SAP Insider Multimedia Training

 

Session Descriptions

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Develop a winning SAP ERP upgrade strategy

Where's my financials, logistics, HR, and other critical business functionality? An essential guide to SAP ERP Central Component (ECC), Extensions, and add-ons

A guided tour of the new SAP ERP architectural and technical foundation

The role of SAP NetWeaver in your upgrade: What's optional and what's required?

Critical steps and considerations for planning your SAP ERP upgrade

From SAP Web Application Server to SAP NetWeaver Application Server: Get the most from the latest SAP ERP administrative and development environment

Effectively leverage SAP Solution Manager to plan your upgrade and manage your SAP ERP environment

Build a fail-safe SAP ERP upgrade plan from start to finish

Fortify your upgrade toolbox with the latest tools, accelerators, and resources

The best ways to tackle application modifications, testing, and other key technical SAP ERP upgrade considerations

Best practices for how to approach your SAP ERP upgrade based on lessons learned by early adopters

Guided tour and key decision points for how to best leverage your new SAP ERP system

Develop a winning SAP ERP upgrade strategy
The scope of SAP ERP is far more expansive than traditional R/3 and R/3 Enterprise, and so is the range of factors that need to be considered when planning an SAP ERP upgrade. Watch this session to get invaluable advice on how to approach these concerns, and create a sound upgrade strategy for your organization as you:

  • Delve into the 3 options SAP makes available for upgrading your current R/3 system and for adding new functionality
  • Learn the primary functional and technical benefits and tradeoffs to focus on with each option so that you make the right upgrade decision
  • Discover the 4 factors that make an upgrade to SAP ERP different from R/3 upgrades you’ve performed in the past
  • Examine SAP’s maintenance strategies for current R/3 releases to determine the urgency of your upgrade decision
  • Evaluate factors that will influence if and how soon you should upgrade to SAP ERP, including SAP’s Solution release strategy
  • Prepare for hidden infrastructure, training, and staffing costs
  • See how the concept of technical and functional upgrades has evolved with SAP ERP
  • Additional Resources: A comprehensive workbook detailing functionality deltas between each R/3 release from 3.1x to SAP ERP, a list of key ROI and TCO considerations for a SAP ERP upgrade, a decision matrix to help you choose the right upgrade path, and a comparison chart of ECC 5.0 and ECC 6.0 functionality can be found in your appendix file.

Where’s my financials, logistics, HR, and other critical business functionality? An essential guide to SAP ERP Central Component (ECC), Extensions, and add-ons
Watch this session to find out where and how to access the SAP ERP features and functionality that are important to your business. Discover the tradeoffs, requirements, challenges, and benefits of enabling this functionality as you:

  • Gain awareness of the functionality delivered with a standard SAP ERP license and which capabilities require the licensing of additional SAP solutions
  • Examine new functional capabilities available with SAP ERP 6.0
  • Explore prerequisites and steps for leveraging functionality in 3 different areas — the ECC, Extensions, and add-ons
  • Pinpoint and learn to optimize the features that will deliver the greatest value to your organization
  • Clarify how SAP’s plan to release new functionality in the form of SOA-enabled enhancements affects your upgrade decision strategy
  • Become familiar with the major functional deltas between current R/3 releases and ECC in the areas of financials, logistics, and HR
  • Assess, activate, and manage the functionality delivered with many new Extensions that have been added to SAP ERP 6.0 — as well as what’s planned for the future
  • Explore new capabilities — such as collaboration through supplier portals and cProject Suite — that come with underlying prerequisites
  • Plan for release interdependencies between SAP ERP functional components
  • Additional Resources: A Product Availability Matrix for all SAP ERP components can be found in your appendix files.

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  • Get a handle on how the technical capabilities and interdependencies of each SAP ERP component affect your overall SAP landscape and how they will drive your future rollout of SAP solutions
  • Tap into expert advice for correctly aligning each architectural component with key phases of your upgrade plan
  • Understand the minimum hardware requirements to install different components of SAP ERP
  • Get a clear picture of how technical elements such as plug-ins fit together and interact
  • Assess the compatibility of SAP ERP components with other solutions in your landscape
  • Demystify SAP’s synchronized release strategy, and see how it affects your decisions for upgrading R/3 and other SAP solutions
  • Walk through a 5-step approach to SAP ERP system landscape development
  • Find out whether your SAP upgrade requires a conversion to Unicode and assess its impact on your upgrade plan, timeline, and costs
  • Additional Resources: A checklist of criteria to decide when and how to deploy each SAP ERP component is available in your appendix files.

The role of SAP NetWeaver in your upgrade: What’s optional and what’s required?
Develop a concrete understanding of SAP NetWeaver, the foundation of SAP ERP. Get advice to help you begin making decisions about if, when, and how to leverage all or part of this platform, along with an in-depth look at the associated hardware, maintenance, and skill-set requirements. Watch this session to:

  • Compare how critical business processes are supported by R/3’s client-server architecture versus SAP NetWeaver’s enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA)
  • Take a detailed tour of the key components in the SAP NetWeaver platform and determine if any, all, or none should be activated as part of your SAP ERP upgrade
  • Evaluate whether a SAP ERP upgrade will require you to upgrade SAP NetWeaver components you may already be running in your landscape, such as SAP BW (now part of SAP BI) or portal
  • Hear real-world examples of what customers have — and have not — been able to do with SAP NetWeaver
  • Understand if and when the functional and integration benefits of SAP NetWeaver solutions outweigh the capabilities of best-of-breed solutions you’re considering or have already adopted
  • Discover whether an increasing amount of SAP ERP functionality residing outside the ECC will require you to deploy SAP NetWeaver
  • Identify the 5 new skill sets required to implement and manage SAP NetWeaver, and understand why other companies have found it difficult to acquire these skills
  • Get hard-hitting advice on the hardware investment and maintenance complexity SAP NetWeaver could add to your landscape
  • Additional resources: A list of the top 10 elements that are unique to SAP ERP upgrades can be found in your appendix files.

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  • Learn to make a confident decision, in the absence of KPIs and metrics, about when to upgrade to SAP ERP
  • Get advice on how leading SAP companies have secured the right type of executive support and approval for their upgrades
  • Figure out when it makes sense to implement new solutions — such as SAP NetWeaver or SAP Business Suite solutions — in conjunction with your upgrade to get the most bang for your buck
  • Find out why there’s no such thing as a purely technical upgrade, and prepare your business, functional, and end-user organizations accordingly
  • Avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that have stymied the upgrade plans of other companies based on actual SAP ERP upgrades
  • Align your upgrade plan with organizational goals to ensure that SAP ERP supports your most critical business processes and objectives
  • Get proven tips for how other companies are accelerating the decision-making process for SAP upgrade projects
  • Additional Resources: Sample plans and templates you can use to put together a well-balanced SAP ERP business case for executives and board members can be found in your appendix files.

From SAP Web Application Server to SAP NetWeaver Application Server: Get the most from the latest SAP ERP administrative and development environment
SAP NetWeaver Application Server, the latest iteration of SAP Web Application Server (SAP Web AS), is the development and administrative environment of SAP ERP. As such, it poses implications for your upgrade as well as long-term opportunities and consequences for your development and Basis teams. Watch this session to:

  • Recognize key administrative and developmental differences between SAP NetWeaver Application Server and Basis
  • See how SAP NetWeaver AS 7.0 differs from SAP Web AS 6.40 and below, and determine what this will mean for your administrative and development teams
  • Identify and prepare for new skills every Basis administrator will need in order to operate and maintain SAP ERP
  • Learn how the Computing Center Management System (CCMS) and Transport Management System (TMS) have evolved into entirely new suites of tools
  • Explore the new tools, including Web monitoring, that have been added to SAP NetWeaver AS
  • Discover the breadth of functionality now available to both ABAP and Java development teams
  • Assess the minimum technical requirements you’ll need to upgrade to SAP NetWeaver AS from Basis as well as from earlier SAP Web AS releases
  • Learn how the integration of SAP ITS with SAP NetWeaver AS will affect your Web-enablement options
  • Additional Resources : An Application Development Evaluator to help you select the right integrated development environment (IDE) can be found in your appendix files.

Effectively leverage SAP Solution Manager to plan your upgrade and manage your SAP ERP environment
Tap into advice for how to deploy SAP Solution Manager, a critical tool to facilitate your upgrade to SAP ERP, as well as how to fully leverage its monitoring and tracking capabilities once your new system goes live. Watch this session to:

  • Acquire expert guidance to decide when and how to wield SAP Solution Manager to facilitate your upgrade
  • Derive the full value of this free tool to provide a project methodology, access OSS notes, report problems to SAP, and track tasks and activities associated with your SAP ERP environment
  • Explore new functionality available with SAP Solution Manager 4.0, such as a Web-based user interface as well as service-desk reporting capabilities
  • Discover how and why SAP Solution Manager becomes essential to your landscape as SAP uses it as the primary vehicle for delivering all global support services
  • Understand where SAP Solution Manager fits into SAP’s portfolio of upgrade tools, and get tips for using it in conjunction with ASAP Roadmaps
  • Discover how SAP Solution Manager supports key upgrade tasks, such as migrating custom reports and applications
  • Get expert advice for how far SAP Solution Manager can take you in getting a single application versus a full-blown SAP NetWeaver implementation up and running
  • Identify and evaluate third-party tools you can use prior to your upgrade to incorporate initial implementation and documentation activities into SAP Solution Manager
  • Additional Resources : A self-study learning map for SAP Solution Manager 4.0, a comprehensive list of functionality deltas between SAP Solution Manager 3.2 and 4.0, and a list of third-party tools for populating SAP Solution Manager can be found in your appendix files.

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  • Develop a checklist of specific steps, critical tasks, and special considerations that must be accounted for during each phase of this unique upgrade
  • Reveal the upgrade phases that may increase in complexity, depending upon the R/3 release you’re upgrading from
  • Assemble criteria for making the right decisions on methodologies, project plans, and team composition
  • Learn how to modify your plan depending on the scope of your upgrade — “technical” versus “technical + functional”
  • Gain insights into how key variables, such as SAP ERP’s larger footprint, will drive important project planning and timeline decisions
  • Scrutinize the many ways in which an SAP ERP upgrade affects your bolt-ons, interfaces, and custom and third-party applications
  • Acquire staffing best practices, including staff-consultant ratios that have and have not been effective with other upgrades (HINT: Conventional wisdom is not always a best practice)
  • Know when to “freeze” other SAP projects and how to balance priorities in a multi-project environment so that you can more smoothly execute your upgrade
  • Avoid challenges and pitfalls that can occur during testing, cutover, and go-live
  • Additional Resources: A guide of upgrade planning tips, time-saving techniques, and proven SAP ERP upgrade roadmaps can be found in your appendix files.

Fortify your upgrade toolbox with the latest tools, accelerators, and resources
Besides SAP Solution Manager, there are dozens of tools, accelerators, and resources that can ease and accelerate your upgrade project. Walk away with the advice you need to identify and correctly use valuable SAP and third-party upgrade tools. Watch this session to:

  • Obtain recommendations for how to leverage 12 tools SAP provides that no upgrade toolbox should be without
  • Leverage Reverse Business Engineering (RBE) to properly inventory custom programs and reports so that you migrate only what you need
  • Ascertain if, when, and how to use SAP NetWeaver Rapid Installer if you’ll be deploying SAP NetWeaver Portal with your upgrade
  • Assess different scenarios in which it may — or may not — be helpful to enlist the aid of outside consultants, and get advice for how to effectively manage them
  • Know if, when, and how you should augment your existing toolbox with third-party planning, monitoring, and testing solutions
  • Discover how to leverage SAP Tutor to help with your upgrade training and documentation activities
  • Understand why the SAP Upgrade Information Center should be the first place you visit to help plan and execute your upgrade
  • Additional Resources: 64 free SAP ERP upgrade accelerators and a master guide of key technical SAP ERP implementation steps can be found in your appendix files.

The best ways to tackle application modifications, testing, and other key technical SAP ERP upgrade considerations
Migrating custom modifications and testing are two activities that can add considerable time and complexity to your SAP ERP upgrade project. Delve into these and other important technical issues that you can’t afford to ignore. Watch this session to:

  • Pinpoint the percentage of your upgrade timeline that you’ll need to devote to migrating custom reports and transactions
  • Determine if and when it makes sense to install new out-of-the-box functionality versus migrating your custom modifications
  • Evaluate the benefits and tradeoffs of System Switch versus Customer-Based Upgrade processes, and decide which is most effective for you
  • Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of system testing with proven methods and tools
  • Prepare for the increase in memory application and CPU server resources you’ll need to run the ECC, depending on the R/3 release you’re upgrading from
  • Investigate the options of having your upgrade development and testing environment hosted, and decide if the benefits, such as a smoother-running Transport Management System (TMS), justify the costs
  • Know which SAP-recommended upgrade tasks and steps you must follow explicitly — and the consequences if you don’t
  • Additional Resources: A comprehensive list of release notes for SAP ERP upgrades, and guidelines for Unicode-enabling your ABAP code can be found in your appendix files.

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  • Garner lessons learned based on over 200 early SAP ERP upgrades to bolster your own upgrade effort
  • Derive hard-hitting insights into how the expectations of early adopters measured up to their actual upgrade experiences
  • Examine critical factors that impact the length and complexity of SAP ERP upgrades, such as source release and custom modifications
  • Tap into real-world project timeline metrics
  • Uncover the average amount of downtime experienced by early adopters
  • Beware of significant “gotchas” that can hinder your upgrade project — such as a major increase in server size for Unicode
  • Get a glimpse into how many customers are investigating or considering a SAP ERP upgrade within the next 6-12 months
  • Additional Resources: Detailed statistics from the SAP ERP 6.0 Ramp-Up programs can be found in your appendix files.

Guided tour and key decision points for how to best leverage your new SAP ERP system
View comprehensive demos and illustrations of what your new SAP ERP system looks like and how it functions. Acquire practical recommendations for if and how to proceed with new functionality. Watch this session to:

  • Discern whether new functional capabilities could accelerate your plans to upgrade to SAP ERP
  • See first-hand how to access the ECC through SAP GUI and SAP NetWeaver Portal, and understand the decisions and implications of each option
  • Gain insight into when, why, and how to use SAP ERP’s AS-ABAP versus AS-Java — or both — for application development
  • Determine whether the presence of earlier releases of SAP solutions, as well as third-party and/or legacy applications in your landscape, could create problematic compatibility and integration issues for your upgrade
  • Get a glimpse into new value packs that SAP has planned to help customers stay current with SAP ERP functionality
  • Discover how your options for generating, editing, and displaying PDF documents have changed with the addition of Adobe Interactive Forms
  • Explore ways in which SAP’s rollout of the new “Project Muse” interface will affect the way in which users access SAP ERP

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