by default and out of the box implementation. This will work for more technical implementations like setting up systems monitoring and root-cause analysis. What is difficult is to adopt is using it for functions like Change Management, Business Process Monitoring, Implementation/Upgrades and test management.
A customer just emailed me and asked what are the potential risks that need to consider with Solution Manager as it is connected to all production systems. Very valid question, especially for a customer with a validated environment. Unfortunately there was no direct answer, no white paper to be referred to or a list of bullet points. Her decision – maybe we will look into implementing it in the future once we are comfortable with the risks and mitigation.
Also the other challenge customers face, with the right intentions of implementing Solution Manager is: what is a good roadmap, what is a good starting point? With the plethora of functionally in Solution Manager, does the customer start it with using it for a new SAP implementation, continue using it only for systems monitoring, may be use it only for small functionally for service desk or Change Management.
SOLUTIONS:
The success will come in by budgeting it as an implementation project, find the right SAP certified company and go thru the complete implementation life cycle. Just hiring a consultant, who is more of a technical consultant with BASIS background, will not help with the success of the system.
It is crucial to success that the customer has a clear picture of all functions in Solution Manager, but more importantly prioritize them for implementation. For example a customer with lot of batch job issues and downtime does not make sense in setting up Implementation or Service Desk functions. This means that the focus must not be on the solution management tool, but on the risks that are addressed and minimized by Solution Manager.
I did a presentation on Change Request mgmt and deploying it at an SAP Insider conference back in 2006. One of the comments was ‘as much as I like the BASIS folks, Solution Manager is NOT just a BASIS tool”. Unfortunately it is still considered a technical tool. It is time to change the perception and realize that I can be used by all of IT and business too.
Customers need some hard dollar numbers and relevant success stories to sell the same with their management. A basic cost matrix of a sample customer with cost information with and with our Solution Manager. I guess as a Run SAP partner, it’s a cue for us to take it up.
If you are making Solution Manager mandatory to the customer, make it the same for the implementation partners and independent consultants. What is the point if you do not have the skill set and expertise to implement it while it is mandatory?
Having been working on Solution Manager since 2002, it bothers me to see that it still has not taken off, the discussions is still around the technical functions and capabilities. I would like to see a webinar/podcast with user of Solution Manager, be it someone from IT or business.
ALPHA SIRIUS TO DELIVER ENHANCED EFFICIENCIES, VALUE AND AGILITY WHILE OPTIMIZING UPTIME AND COSTS April 23, 2010
Jersey City, N.J. – 2009 — Alpha Sirius Inc. an SAP® services partner, announced today that it has been certified by SAP AG as a provider of solution implementation based on the Run SAP methodology.
Alpha Sirius is among the first SAP partners to be certified in the Run SAP methodology and will incorporate the methodology into its implementation standards.
By achieving these certifications, Alpha Sirius will help clients use SAP best practices and tools to enhance efficiencies, reduce downtime and, ultimately, reduce costs. Additionally, it will help clients significantly mitigate operational risks by applying end-to-end solution operation standards for managing SAP applications.
Technology managers face the challenges of ensuring availability of distributed business processes, reacting quickly to issues and process changes, and establishing an efficient network of experts to work on increasingly complex technical solutions.
What Is RunSAP Methodology
Based on world-class knowledge, the Run SAP methodology provides best practices, procedures, content, services, training, and tools for end-to-end solution operations with proven implementation standards. The methodology focuses on application management, business-process operations, and administration of SAP solutions.
The Run SAP methodology helps customers beyond the go-live phase and focuses on application management, business process operations, and administration. Run SAP is SAP’s methodology to implement end-to-end solution operations and includes best practices, standards, and tools for managing SAP solutions (and not only the product) in a heterogeneous and complex environment.
“By adopting the Run SAP methodology into our own implementation standards, we are going beyond the vision of implementing the solutions required by our customers,” said Ajay Vonkarey, president, Alpha Sirius Inc. “We are providing our customers the proven methodology for managing their SAP applications through end-to-end solution operations standards. This will empower our customers to further manage their SAP applications more efficiently and at a lower cost.”
“To succeed in today’s complex environment and grow business, it is imperative for companies to successfully implement SAP solutions and then efficiently manage the operation of the business processes after going ‘live’ with the software,” “With a high level of involvement in the Run SAP methodology, Alpha Sirius uses its industry innovation, high availability, global delivery and scalability to help clients achieve increased business value from their SAP applications.”
These benefits may also be leveraged by customers of the newly launched SAP® Business Suite 7 software. The SAP® Solution Manager Application management solution, a key component of the Run SAP methodology, provides content that accelerates implementation of the new flexible and modular SAP Business Suite. Partners such as ALPHA SIRIUS that are certified in the Run SAP methodology are well prepared to help customers derive the maximum benefit from their investments in SAP solutions.
Jon Reed Interviews Ajay Vonkarey from Alpha Sirius
At JonERP.com, with a podcast on Run SAP and Solution Manager skills with Ajay Vonkarey of Alphasirius. Ajay had some very interesting things to say about the skills needed in these new areas.
Ajay explained that a classic SAP “Basis” person was not, by default, a good Solution Manager consultant. The roots of this misconception go back eight years ago to Solution Manager 2.1. At that time, Solution Manager really was a monitoring tool used almost exclusively by the technical and Basis teams. Fast forward to 2009: Solution Manager has been significantly enhanced and aligned with Run SAP. During the podcast, Ajay warned that SAP customers will run into difficulties if they don’t expand their Solution Manager skills beyond Basis.
(Inserts – Podcast Interview with Jon Reed)
As an SAP services partner certified in solution implementation based on the Run SAP methodology, Alpha Sirius offers clients high-value, strategic services to implement SAP end-to-end solution operation standards. When using the Run SAP methodology, SAP support is implemented across the lifecycle design, set-up, operations and optimization to increase efficiency and lower costs. To achieve this certification, Alpha Sirius trained and certified its applications management professionals and global delivery resources on the end-to-end solution operation standards and adopted the Run SAP methodology within its implementation processes.
About SAP®
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software*, offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 82,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol “SAP.” (For more information, visit www.sap.com.)
About ALPHA SIRIUS
Founded in 2003, Alpha Sirius Inc. thrives on providing expertise in project management, portfolio management and information management. Alpha Sirius Inc. is headquartered in New Jersey with branches and affiliates in Dallas, California and international locations in Germany and India. Alpha Sirius Inc. has become a prominent player in the support of the SAP Solution Manager, Application Management Solution and has worked with numerous customers in successfully implementing it.
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