Podcasts about netweaver

An unsecured Chroma database exposes personal information of Canva Creators. A researcher brute-forces Google phone numbers.  Five zero-day vulnerabilities in Salesforce Industry Cloud are uncovered. Librarian Ghouls target Russian organizations with stealthy malware. SAP releases multiple security patches including a critical fix for a NetWeaver bug. Sensata Technologies confirms the theft of sensitive personal data during an April ransomware attack.SentinelOne warns of targeted cyber-espionage attempts by China-linked threat actors. Skitnet gains traction amongst ransomware gangs. The UK's NHS issues an urgent appeal for blood donors. On today's Threat Vector, host David Moulton talks with Arjun Bhatnagar, CEO of Cloaked, about why protecting your digital privacy is more urgent than ever. The FBI's Cyber Division welcomes a new leader.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. Threat Vector Segment In this segment of Threat Vector, host David Moulton talks with Arjun Bhatnagar, CEO of Cloaked, about why protecting your digital privacy is more urgent than ever. From building better cybersecurity habits to understanding the hidden risks in everyday apps, Arjun shares practical advice that listeners can use immediately. You can hear David and Arjun's full discussion on Threat Vector ⁠here⁠ and catch new episodes every Thursday on your favorite podcast app. Selected Reading Canva Creators' Data Exposed Via AI Chatbot Company Database (Cyber Security News) Google brute-force attack exposes phone numbers in minutes (The Register) Five Zero-Days, 15 Misconfigurations Found in Salesforce Industry Cloud (SecurityWeek) 'Librarian Ghouls' APT Group Actively Attacking Organizations To Deploy Malware (Cyber Security News) Critical Vulnerability Patched in SAP NetWeaver (SecurityWeek) Sensitive Information Stolen in Sensata Ransomware Attack (SecurityWeek) SentinelOne Warns Cybersecurity Vendors of Chinese Attacks (Infosecurity Magazine) Skitnet Malware Actively Adopted by Ransomware Gangs to Enhance Operational Efficiency (GB Hackers) NHS calls for 1 million blood donors as UK stocks remain low following cyberattack (The Record) – mentioning this in the Briefing Brett Leatherman to follow Bryan Vorndran as head of FBI Cyber Division (The Record) Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Example of a Payload Delivered Through Steganography Xavier and Didier published two diaries this weekend, building on each other. First, Xavier showed an example of an image being used to smuggle an executable past network defenses, and second, Didier showed how to use his tools to extract the binary. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Example%20of%20a%20Payload%20Delivered%20Through%20Steganography/31892 SAP Netweaver Exploited CVE-2025-31324 An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in SAP s Netweaver product is actively exploited to upload webshells. Reliaquest discovered the issue. Reliaquest reports that they saw it being abused to upload the Brute Ratel C2 framework. Users of Netweaver must turn off the developmentserver alias and disable visual composer, and the application was deprecated for about 10 years. SAP has released an emergency update for the issue. https://reliaquest.com/blog/threat-spotlight-reliaquest-uncovers-vulnerability-behind-sap-netweaver-compromise/ https://onapsis.com/blog/active-exploitation-of-sap-vulnerability-cve-2025-31324/ Any.Run Reports False Positive Uploads Due to false positives caused by MS Defender XDR flagging Adobe Acrobat Cloud links as malicious, many users of Any.Run s free tier uploaded confidential documents to Any.Run. Anyrun blocked these uploads for now but reminded users to be cautious about what documents are being uploaded. https://x.com/anyrun_app/status/1915429758516560190

Bob Littell, creator of the NetWeaver concept, shares about being a connector, a provider of information, and a "trusted resources network" builder. Learn more and contact him via https://netweaversinspire.com/ For more great insight on professional relationships and business networking contact Frank Agin at frankagin@amspirit.com.

https://home.hallocasa.com/ - HalloCasa - The Digital Business Card for Real Estate Agents Join our Global Real Estate WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FTjRF1RNCct5CQUpEbUiCTCheck out our Content Library about the USA here: https://blog.hallocasa.com/usa/#podcasts This time I was talking to Kurt Uhliri from Atlanta, Georgia. Kurt is a globally-recognized marketer, operator, and speaker. He's built and run businesses from start-up to over $500M annual revenue, assembled teams across six continents, been part of the small team leading an IPO ($880M), and participated in dozens of acquisitions.He is the VP of Marketing of eXP Realty World and is overseeing the Growth. Content: 00:00:37 Introduction and early years 00:05:37 Elements to his success, sleeping 3h each day, work ethics 00:08:45 Kurt´s motivation in life 00:11:30 Achieving Hypergrowth for companies and startups 00:15:30 Using the right data to achieve hyper growth 00:19:30 About momentum 00:23:30 Hypergrowth with venture money vs without venture money 00:29:05 Types of Businesses in which Kurt is interested in 00:33:10 About the Netweaver Concept 00:38:40 Public Speaking and Being a Leader 00:45:15 How everything started with Showcase IDEX 00:53:15 Selling your own company for millions and buying companies 00:56:35 About eXp Realty 01:00:35 Making eXp Realty better 01:05:35 The business of Broker to Broker Referrals 01:08:13 Conclusion You can contact Kurt via: https://councils.forbes.com/profile/Kurt-Uhlir-VP-Marketing-Operations-eXp-World-Holdings/65bec021-f8f7-4296-8cee-6e5f29a42046 https://kurtuhlir.com/about/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtuhlir/

https://home.hallocasa.com/ - HalloCasa - The Digital Business Card for Real Estate Agents Join our Global Real Estate WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FTjRF1RNCct5CQUpEbUiCTCheck out our Content Library about the USA here: https://blog.hallocasa.com/usa/#podcasts This time I was talking to Kurt Uhliri from Atlanta, Georgia. Kurt is a globally-recognized marketer, operator, and speaker. He's built and run businesses from start-up to over $500M annual revenue, assembled teams across six continents, been part of the small team leading an IPO ($880M), and participated in dozens of acquisitions.He is the VP of Marketing of eXP Realty World and is overseeing the Growth. Content: 00:00:37 Introduction and early years 00:05:37 Elements to his success, sleeping 3h each day, work ethics 00:08:45 Kurt´s motivation in life 00:11:30 Achieving Hypergrowth for companies and startups 00:15:30 Using the right data to achieve hyper growth 00:19:30 About momentum 00:23:30 Hypergrowth with venture money vs without venture money 00:29:05 Types of Businesses in which Kurt is interested in 00:33:10 About the Netweaver Concept 00:38:40 Public Speaking and Being a Leader 00:45:15 How everything started with Showcase IDEX 00:53:15 Selling your own company for millions and buying companies 00:56:35 About eXp Realty 01:00:35 Making eXp Realty better 01:05:35 The business of Broker to Broker Referrals 01:08:13 Conclusion You can contact Kurt via: https://councils.forbes.com/profile/Kurt-Uhlir-VP-Marketing-Operations-eXp-World-Holdings/65bec021-f8f7-4296-8cee-6e5f29a42046 https://kurtuhlir.com/about/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtuhlir/

Show Notes:IBM integreert Red Hat Ceph en ODF in Storage portfolio: https://www.techzine.nl/nieuws/infrastructure/504113/ibm-integreert-red-hat-ceph-en-odf-in-storage-portfolio/https://newsroom.ibm.com/2022-10-04-IBM-Redefines-Hybrid-Cloud-Application-and-Data-Storage-Adding-Red-Hat-Storage-to-IBM-OfferingsQuantum computing: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2022/press-release/IBM Artificial Intelligence Unit: https://research.ibm.com/blog/ibm-artificial-intelligence-unit-aiuLink naar de besproken referentiecase: https://ttnl.nl/klantcase/power10-scale-out-hybrid/Meer referentiecases van TTNL: https://ttnl.nl/over-ttnl/referentiecases/LinkedIn Derk Jan Boon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djboon/ Gebruikte afkorting(en):SVC: SAN Volume ControllerODF: OpenShift Data FoundationAIX: Advanced Interactive eXecutive  Op- en aanmerkingen kunnen gestuurd worden naar: ofjestoptdestekkererin@nl.ibm.com

Right, welcome back! This week, I sit with Phil Rawlinson, the businessman who swapped the board room for the classroom!? He tells me more about what it was like growing up with a wealthy grandfather, how he managed to take advantage of the internet taking off by setting up a NetWeaver, what it was like losing his best friend and co-founder to cancer and why, despite being extremely successful, he decided to take up teaching and how 12 year old students were teaching him things that he couldn't have even begun to imagine, at 30 years old! If you did enjoy this episode, then let us know by SHARING us on your socials and tagging @MMHYPODCAST on Instagram, don't forget tp leave a REVIEW on Apple Podcasts, and FOLLOW us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts! Thank you so much for listening, have a great week, Until next time

In the 37th episode of our unofficial SAP on Azure video podcast we talk about Nuance, Azure Monitor for SAP Solution Provider for NetWeaver going Public Preview, Synapse and SAP Flight by Roman Broich, SAP Business Technology Platform Security Tutorials, Single Sign-On and Pricinpal Propagation with Power Virtual Agent and SAP by Martin Räpple, Sustainability Summit and SAPPHIRE Now. Then Robert takes a close look at Backup-Options in Azure. https://youtu.be/ipwjwoHQYxg https://github.com/hobru/SAPonAzure

In the 32nd episode of our unofficial SAP on Azure video podcast we are looking at the Azure Backup Center, talk about some customer scenarios from MLP and ServiceNow, Snoozing SAP, ABAP 1909 Code Talk with Andres Fischer and look back at the Power Platform & SAP webinar. Then Ram talks about the new NetWeaver provider for the Azure Monitor for SAP solutions. https://youtu.be/2wln9hTLC8k https://github.com/hobru/SAPonAzure

Como o Protagonismo e o Netweaving podem ajudar os casais que tem filhos com malformações congénitas (com ou sem fenda lábio palatina), com síndromes ou outros desafios? O Netweaving é um modo de estar na vida, para qualquer pessoa que queira fazer a diferença no mundo.Eu sou um recém apaixonado pelo mundo da aviação. Descobri esse mundo, graças a um Blogger que se tornou um ícone na Internet com um canal do Youtube, de seu nome Aviões e Músicas.Perdi o medo da Aviação com a aquisição de conhecimentos que um mecânico de aviação proporciona nos seus vídeos. Lito de Sousa, conseguiu criar um conteúdo que superou as informações produzidas por outros players da sua área. O Aviões e Músicas tem hoje mais de 1 milhão de inscritos. Muitos como eu tinham pavor de voar e hoje, adoram aviação.Por que estou a falar de aviões e youtubers no Latitude? Por que esse Mecânico assumiu o protagonismo da informação sobre o tema.Protagonismo? Será que nós entendemos o que é protagonismo? Vamos devagar.Em tempos, ouvi um dos seus vídeos, onde um acidente aconteceu por causa de um problema identificado como CRM (Crew Resource Management). Quem é o protagonista do cockpit de um avião comercial? O comandante… mas…Eu sei que parece estranho mas isso liga-se diretamente com as nossas realidades da Fenda Lábio palatina. Tenha calma! O assunto não é avião. É protagonismo.Mas então o que há em comum entre acidente aéreo e malformação congénita?Imponderável, responsabilidade e protagonismo.Um acidente aéreo, eu aprendi, nunca tem uma causa única. Em aviação, sempre que há um acidente, procura-se encontrar e compreender a “cadeia de eventos” que leva àquele desfecho. Se alguns desses elos são previsíveis, outros são imponderáveis. Não me vou ater em exemplos ilustrativos, pois isso levaria-nos a perder o foco.Certa vez, num acidente catastrófico, um comandante cometeu um erro e o seu co-piloto apercebeu-se desse erro. Tentou alertar o comandante, que do alto de sua patente, ignorou subestimando seu subordinado. Assumiu o que quase sempre se entende por protagonismo, mas que na verdade é exclusivamente, comando. E não podemos sequer confundir comando com liderança. O comandante foi responsável pela morte de mais de uma centena de pessoas, por causa de um erro involuntário, negligência culposa, e um erro voluntário, negligência dolosa. O primeiro, foi a leitura de uma informação com uma interpretação errada do que estava escrito. O segundo, foi ignorar os alertas de um outro elemento da tripulação, nesse caso, co-piloto. Na aviação, sempre que acontece um acidente, estudam suas causas e mais do que apontar e condenar um culpado, procura-se a maneira de evitar que essa condição volte a existir. Evitar que outro acidente igual se repita. O que aconteceu depois desse acidente, foi a alteração do CRM. Até aqui, a palavra de um Comandante era autocrática e indiscutível. Através da mudança de atitudes na cabine, o CRM trouxe uma divisão de tarefas, em que o PROTAGONISMO deixa de ser um fator divisionário, mas partilhável. Piloto e co-piloto são ambos protagonistas. Apenas tem patentes distintas e respeitam seus postos. Esta alteração de paradigma do CRM, salvou mais de uma centena de vidas, noutro acidente aéreo. Graças a permanente interação e respeito mútuo, os protagonistas (Piloto e Co-Piloto) decidiram por uma solução imponderável, teoricamente possível e maioritariamente mal sucedida noutras tentativas. Falo do Comandante Sully e a amaragem no rio Hudson. Para entender a conexão desse mundo com o mundo das fendas, precisamos perceber conceitos fundamentais. A família é uma tripulação de vida. São as pessoas que se escolheram para fazer juntos uma viagem que se pressupõe, linda, desafiadora, prazerosa e duradoura. Uma gravidez é um momento apical na vida de um casal. Ambos são protagonistas. Mas há uma hierarquia. A mãe levará no seu ventre e proverá a vida ao novo elemento da tripulação. Um bebé, ansiado e desejado, pode, por probabilidades ou imponderável, ser concebido e nascer com uma malformação congénita. Isto não é uma catástrofe. É uma condição. Um dos elementos ou mais de um dos elementos da equipa, tem alguma condição que a diferencia. Pode ser uma competência ou uma característica. No limite, até uma limitação.Se isso ocorre, usando a metáfora aérea, o que acomete esse voo será apenas uma turbulência cuja magnitude pode ser diferente de para caso.O que se seguirá, dependerá de percebermos o que é protagonismo. Qual a diferença entre culpa e responsabilidade. Qual a diferença entre probabilidade e possibilidade. E como agir perante o que pode ser uma cadeia de eventos, que coloque em risco a sobrevivência da tripulação/família. Se esta cadeia de eventos evoluir sem controlo, haverá um acidente catastrófico, que é a desintegração da família. Nesse episódio o nosso convidado é o Cari. Seu nome de baptismo é Paulo Maurício Mello, mas para nós, os amigos do Lipi, ele é o Cari! Sua história de vida é riquíssima e o seu currículum de uma abrangência desconcertante. Ele é um ser humano e um Netweaver por excelência com uma história de vida desafiadora, um empreendedor nato e criativo que atua de forma sistémica, utilizando metodologias e tecnologias que visam a melhoria da condição humana e empresarial. Ele actuou como executivo de grandes empresas e no segmento de informática e telecomunicações por 28 anos. Hoje ele atua como Coach Mentor. O Cari é fundador da SBN, Sociedade Brasileira de Netweaving. Por isso os conceitos de Convivência com Relevância e Reciprocidade Assíncrona, são uma constante no sub-texto da conversa. Se ficou curioso, ouve o nosso Podcast e depois, vai conhecer o site da SNB! www.weaving.com.br Aqui no Latitude, tu encontras sempre bons temas! Bem haja

This week, Even more TikTok wars, MGM Grand data for sale, Karens, SAP Vulnerability, Mirai Returns with 9 new exploits, and the Secret Service! Jason Wood joins us for Expert Commentary on how TrickBot Sample Accidentally Warns Victims They’re Infected!   Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/SWNEpisode49

This week, Even more TikTok wars, MGM Grand data for sale, Karens, SAP Vulnerability, Mirai Returns with 9 new exploits, and the Secret Service! Jason Wood joins us for Expert Commentary on how TrickBot Sample Accidentally Warns Victims They re Infected!   Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/SWNEpisode49 Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes!   Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/securityweekly Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secweekly

This week, Even more TikTok wars, MGM Grand data for sale, Karens, SAP Vulnerability, Mirai Returns with 9 new exploits, and the Secret Service! Jason Wood joins us for Expert Commentary on how TrickBot Sample Accidentally Warns Victims They re Infected!   Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/SWNEpisode49 Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/swn for all the latest episodes!   Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/securityweekly Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secweekly

Jake Evans Senior Associate, Holland & Knight on Business Developers Network Show Content Notes: Becoming a lawyer takes hard work. Becoming a successful lawyer is even more challenging. Law is a business, What most people do not realize is that for most attorneys, they are an independent business, and that is true whether they are sole practitioner or work in small firms, your value to the firm is relative to the revenue you generate for the firm and that is especially when they are working in large firms, So, what does it take to succeed in law? If your ambition is to become an attorney, what path should you follow? Our guest, and my friend, Jake Evans will share his journey from law school to rising within the ranks of law firms in seven short years to become a senior associate at Holland & Knight, a global law firm with more than 1,300 lawyers. Welcome Jake to the Business Developers Network broadcasting from Pro Business Channel studios in Buckhead, Atlanta. Let me provide a brief bio for you so our listeners will get to know you: Graduated with honors from University of Georgia undergrad and law school Worked for 3 different law firms before becoming a senior associate at Holland & Knight; which is part of your journey we will learn about. A senior associate at Holland & Knight representing individuals and corporate entities in matters involving complex litigation; government relations at the local, state, and national level; and general business law advice and counsel. He has significant experience representing emerging and early-stage companies, where he carefully balances providing sufficient legal protection with ensuring adequate resources are available to push a company's product to market. A rising star in Georgia's government and legal communities: Elected Chair of Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance And finds the time to give back: He volunteers to be on: Executive Committee of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Georgia Indigent Representation Task Force Before we follow your career path, tell a bit about Holland & Knight, which is a global law firm with more than 1,300 lawyers with expertise for providing representation in litigation, business, real estate and governmental law. What brought you to the three law firms before joining Holland & Knight? Did each in a way influence and prepare you for the next law firm? What led you to move to different law firms.? This is an important question because one need to know when it is time to move on and not get stuck in a ‘comfortable' rut. Artie: I am a serial networker or NetWeaver as I like to be and that's how I first met you, at a BBA social mixer. How important is networking for you and how much time do you devote to networking? Networking is more than attending mixers. It was very smart of you when starting out to introduce yourself to incubator companies – as they grow so will your relationship with them. Has any of them developed into the big time? You also became involved in politics and government services. And it is good to give back by joining support organizations; and that can also develop relationships; can you share those experiences and in what way do they help grow your practice? What opportunities are there to develop relations within a large firm like Holland & Knight? What advice can you offer a young attorney starting out? What advice can you offer an attorney who might be with a small firm and would like to join a much larger firm? You have been practicing law for 7 years now, innovation affects every industry and innovation is moving faster than before; what do you see are differences in practicing law today than when you started out? For example, do you still need those old law books or is everything you need to research can be found more quickly online? Where do you see innovation going in law in the next few years? What is the trend in the market?

This is Part 3 of my Chat in the Pocket with Vinícius Braz Rocha, a Netweaver at E2Glats. English in the Pocket is an interactive learning platform where people get together to exchange their ideas and by doing so, take their English skills to next level, with purpose and meaning. Join the community and SIGN UP FREE NOW @ www.englishinthepocket.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/englishinthepocket/message

Bradley Knapp for IBM joins us on the show to talks about how IBM Bluemix bare metal servers give you cost-effective, global scalability for your SAP workloads for HANA and NetWeaver hardware

Free health apps are selling your data, SAP’s TREX exposes HANA and NetWeaver, Microsoft patches another Word bug, your phone PIN is at risk, and more in this week’s security news! Full Show Notes: http://wiki.securityweekly.com/wiki/index.php/Episode509 Subscribe to YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg--XBjJ50a9tUhTKXVPiqg Security Weekly Website: http://securityweekly.com Follow us on Twitter: @securityweekly

Free health apps are selling your data, SAP’s TREX exposes HANA and NetWeaver, Microsoft patches another Word bug, your phone PIN is at risk, and more in this week’s security news! Full Show Notes: http://wiki.securityweekly.com/wiki/index.php/Episode509 Subscribe to YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg--XBjJ50a9tUhTKXVPiqg Security Weekly Website: http://securityweekly.com Follow us on Twitter: @securityweekly

In creating "NetWeaving"—building trusted relationships by helping others—Bob Littell drew on principles learned from building his own career and company, and by showcasing others who had been “NetWeaving”—before he coined the term over 16 years ago. Learning and living out Netweaving principles continues to enrich Bob’s life. He stays busy sharing them worldwide and enacting the two mottos of NetWeaving: 1) Good things happen to people who make good things happen; 2) When you open the door for someone else, you never know who you will meet as a result.

Even if you do not personally know Bob Littell, chances are, you know someone who does.  Bob Littell is America's Chief Netweaver, meaning he is also one of the most connected men in America.  Having been impacted by he "pay it forward" movement, he personally retooled the principles and practices of paying it forward to work in the context of business relationships.Listen in as Bob Littell unpacks the secrets of successful netweaving and the truly wonderful stories he has personally witnessed as the result of paying it forward.

Even if you do not personally know Bob Littell, chances are, you know someone who does.  Bob Littell is America's Chief Netweaver, meaning he is also one of the most connected men in America.  Having been impacted by he "pay it forward" movement, he personally retooled the principles and practices of paying it forward to work in the context of business relationships.Listen in as Bob Littell unpacks the secrets of successful netweaving and the truly wonderful stories he has personally witnessed as the result of paying it forward.

During this special Google Plus taping, Jon Reed of JonERP.com assesses SAP developer engagement with fellow SAP Mentors Graham Robinson and Ethan Jewett. The guys present their views on three points they determined to be crucial for SAP's success building an apps ecosystem: IP, licensing, and downloadable software. After some amusing early technical glitches, the discussion gives a clear sense of the work SAP has left to do and frames the developer themes for the TechEd 2012 season.

In this special SAP cloud assessment, Jon Reed of http://www.JonERP.com talks to fellow SAP Mentors Dick Hirsch, Leonardo De Araujo and Jarret Pazahanick to get their specific views on SAP cloud strategy from 3 different cloud areas: HCM (Jarret), ByD (Leo), and NW Cloud (Dick). Then the guys try to put the pieces together, hash the Ariba acquisition a bit, and share their SAP cloud expectations for upcoming events as we head into SAP TechEd season.

In this post-Sapphire Now wrap, Jon sits down with Dick Hirsch to talk about the cloud questions from the event and answered learned. This is the full version.

Gateway has become a focal point for the issue of developer engagement at SAP, not to mention licensing models for customers. In this taped Google Plus Hangout, Jon Reed of http://www.JonERP.com talks to fellow SAP Mentors Graham Robinson, Ethan Jewett and Owen Pettiford on the myths and realities of NetWeaver Gateway, and the potential it may hold for new SAP development (and business) models.

I was fortunate to have three opinionated SAP virtualization die hards, Chris Kernaghan, Martin English, and Tom Cenens subject themselves to my first official Hangout taping (note that Tom’s correct Twitter handle is @tomcenens). During the 40 minute video, we dug into some potent SAP virtualization topics.

Taped live at my expert lounge session on "SAP Tech Skills in the Age of Outsourcing," we had a great 25 minute discussion about SAP technical skills at the crossroads. The audience was about equally divided between Basis folks and ABAPpers, so we balanced the talk between SAP administration and development skills.

Today we opened the show with Chief NetWeaver Bob Littell. We closed the show with business coach, author and speaker Kris Cavanaugh. A special shout out to our sponsor – the Business Marketing Association – Atlanta Chapter.  Please go to their website to register for their monthly events www.bmaatlanta.com/events Also . . . if you know of a business in Atlanta that we should know about, please email Amy Otto at Amy@ atlantabusinessradio.com and we’ll invite them to appear on the show.

Straight talk about HANA is hard to come by - but not with the group I pulled together for this international call. I have rarely looked forward to a call as much as this one, because I didn't know where the discussion would lead. I suspected we would have some significant points of debate and disagreement - I was not disappointed. During this 60 minute podcast, you'll hear SAP Mentors and bloggers Vijay Vijayasankar, John Appleby, and Vitality Rudnytskiy talk HANA as only they can.

It's an annual TechEd tradition: my SAP TechEd skills chat, taped live from the Expert Lounge. Although there was some crowd noise, this recording came out pretty well and captured a range of views during a short 17 minute recording time. Since a major theme of the future of SAP technical skills is the convergence of functional and technical skills, I was fortunate to have SAP Business Process expert Jim Link amongst the participants in the taped discussion.

S02E02 – Usabilidade, Jive, ABAP OO e SITSP Neste episódio falamos bastante sobre Usabilidade dentro e fora do SAP GUI. E por falar em IDE, como seria usar o Eclipse para tudo? O pessoal do Netweaver já está acostumado, mas como seria desenvolver em ABAP usando o Eclipse? Nosso querido(a) SCN – SAP Communiy Network … Continue lendo →

During this 50 minute podcast, you'll hear SAP Mentors Vijay Vijayasankar and Harald Reiter give you their tips for getting the best HANA content in TechEd Las Vegas. The informal discussion then moves into the key news stories that might unfold at TechEd surrounding HANA, with the usual opinionated takes and views from the field. The last half of the podcast is an in-depth discussion of HANA skills issues based on what Harald and Vijay are learning from their work on HANA Proof of Concept (POC) projects.  

With HANA stealing most of the Sapphire Now headlines, important mobilty questions lingered after the event. To get to the bottom of those, I taped a three way video podcast with fellow SAP Mentors John Appleby and Kevin Benedict. During this 40 minute video spiced with a bit of sassiness, we hashed out the burning SAP mobility questions and also discussed what SAP needs to pull off in TechEd season for it to be deemed a success from a mobility perspective.

The story of SAP HANA is unfolding so rapidly that it's hard to keep up - even if you are following the developments closely. Too often, there seems to be a gap between the HANA buzz and the reality on the ground. Before the SAP TechEd season kicks into high gear, now is the perfect time to take the HANA pulse. Fresh off of several sessions with the SAP HANA team, including blogger and Mentor meetings, Jon Reed pulled together three SAP Mentors for an international call to get their views on HANA as it stands today.

For several years, SAP professionals have looked forward to SAP Mentor Vijay Vijayasankar's annual blog post, "The Road Ahead for SAP Consultants." In honor of this always-provocative blog post, Jon pulled together fellow SAP Mentors Vijayasankar and Leonardo De Araujo for an in-depth discussion/debate about Vijay's skills rankings for 2011 and beyond. The result? An hour long talk that goes into detail on emerging skills in BusinessObjects, HANA and Business ByDesign, as well as how core skills like ABAP development are evolving.

Few events in the SAP space take me by total surprise. The launch of ASUGNews.com, with Thomas Wailgum and Courtney Bjorlin at the helm, was one of those rare exceptions, forcing me to set aside those "industry assumptions" and take a fresh look at a new player in the ecosystem. To get at the editorial motivations behind ASUGNews.com, I got on the phone with Tom and Courtney for this 24 minute podcast. My goals? To ask them a few questions that had been bugging me, to get a better handle on what they have in mind for the site, and to get their takes on SAP in 2011

Podcast Structure: I. Intro chatter, II. (2:40) SolBros reader questions, III. (21:55) SolMan - "A mile wide and an inch deep?" - discuss! IV. (36:05) Individual updates: Jim Spath - SolMan and ASUG, Phil Avelar - CHARM lessons learned, Tony D - SolMan consulting, customer value and learning tools.

Why did SAP mobility experts leave SAP TechEd (Vegas and Berlin) with more questions than answers? How has the enterprise mobility space evolved since Sapphire 2010? And what does SAP need to accomplish in mobility to win the confidence of customers and partners? To get at these questions and more, I was approached by fellow SAP Mentors John Appleby of Bluefin Solutions and Kevin Benedict of Netcentric Strategies, who asked me to DJ an open discussion on SAP moblity. The result was a forty minute podcast, which I felt was of the caliber and depth I look for in ERP Lounge podcasts, so I've added this to the series.

SAP Business Suite, Inter-business Integration, NetWeaver overview; Organizational Data and Master Data in SAP ERP

The SAP consulting market is primed for change. Staffing layers with questionable value place obstacles between enterprise buyers and the best SAP consultants. While "big box" consulting models still have their place, SAP customers want to see alternatives that allow them to source subject matter experts directly, even sourcing them "on demand" for short term engagements. Internet technology and SaaS-influenced approaches create a fertile ground for SAP staffing innovation. To better understand the problems with the current SAP consulting model and the changes that are afoot, in this edition of The ERP Lounge, I invited three pioneers of new models to join me in a frank discussion. The result of our international teleconference was a 70 minute podcast that takes a hard look at the problems and offers up solutions that forge new ground for both consultants and SAP customers.

Please click on the POD button to listen to the latest Atlanta Business Radio  show podcast broadcasting live each Wednesday at 10am EDT from the Business Radio X studio in Atlanta, GA, USA.   Here's how to listen to the podcast of our show. First click on the title of the show you are interested in. Then there should be a player in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Now just press play and the show you chose should start playing. You can also download the show to listen on your mp3 player. We are now available on iTunes, click this link and you can find all our past shows. Press SUBSCRIBE and you will automatically get the latest show when you sync your iPod to your computer. We opened the show with printing industry expert, Mike Doherty with PBM Graphics. Mike has worked in printing for nearly 25 years. His demand for high levels of customer satisfaction has helped him maximize his clients ROI with every dollar spent on printing. He has extensive experience in helping his clients with everything from concept to completion of graphic communication pieces. To learn more please go to his website www.mikeddoherty.com We closed the show with Netweaver Bob Littell. Bob came on to share information about Netweaving - Pay It Forward Week which is April 26-30. The objective is to encourage as many people as possible to set up NewWeaving HOSTING Meetings in Metro Atlanta. After  setting up a meeting to introduce two people whom the NetWeaver believes would benefit meeting and knowing each other, the  NetWeaver becomes the ‘host’ at a meeting which can take place anywhere in the city (restaurant, business club, coffee shop, etc.)  Following a little introduction of what NetWeaving is all about (easily explained on the website) the NetWeaver host encouraged his or her two ‘hostees’ to find ways to help each other as well as discover people they probably know in common without realizing it.  Towards the end of the meeting, one or both of the people being hosted usually turn the table on their NetWeaving host and ask how they can help her or him?  Instead of something self-serving the NetWeaver simply asks each to “pay if forward” and each, subsequently agree to host a meeting for two others. And while these meetings are taking place ‘externally’, internally SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) is promoting “NetWeaving” (introductions to be made across departments and across functions) just as a way to get to know people better and thus help tear down or least walls and silos within the company. Think of the power going forward of all the connections which will be made that week, and then going forward for days, weeks, months, and even years from now – all triggered by the ripples created during this week. to learn more please go to the website www.netweaving-pif-week.com. Also if you know of a business in Atlanta that we should know about please email Amy Otto at Amy @ atlantabusinessradio.com and we will try and get them on the show

Please click on the POD button to listen to the latest Atlanta Business Radio  show podcast broadcasting live each Wednesday at 10am EDT from Atlanta, GA, USA.   Here's how to listen to the podcast of our show. First click on the title of the show you are interested in. Then there should be a player in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Now just press play and the show you chose should start playing. You can also download the show to listen on your mp3 player. We are now available on iTunes, click this link and you can find all our past shows. Press SUBSCRIBE and you will automatically get the latest show when you sync your iPod to your computer.We opened the show with Trey Humphreys, one of the founders of the Fur Bus. The Fur Bus is a lounge-like setting full of magical lights, a thundering sound system and of course, fantastic fur. They provide transportation for all occasions including business outings, staff parties, sporting events, concerts, birthdays, weddings, proms, children’s parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties. The Fur Bus has been featured on MTV, Blind Date, Howard Stern Show, Nickelodeon, Elimindate and My Sweet 16. The busses are rented by the hour and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The atmosphere and interior of the Fur Bus is designed to bring people together to have an incredible time. Take the ordinary out of your transportation and ride The Fur Bus for an extraordinary experience. You've probably seen one of the Fur Buses rolling around 285. It is the bus with the kids dancing, singing as they ride in style to their event. They have buses that hold parties of 14-30 passengers. Remember to book early because once you've rode the Fur Bus you can't stop. Trey explained that he has grown his business exclusively through word of mouth referrals and stellar customer service and he has grand plans on expanding his Fur Bus empire. To learn more please check out Trey's website www.furbus.com Next we had on Bob Littell with Littell Consulting Services, Second Opinion Insurance Services, and The Enrichment Company where he carries the title of Chief NetWeaver. Although he wears a number of hats within the financial services industry ranging from broker and second opinion fee-paid advisor to business owners and high net worth individuals, as well to insurance companies and financial institutions, Bob's primary passion these days revolves around a word and concept he created almost a decade ago - "NetWeaving”. Bob"s 2nd book, “The Heart and Art of NetWeaving”, picks up where the first book, “Power NetWeaving”, left off and covers many of the practical appli-cations of NetWeaving - being a connector OF others, and a 'no-strings-attached’ resource provider TO others – simply with the belief that, what goes around, does come back around. The “Heart and Art of NetWeaving” book also explains how those who become NetWeaving Ambassadors, and who spread the word about this ‘win-win’ form of networking, find it not only elevates their own image in the eyes of others, but they also derive a form of energy which pours over into everything else they do. Thanks to a generous contribution from Xerox Global Services who covered the cost of printing “The Heart and Art of NetWeaving”, Bob donates 100% of the $20 per book sales price either to the Pay It Forward Foundation, created by Catherine Ryan Hyde – author of the book on which the popular movie was based, or to any non-profit who wishes to use the book for fund-raising purposes. Bob also serves on the Board of the Pay It Forward Foundation and co-chairs the steering committee.Bob’s latest book, “Raising Your R&R Factor – How Referable & Recommendable Are You?” introduces the ‘irrefutable’ “NetWeaver’s Law of Referral Reciprocity”. It helps explain why those who genuinely NetWeave for others, and yet don’t see much if anything come back around, need to look in the mirror to analyze how others actually perceive them – since referrals and recommendations represent a ‘risk’ on the part of the person making them. To help persons deal with this, Bob also conducts “WOW Workshops” to help people discover ways to be more creative and innovative, as well as to differentiate themselves and make themselves more remarkable. To learn more please go to Bob's website www.netweaving.comAlso if you know of a business in Atlanta that we should know about please email Amy Otto at Amy @ atlantabusinessradio.com and we will try and get them on the show

SOA is having a major impact on how SAP professionals look at the skills they need going forward. But why does SOA matter to SAP in the first place? Is SOA SAP-manufactured hype, or is SOA going to be a real factor on SAP project sites. What skills will be needed in order to succeed in the NetWeaver and eSOA era? And how does NetWeaver BPM fit into the picture? In this SAP-SOA skills podcast, Jon Reed shares his take on these issues with Demir Barlas of SearchSAP.com.

In this landmark podcast, Jon speaks with Kent Sanders, Senior Technology Architect for CSC Consulting, about the beginning of the end for the traditional R/3 Basis Consultant, and how to make the skills transition to "NetWeaver Engineer." Kent explains why mastering NetWeaver is essential for getting involved with eSOA, and why eSOA has moved from hype to reality. Loaded with practical skills tips for consultants and project teams, Kent SAP professionals an inside view on how they can round out their skills, avoid being outsourced, and stay marketable in the NetWeaver era. During the interview, Kent talks about the differences between the classic Basis skill set and the emerging "NetWeaver Engineer" skill set. He goes into the specifics of the tools that SAP technical professionals need to master in order to remain marketable instead of becoming obsolete. Drawing on his own experience, Kent explains how project teams should approach building NetWeaver and eSOA skills sets internally. Kent also talks about how the business process orientation of SAP is impacting all SAP skill sets, and most importantly, how SAP professionals can educate themselves for these transitions - in particular by leverage the SDN and BPX communities.

What skills do you need to perform an SAP Logistics upgrade to ERP 6.0? And what does it take to thrive as an independent SAP consultant? To get a better feel for the functional skills needed on the ERP 6.0 platform in the SAP Logistics area, Jon spoke down with Thomas Woelfel, a veteran SD consultant, and got his take on how the SD module is evolving. During this thirty five minute podcast, Thomas gives his view on what SAP Logistics consultants need to know in order to keep pace with SAP. A major focus of the podcast is on the role of the independent SAP consultant on project teams, and Thomas' recommendations for success as an independent. In this frank look at the challenges of independent consulting, Thomas explains how he has found a way to thrive as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on SAP projects, balancing his relationships with the end client and the outside consulting partner.

SAP development is changing rapidly, and this technical evolution is impacting both technical and functional SAP professionals. To get an inside look at the future of SAP development, Jon interviewed Thomas Jung, NetWeaver Product Manager with SAP Labs and an influential blogger on the SAP Developer Network. Jon asked Thomas about a number of "hot button" topics in the SAP development space, including the innovations of the CE environment and the modeling tools needed for eSOA-driven development, the impact of outsourcing and how to make your skills "outsourcing proof," why ABAP development is alive and well, and how's SAP's SDN and BPX communities are affecting how SAP professionals interact with SAP and enhance their skill sets. In this thirty-three minute interview, hosted by Jon Franke of SearchSAP.com, "the two Jons" and Thomas cover the following topics: - Thomas' role at SAP Labs and how his NetWeaver Product Management team is involved with the rollout of the NetWeaver product line and the interaction with SAP users at events and seminars. - Why the online communities have had such an effect on SAP development and how knowledge about SAP products and skills trends is disseminated. - Jon asks Thomas to explain why his presentation on "Updating Your ABAP Skills to NetWeaver 7.0" has been so well received at SAP conferences, and what the key adjustments a 4.6 SAP developer has to make to be effective in NetWeaver 7.x and eSOA environments. Thomas points out that one key aspect of the "SAP developer of the future" is simply mastering object-oriented programming and ABAP Objects - something you can get started on even while working on 4.x projects. - Frequently, Jon his from readers who ask him "is ABAP dead?" Thomas puts these fears to rest once and for all by explaining that ABAP is still very much a part of the NetWeaver development environment. He describes some of the situations where ABAP is more useful and some where Java-based tools are more relevant. ABAP works best for powering high-volume, core transactions and Java is ideal for "edge programming" where SAP is extending its functionality via Enterprise Services. But ABAP can be "opened up" as well, and many new SAP components are built partially or fully in ABAP. - The impact of offshoring - Thomas gives his take on which SAP projects are better suited for outsourcing and which development projects are more effective to have in-house. Thomas doesn't believe that it makes sense to outsource all SAP development projects, and he goes on to describe some of the ways that SAP programmers can make their skills "outsourcing proof": don't build a "wall" between you and the rest of the team, keep up on your knowledge, stay visible, and become known as the person who learns the latest SAP technical tools and shares them with others. - Thomas shares the highlights of the SAP Composition Environment (CE), including the integration between CE and the Enterprise Services Repository (ESR), Visual Composer, Guided Procedures, and the other bells and whistles of this EE 5 environment. - What is the makeup of the ideal SAP project team? Thomas puts on his CIO hat and talks about the kinds of people he would put on his SAP technical project team. More than anything, he'd be looking for self-starters who aggressively educate themselves through their involvement with SDN and other learning communities. He'd want to see a mixture of Internet, Java, and ABAP skills on the team, but more important than specific tools is an SAP technical team that can adapt to the pace of innovation. - In terms of "soft" business skills, Thomas places a high value on those who get outside their cubicles and interact with the project team, making an effort to transfer knowledge to other team members. Thomas believes that you can't get away with being a "cubicle coder," anymore. If you aren't needed on site, then you run the risk of being outsourced. One way to differentiate yourself is to know enough about the business to be able to help business users define their requirements and what they want to accomplish technically. - Thomas explains why the latest batch of modeling tools are catching on and why modeling is having such an impact on SAP development. There are two types of modeling tools: those that help business users model processes on a higher level without needing to program (Visual Programmers), and those that help programmers reduce repetitive programming tasks (Web Dynpro for Java being one example, and other modeling tools added to the NetWeaver Developer Studio and the ABAP Workbench being other examples). - Jon asks Thomas about SAP's eSOA strategy and how it is impacting development. Thomas agrees that eSOA will allow companies to build Enterprise Services using the language and platform of their choice, but he also notes that SAP is building some of the best SOA development and consumption tools on the market. - Jon Franke of SearchSAP asks Thomas about how business users can get more involved in these trends, and Thomas points out the BPX community, and how business users can get involved in a variety of ways, including through BPX's industry vertical communities. - Jon points out that Thomas' "Update Your ABAP Skills to NetWeaver 7.0" seminar is available on the Virtual TechEd '07 track on SDN (for a fee), and Thomas shares the forward schedule for when this workshop will be held next. - Thomas wraps the podcast with a compelling argument to avoid career panic in the face of new SAP technologies. He makes the point that SAP developers should follow their passions, and when you are the best at what you do, that's an excellent way "outsource-proof" your skills.

In this podcast, Jon talks with Peter Scott of Traxion Consulting and gets his take on why the NetWeaver BI marketplace has picked up so much momentum. Jon asks Peter to explain how NetWeaver BI got so hot and the skills SAP BI professionals need to succeed in the BI field. Peter also shares the keys to staffing SAP BI projects and how SAP end users should approach their BI installs and upgrades. In this twenty-seven minute podcast, Jon and Peter cover a range of NetWeaver BI topics, including: - The role of Traxion consulting in the BI market and their focus on BI knowledge transfer. - The changing terminology of BW and BI and the transition from BW 3.5 to BI 7.0. - Jon asks Peter why the NetWeaver BI market is so hot right now. Peter explains that in a recent survey, 40 percent of all CIOs cited BI projects as their number one priority. Part of the issue is the explosion of data for all SAP customers, and they want to stay on top of this data to improve decision making based on facts. Also, because of Sarbanes-Oxley, companies installed BW and now they are looking for more ways of leveraging the data. - Part of the growth of BI is about the transition between ERP as a transaction-based system and the new role of ERP has a decision-making platform to extend reporting and business intelligence to users and executives. How to pull the ERP data out and use it has become a top corporate priority. - Peter explains the keys to BI training and bringing an internal team up to speed, to leave them in a better position after external consultants have left. Peter talks about the importance of custom SAP training with heavy hands-on involvement, and why it can be so much more effective than a standard "out of the box" training. - Jon asks Peter how SAP teams can overcome user resistance to job changes brought on by BI and how to get them excited about the new technology. Peter talks about the importance of getting management on board to improve buy-in of the system, and to recognize that there will be user resistance if SAP users are not brought into the loop with the changes that are pending. - Jon's theory is that BI is not just for specialists anymore. BI is a skill that all consultants can and should incorporate into their SAP skill set. Peter agrees, and talks about the how all R/3 and ECC consultants can add value to their clients by understanding the NetWeaver stack, and BI specifically, and how the ECC environment connects to the OLAP environment, in SAP Financials and many other areas. And you can also get a great niche in BI by including a functional focus with those skills. - Peter gives his take on the kinds of skills you want to have on a well-rounded BI team. A solid understanding of data modeling and data warehousing is key. ABAP is still important, and ABAP for BI is valuable also for writing user exits and function modules for BI. Even in the age of Web Reporting and the Java stack, ABAP is still relevant. HTML and Javascript are also useful for advanced programming and inserting code into the Web Application Designer. Peter also recommends Visual Composer skills, and Web Dynpro skills, as well as Object-Oriented programming skills. - Peter comments about some of the tools that are emerging in the BI space, including Visual Composer and Web Dynpro, as well as other tools that are extending the out-of-the-box functionality, including customized reports and better presentation options that also increase user buy-in through a better interface. Peter says that with the latest WebDynpro and Visual Composer presentation options, you can almost trick users into not realizing they are using SAP because it's so intuitive. - Jon asks Peter about BI implementation scenarios and common mistakes to avoid. Peter talks about companies spending insufficient time on design, planning, and user buy-in during the initial project stages. Understanding the company's user requirements is important to be able to identify the limitations of the system and plan accordingly. - Peter talks about the real ROI takeaways from a successful NetWeaver BI project. Peter shares the example of a project where they were able to identify 7 million dollars in unbilled revenue as a result of the BI tools. Peter also finds that a good BI project helps an SAP customer develop much clearer benchmarks and metrics for everyone understanding the keys to business success in their industry. - In terms of a real-life example of a KPI, Peter describes previous clients who did not know who their most profitable customers were, and how the BI implementation helped them to identify who those customers were. Or, alternately, a company that figured out that some of their products were too expensive based on the analysis of the raw materials through BI reports. - Jon asks Peter to talk about upgrade lessons to NetWeaver BI 7.0. Peter talks about the importance, once again, of pre-project planning, and what bugs you might run into during the conversion. Internal knowledge, training, and change management all play a role.

Jon Reed speaks with Steve Strout, CEO of ASUG, Americas' SAP Users' Group, about the key issues SAP customers are facing in the NetWeaver and eSOA era. Jon asks Steve about the different perspectives SAP customers have concerning upgrades and how ASUG can make an impact on SAP project team education and support during the upgrade cycle. Steve also talks about how ASUG is impacting SAP's product evolution and he shares his vision for ASUG in 2008 and beyond. During this thirty-five minute podcast, Jon and Steve touch on key topics such as: - How Jon first met Steve at SAPPHIRE/ASUG 2007, and right after they met, someone spilled a drink on Steve. Jon begins the podcast by telling Steve he hopes that this initial spill is not permanently associated with talking with Jon. Jon talks about how ASUG has evolved from a "small thorn in SAP's side" to a "true collaborative" partner, and one of the most powerful software users groups in the world. - Steve talks about how he initially got involved in ASUG with his first event he attended in 2002, why he is so impressed by the passion of the SAP community, and how his role at ASUG evolved until the opportunity to become ASUG's first CEO emerged this fall. - Jon asks Steve about his progress on developing an ASUG strategy for the coming year, and Steve shares his vision of redefining what a software user group can be. Steve's goal is to reach the point where ASUG is at the center of the SAP ecosystem. Steve talks about how the 50,000 plus ASUG members have had a major impact on SAP's product development through ASUG's expanding group of Influence Councils. - Jon tells Steve that at TechEd, he ran into a number of SAP customers who were still confused about NetWeaver, eSOA, and how to leverage to eSOA technology to get a true return on investment. He asks Steve to explain how ASUG can help customers sort through their eSOA confusion and come up with a solid roadmap. Steve talks about the way that SOA technology has evolved, and the power of the eSOA architecture due to the loose coupling and the potential to involve customers and suppliers through exposed services. Steve talks about two of ASUG's new SIGs (Special Interest Groups) dedicated to eSOA: one focused on Enterprise Architects, and one on eSOA, and how those SIGs allow ASUG to gather and relay key feedback and influence SAP's approach to eSOA. - Steve asks JonERP.com readers for feedback on whether it would be helpful to offer regional workshops on getting started with eSOA and developing an eSOA roadmap, and if so, what regions and cities would be best for the sessions. - ASUG regularly conducts "Voice of the Customer" surveys to identify the key "pain points" SAP users are facing in both functional and technical areas. Steve tells us that the key pain points SAP customers are facing are: 1. upgrades, 2. eSOA and 3. how to get the most out of their existing SAP investment. Steve talks about the upcoming "SAP upgrade symposiums" that will help ASUG members network with other members who are in the same situation or are further along. - Jon tells Steve that these three pain points correspond well with the results of his own informal survey at TechEd, where he grouped SAP customers into three separate mindsets: the early eSOA adopters, those who were looking seriously at eSOA, and those customers who were much more focused on getting the most out of their existing SAP R/3 systems and distrusted the hype around the new eSOA functionality. Jon asked Steve how ASUG can meet the needs of members with such different agendas, and Steve talked about the different roles ASUG can play depending on the version numbers the member is running on, and that ASUG can do something for all of its members no matter what version of SAP they are on. However, Steve acknowledges that it can be hard to get SAP to make changes to releases that are a number of years old. - As an example of another way that ASUG can help SAP users, Steve talks about ASUG's new "Best Practices in HCM" report, which gathers HR-related data from SAP customers and puts it into an "actionable" form that ASUG members can utilize, knowing that the data in the report was based on the "best practices" of companies with deep experience managing SAP HCM projects. - Jon talks about how at TechEd 2007, he ran into a number of SAP customers who were frustrated by the challenge of finding the right consultants for their projects at the right price. As a result, they were focused more than ever on building a good internal team. Jon asked Steve what the training options might for companies looking to recruit and retain their own SAP talent, and how ASUG could help. Steve responded by saying that while formal training is important, that there is sometimes even more value in the simple process of networking at ASUG events and online. Being able to interact with customers in the same situation as you, or perhaps further along enough to share "best practices," is one of the biggest benefits of ASUG. Steve explains that ASUG's goal is to help provide its members with more resources so they are not as dependent on consultants who take the expertise with them when they leave, or cost a pretty penny to keep around. - Unable to stump Steve with any hard questions, Jon has one more curve ball ready: Jon asks Steve about the new Business By Design (BBD) customers, and how ASUG plans to support this type of smaller customer, one that might have a very different kind of training need. Steve explained that ASUG will soon be running on BBD, and that ASUG is working with SAP to define the kind of support and member services the BBD customer will need. He envisions a combination of virtual support and in-person seminars and conferences. - Steve closes the podcast by sharing his goals for ASUG for 2008, including improved ASUG.com web functionality and ease of use, increasing involvement of ASUG Associate Members (vendors, suppliers, etc), and the continued goal of bringing ASUG into the center of the SAP Ecosystem. - Jon and Steve confirm that the way to get more details on items such as the ASUG HCM report, or to learn more about becoming an ASUG member, is to visit ASUG.com.

The SAP market is changing, but one thing remains a constant: the need for quality SAP professionals with the right skills combinations. In his latest podcast, Jon sat down with Kent Sanders, a 15 year SAP professional who is knee-deep on a cutting edge eSOA project for a major SAP Retail customer. Sit in with Jon and Kent as they discuss Kent's keys to attracting and retaining SAP talent, how SAP developers can stay relevant on projects and reduce the risk of being outsourced, and how Kent's project team has developed a different way of obtaining "buy in" for eSOA projects, building support "from the bottom up." Kent also talks about the tools SAP professionals need to master to stay relevant, and how his project finds the right mix between outside consultants and internal training. During this thirty five minute podcast, Jon and Kent cover topics such as: - How Kent's fifteen year SAP career has evolved into his current role as an Enterprise Architect, and how he has pursued the TOGAF certification and other components of his skill set. - The importance of the TOGAF SOA architecture and how it applies to the SAP world, in terms of architectural solutions that solve SAP business problems. Kent explains how the TOGAF framework was incorporated into SAP's Enterprise Architecture Framework, and how he was involved in the earlier stages of this process while working for SAP. - Why ABAP Developers and SAP Java Programmers need to think about becoming SAP Software Engineers, and why SAP Basis Experts should focus on becoming SAP Enterprise Architects. - The current NetWeaver product suite, including NetWeaver Portals, and how eSOA skills fit into a broader NetWeaver competency. - How the line is blurring between technical and functional approaches, and the role "offshoring" can play in this process of staffing projects. Kent also notes the communication issues involved in outsourcing that can impact which projects are appropriate for offshoring and which are better handled in house. - Fresh back from a conference session on attracting and retaining SAP talent, Kent talks about the three keys to building (and keeping) a great project team: provide a well-thought career path for your team members; 2. don't hold back on training your people with the latest SAP skills even if it means you might lose some of them to the SAP job market; 3. adopt a mentality of continuous training. - Kent also reports that the hardest skills to find, according to the SAP customers at the conference, were: 1. NetWeaver Administrators, and 2. Enterprise Architects. Java developers and ABAP programmers were easier to hire on the open market. Kent mentioned that the consulting firms don't even have many folks that know NetWeaver and Enterprise SOA well. Kent said that many of these firms turn to outsourcing to fill their project needs. - Jon asks Kent to elaborate on the role outsourcing plays on SAP projects, and asked him to talk about how SAP professionals can make themselves less vulnerable to outsourcing. Kent explains that mastering data modeling and business modeling tools, and emphasizing strategy and architecture was the key to becoming more outsourcing-proof. - Kent talks about his current SAP project, and how his team has developed a unique approach to building momentum for eSOA projects by working on projects from the "bottom up." Kent talked about how there is natural resistance to eSOA from both high level IT executives and business executives. He explained how his team is gaining support one project at a time by focusing on projects that have a "wow factor" and a tangible business benefit. - Kent provides an overview of his current SAP environment, and how they are working on eSOA with plans to involve NetWeaver CE, ESR, and NetWeaver PI. He talked about how his team can get projects done within a $50,000 budget and having composite apps up and running in a six week to two month period. Kent's team is using this approach to solve business "pain points" and to develop their own eSOA roadmap. - Jon asks Kent to explain to listeners how he identifies which areas are the best candidates for early eSOA projects. He lists the main factors that are ideal for eSOA projects: simplification, consolidation, and building new services and composites. Kent talks about which projects can have a "wow" type of impact, such as service-enabling inventory lookups, getting data to customers more effectively, and making user-friendly interfaces for in store employees for quick training and ramp up. - Jon and Kent go more in-depth into a discussion of the future of SAP development and the future of SAP technical skill sets. Kent talks about the importance of mastering new process modeling tools like Aris for NetWeaver, which is now tied into the ESR. He tells us that it's not yet possible for business process experts to model all their own code without the help of a developer, but this kind of model-driven programming is becoming closer to reality. Kent mentions other hot tools that SAP professionals should know, such as Web Dynpro, Adobe Forms, Solution Manager, and Aris . - Kent highlights the keys his project has used to build a quality internal team and strike a good balance with outside consulting support. He talks about the importance of hiring manager-level folks who are "SAP rock stars," which in turn allows for a more savvy use of SAP implementation partners. Kent says that for the next phase of his project, they are looking to bring in less consultants and train more people internally. - In closing, Kent talks about how the successful SAP professional understands that technology changes all the time, and that if you view paradigm changes as a threat, you should get out of this particular field, because there is always change. The point is to apply the right forward-thinking mindset towards skills acquisition. In terms of adding real value to SAP customers and keeping your skills in demand, Kent says that the key is to develop a deep understanding of NetWeaver and the ability to help SAP customers harness that technology and break through their NetWeaver confusion. If you can do that, says Kent, you can "write your own check."

As part of his ongoing podcast series with SearchSAP, Jon Reed interviews Ori Inbar, Senior Vice President of SAP NetWeaver, for a groundbreaking interview on the SAP skills needed for success in the NetWeaver and eSOA era. In this frank discussion, Ori acknowledges that SAP faces a significant skills gap that needs to be addressed for NetWeaver to realize its promise. Ori then analyzes the skills gap, explains how SAP plans to address it, and most importantly, highlights the skills needed for NetWeaver and SAP eSOA project success. This is the first podcast we know of where a high-ranking SAP executive goes beyond talk of the skills gap and the "NetWeaver jobs of the future" to detail the specific "next phase" skills and roles that SAP professionals can pursue, not in the future, but right now. Ori also announces a new plan for SAP certification that will be unveiled at TechEd '07 in Las Vegas. In this twenty-five minute interview, Jon and Ori cover a series of critical topics, including: - How Ori broke into SAP and how his SAP career has evolved into his current NetWeaver leadership role. - The significance of SAP Enterprise SOA (eSOA) and why it impacts every SAP product. - The estimated "SAP skills gap" of 20,000 SAP professionals and how SAP intends to fill it. Ori explains the importance of "the SAP ecosystem" to filling these gaps and how consultants can anticpiate where SAP is going next. - Ori's take on the four new SAP roles that are emerging on project sites, and his assessment of the skills required for each of the four: NetWeaver Systems Admin, Enterprise Architect, and Business Process Expert and NetWeaver Developer (Enterprise Services Developer). - Ori explains why the NetWeaver era means the "end of the functional silos" and why SAP skills will be business process driven from here on out.

Continuing his ongoing podcast series with SearchSAP, Jon Reed interviews Marco ten Vaanholt, Global Director of the SAP BPX Community, for a compelling look at the changing SAP skill set and what it takes to become a "Business Process Expert." During the podcast, Marco describes his work with the SAP BPX community, and how BPX is working collectively to help define the skill set that SAP professionals will need to stay relevant on both the functional and technical side. Jon asked Marco to be on this podcast because during TechEd 2007, Marco's presentation on becoming an SAP Business Process Expert (BPE) provided the most practical "next steps" for how an SAP consultant can evolve their skills that Jon had yet seen. Marco came through on this podcast with an excellent overview of how the SAP market is changing, how BPX is supporting the SAP skills transition, and what consultants can do to keep their skills in line with the market. By the time the podcast is over, there is a clearer sense of how the SAP professional of today can involve themselves in the BPX community, honing their own skills while also contributing to SAP's product evolution. In this thirty-one minute interview, hosted by Jon Franke of SearchSAP, Jon and Marco talk about the following points: - How Marco got involved with SAP and how he wound up in his current role as the Global Director of the BPX community. - The origins of the SAP BPX community in 2006, and how it has achieved phenomenal growth (200,000 + members) through a grassroots approach to community building. Marco also shares the vision of BPX, the emergence of the industry forums, and the "horizontal and vertical" areas of BPX built around SAP's Business Suite, core ERP, and GRC products. - Marco explains why the BPX community has been so compelling to SAP professionals, by tapping into their desire to evolve into BPE (Business Process Expert) consultants and be better prepared for the eSOA era. - Marco also describes how the collaborative BPX community has also helped SAP partners reduce the "cost of ownership" around educating their consultants about eSOA. SAP customers have also turned to SAP BPX to help support their employees working on the SAP "Business Process Platform." - The SAP BPX community also influences SAP through its product management cycle. Marco explains how the SAP BPX world can serve as a feedback channel to SAP and also support the launch of new product initiatives going forward. - Jon asks Marco about the importance of the Business Process Expert (BPE), and why this person is going to be so important to the SAP implementations of the future. Marco shares the BPX community definition of the BPE: "This business process expert has both the business knowledge and IT savvy to make business process innovation happen in real time, by adapting, composing and executing business processes, using best practices, composition software, and enterprise services." - Marco explains that while there are many different definitions of BPEs, they most commonly describe themselves as having "one foot in IT, and one foot in business." Marco highlights the range of job roles that fit in under the Business Process Expert "umbrella role." - Jon brings up one of the most riveting aspects of Marco's TechEd presentation on becoming a BPE: the argument that both ABAP jobs and core functional configuration jobs are going to go away. Marco clarifies this point, and reframes the discussion to step back from the "shock value" of Jon's statement. Marco explains that ABAP and configuration jobs are not going to go away, but that it's important for all SAP professionals to acquire composition skills, especially technical consultants. - Marco talks about the evolving SAP Composition Environment (CE) and why both technical and functional SAP professionals will want to get experience with the CE going forward. He also hones in on the importance of "soft skills" and provides concrete examples of the types of "soft skills" that will be crucial, including industry expertise. - Marco emphasizes the importance of process modeling skills, and he mentions some of the modeling tools of today (Visio, Visual Composer, ARIS for NetWeaver) and tomorrow that both technical and functional SAP folks will want to get a handle on. - Jon and Marco agree that the "alarmist" view that the current SAP job roles are going away is not the right mindset. The right attitude is to make a commitment to transforming your skill set along with SAP. - Marco talks about other key skills of the "BPXer," including Business Process Management (BPM) methodology know-how and BPM tools like Six Sigma. He tells us why Web 2.0 and community-building skills are so important for the BPE, using blogging, wikis, and collaborative forums to "evangelize" your solutions throughout a global project. - Jon and Marco talk about how SAP professionals now have access to free resources to self-education. Since cost for training is not a barrier, it's more of a mindset shift: (1) getting access to new SAP technical information, and (2) joining communities like BPX to share "best practices" and lessons learned. - Marco makes some distinctions between sharing processes at "process level zero" versus "process level three," and why there is a difference between collaborating on "commoditized processes" versus working on more "disruptive" or strategic (level three) areas. This latter type of collaboration would likely take place in a closed area and shared with the broader community as appropriate. - Jon asks Marco about how today's "SAP functional configuration expert" and "SAP application consultant" of the present needs to evolve to become a BPE. Marco explains how the CE and other Business Process Platform modeling tools will change the relationship between functional and technical teams. He also talks about eSOA, and how, alongside the Enterprise Architect, the functional specialist will be working with SAP eSOA resources like the Enterprise Services Repository.   - Jon Franke asks Marco about how to improve your soft skills, and Marco gives a "big picture" response that starts with how you carry yourself on client sites and work with executives and project teams, and goes on to include various areas of formal and informal education such as organizational change management, process modeling tools, Web 2.0 technologies, and Enterprise SOA. - Jon tries to put Marco on the spot by asking him to explain how the "disruptive innovation" he is advocating can exist alongside of SAP's customer message of "innovation without disruption." Marco explains that there is not a contradiction because the kind of innovation he is advocating takes place in a closed environment that does not involve disrupting the transactional system. - Marco also explains that the distinction between commodity processes and strategic processes comes into play when understanding the cycle of disruptive innovation. He uses the example of Nike's product rollouts and the cycle of innovation in the mobile technology space to describe the difference. - Marco issues a formal invitation for all listeners to get involved with the SAP BPX community. There is a robust "getting started" area to get new members involved quickly with the issues and projects that the BPX community is tackling. Marco also highlights the SAP upgrades area within SAP BPX as a great resource for project teams. - Jon wraps the podcast by talking about the shifting trends in SAP employment, and how it's easy to end this podcast because the next step is to sign up with SAP BPX and get further involved in your SAP skills transformation.

SAP NetWeaver jobs: What the future holdsWith NetWeaver upgrades going strong and enterprise service-oriented architecture (ESOA) projects becoming a reality, it is an exciting time to be an SAP professional. In this podcast, SearchSAP.com career expert Jon Reed and Ori Inbar, SAP's senior vice president of solution marketing for NetWeaver, discuss emerging SAP NetWeaver job roles and explain where talent shortages are expected in the future. Also, Inbar offers a sneak peek at TechEd 2007.Download the podcast here

MassMutual's NetWeaver admin director outlines SAP project tips SAP projects are complex, especially for large organizations. In this podcast, MassMutual’s director for SAP NetWeaver administration offers tips and tricks from his TechEd 2007 presentation.Download the podcast here

To get an inside look at the key developments from SAP TechEd 2007, Jon Reed sat down with Krishna Kumar of Enterprise Horizons. Krishna was a presenter at TechEd 2007, and he is becoming a thought leader in the SAP community in terms of how to get a real return on investment from eSOA and Enterprise Services. As a technical visionary who has watched SAP's product line evolve for many years, Krishna has a knack for breaking down SAP technology in simple and precise terms. Jon turned to Krishna to help sort through what was real and what was hype at TechEd 2007. The goal of the podcast was to place the events of TechEd 2007 in the context of SAP's "Enterprise SOA" technology stack. SAP is clearly staking its future on eSOA, but what does that mean to the SAP project team and the SAP consultant? Is eSOA just hype and if it's for real, what consulting skills will be needed to succeed in the "eSOA era"? And how will SAP's Business Objects acquisition, which occurred immediately following Tech Ed, affect these trends and the future of SAP overall? In this thirty-six minute interview, Jon and Krishna cover these issues and more, including: - The focus of Enterprise Horizons and the specifics of Krishna's SAP background. - Krishna's take on the main themes of Tech Ed 2007, such as: the emphasis on BI and analytics, the surprising level of emphasis on eSOA over SAP's core business functionality, and the obvious absence of Shai Agassi. - Why SAP has shifted its focus from emphasizing exposing its core apps as eSOA services as opposed to looking at the core business processes such as order fulfillment, financials, and supply chain management. Krishna explains that was what missing was a clear demonstration by SAP on the business value and return on investment of eSOA. - The Business Objects acquisition, which took place after TechEd and which to some degree dwarfed all of the TechEd news announcements. Krishna shares his thoughts on the BO purchase, including the challenge of integrating the BO code base into SAP, and why the BO acquisition is of "monumental importance" to eSOA. Krishna explains that this will accelerate the trend of exposing analytics as services and leveraging connections to outside partners. - The SAP BBD (Business By Design) announcement, and why Krishna has a cautious take on Software as a Service (SaaS). Krishna also explains why this current evolution of SaaS may be more successful than the previous ASP models due to the impact of the "Internet Cloud." Krishna also describes how a BBD customer might be able to expose a service through an "on demand" platform, and why eSOA is integral to an on-demand solution. - Krishna gives his perspective on why the evolution to a "Business Process Consultant" is important to SAP, and why he thinks that the distinction between functional and technical SAP professionals was always a false dichotomy. Krishna tells us why the ideal SAP consultant has always had a functional and technical skills combination. - Krishna then details what skills functional and technical consultants need to pursue in order to remain relevant to the SAP software of the future. Krishna talks about the end of the silo functional consultant, and why functional consultants need to understand the Internet touch points of service enablement. Krishna also talks about how Business Intelligence and NetWeaver fit into the technical skills picture. Soon, the technical consultant will have to learn to talk business or "become a dinosaur." There is time to act, however, as Krishna believes this will be a "slow metamorphosis." - Jon asks Krishna about how the SAP customer base should perceive eSOA, given that SAP often hypes its new solutions to the point that customers can become jaded. Krishna has a provocative viewpoint on this: he believe that when it comes to transactional ERP systems, service enablement and SOA is indeed overhyped, almost to the degree of the dotcom hype. Then, Krishna explains why the real payoff for eSOA is through analytics, and that this is where the real eSOA payoff will be. - Krishna tells us how best-of-breed Internet content "mashups" are the real "killer app" of the eSOA era, and how they can be tied back into ERP-based analytical applications. - Jon asks Krishna if you truly have to invest in the latest SAP releases and all the expenses and organizational change involved in moving to eSOA, or if you can get started on earlier releases. Krishna explains that SAP customers can dabble in eSOA at almost any point, because it's really just "RFC on steroids," but that to truly build an effective eSOA landscape and consume and publish a range of services, you will eventually need to be running NetWeaver and ERP 5.0/6.0 and beyond. - In the final segment of the podcast, Jon asks Krishna to use his company's product to illustrate a very important point: how companies can tie in best-of-breed Internet content providers into their BW/BI analytics engine in order to get a powerful visual grasp of key business planning and ROI functions. Jon tells Krishna that Home Depot, one of the most advanced SAP eSOA customers, has used a similar "mashup solution" to take advantage of BI/BW data and content from third parties that would be cost-prohibitive to develop internally. - Jon asks Krishna about the minimum requirements needed to use a product like his company offers, and we learn that the minimum requirements are simply BW 3.x onward, in a nutshell. This is an example of how there might be a different enterprise services roadmap, that would focus on Business Intelligence, and then leverage that data and mash it up - without worrying about the cost and challenge of service-enabling core ERP transactions. - Krishna provides a "market demographics" example of how an eSOA service could be "mashed up" for real business value. - Jon asks Krishna to illustrate why these visually oriented "spatial analytics" can provide a much more powerful business case for eSOA that executives can understand and grasp much more quickly than a detailed white paper. He asks Krishna about the example of using demographic mashups to analyze which neighborhoods are viable for a retail store expansion. As Krishna says, this is the "true power of eSOA," beyond the hype.

This is Jon Reed's "roaming podcast" from SAP TechEd '07, Day 4. Get Jon's unscripted reactions to the last full day of TechEd '07, including key info on SAP skills trends, becoming a Business Process Expert, and Jon's conference wrap. In this podcast, Jon ties together the themes he covered throughout SAP TechEd '07. Recorded right on the spot in conference rooms and hotel lobbies, Jon's TechEd podcast series puts the technology trends of TechEd '07 in the context of the skills SAP professionals will need to succeed. For the Day 4 podcast, Jon breaks down his "instant reactions" to technical themes such as eSOA, mashups, Web 2.0, BI, and becoming a Business Process Expert, and he comments on the SAP skills gap in these areas and how they will be filled. Topics in this part of the podcast include: - Which SAP skills sets are becoming commoditized and what the skills growth areas are. - A view of the "SAP skills of the future" but also a consideration of the skills needs of the present, and how SAP consultants should balance the two. - Why Jon is changing his stance from consultants needing to have an 80/20 technical-functional mix (one way or the other) to a 50/50 skills mix, which Jon thinks might be the ideal in the future. - Jon's reflections on the workshop on "Becoming a Business Process Expert" (BPE) and the tools that technical and functional consultants can pursue to becoming a BPE. - Jon explains why he divides SAP customers into three distinct groups and what he sees as the project priorities of each group - The different versions of NetWeaver that are coming out, and the conflicting information that SAP representatives gave Jon at TechEd about when certain releases and features were becoming available. Jon talks about the pending release of NetWeaver 7.1, and the questions about when SAP PI (Process Integration), Enterprise Services Repository (ESR), and NetWeaver CE (Composition Environment). - Jon covers why ABAP is not dead, and talks about the different conversations he had with folks from SAP Labs about how ABAP fits into SAP's NetWeaver plans. Jon gives his take on why ABAP is still part of SAP's plans, based on facts such as: the ABAP Workbench is still part of NetWeaver, that the PI component is partially built on ABAP, and that while the CE does not have ABAP, there are many ABAP-related tools still supported in NetWeaver, such as WebDynpro for ABAP and MDM for ABAP. - Jon talks about the different SAP modeling tools that are going to change the nature of SAP development and give business users a greater opportunity to get involved in development using visual modeling tools like Visual Composer, Aris for NetWeaver, and the upcoming SAP Eclipse Development tool. Jon talks about why he thinks this new generation of modeling tools is a big deal, and finally gives some teeth to the "extend the enterprise" ERP movement which actually began in the late '90s, but did not have the technical capabilities to really support it. - Jon wraps his four part podcast series on TechEd with a review of the conference as a whole and the bottom line implications for SAP professionals.

This is Jon Reed's "roaming podcast" from SAP TechEd '07, Day 3. Follow Jon as he tries to get some straight answers on the upcoming NetWeaver releases and looks more closely at the Business Process Expert skill set of the future. As always, Jon tries to not only identify the key technical trends, but to move the conversation into the question of skills - who will fill these new SAP roles, and what types of backgrounds will they need? Jon asked SAP executives these questions. Listen to the podcast series to find out the answers he was given and what he thought of those answers. Day 3 of the podcast series is Jon's review of his attempts to get SAP product reps on the same page with the exact release dates of NetWeaver 7.1 and what functionality will be included in each incarnation. Jon found more mixed messages than agreement, but he was able to learn some information about the upcoming NetWeaver 7.1 components (PI, ESR, CE) and what their release dates are likely to be. He also asked a lot of questions about the future of ABAP, and found out the ABAP is indeed included in a number of NetWeaver components, and so is far from dead. Jon talks about the innovations he encountered on Day 3 in the NetWeaver BI space, including the integration of Web 2.0 mashups using SAP BI and best-of-breed content providers. Jon shares some of the tools needed to do this work that might be worth adding to the skill set including MDX and the BI XMLA connector. He also talks about the power of Visual Composer as proven in the hands-on demonstrations he attended in this area. Fresh off an evening at a hosted bar event where the best conversations always happen, Jon shares what he learned from the SAP customers at the event about where they were at with their implementations and whether they viewed eSOA as real or hype. Jon talked about the kinds of skills these companies are hiring, how much they train internally and the challenges they face hiring consultants on the open market. Towards the end of the Day 3 wrap, Jon explains his new belief that there are really three types of SAP customers right now: eSOA leaders, eSOA followers, and those who could care less. Jon talks about the challenges a market faces when customers have such different needs.

To get a closer look at the ERP 6.0 upgrade process, Jon conducted a wide-ranging podcast interview with Rohana Gunawardena, SAP Practice Director of Exium, Inc. Rohana is an SAP Financials expert and a respected speaker on topics such as SAP Global Rollouts. During the podcast, Rohana gives us the inside take on the ERP 6.0 upgrade cycle, lessons learned from global rollouts, the new GL, and many other vital topics to SAP consultants. Rohana has an opinionated and well-formed take on the SAP market, and his different takes on the future of SAP outsourcing and the impact of NetWeaver are worth hearing. Rohana also touches on the keys to being a successful SAP consultant, and he provides a memorable look at why cultural issues are so important to address on global SAP projects. In this thirty minute interview, Jon and Rohana touch on many key topics, including: - Rohana's upcoming talks on "Successful SAP Global Rollouts: Jump Start" and "Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of SAPNet" that he will be presenting at the co-hosted Managing Your SAP Projects 2007 and Global SAP Environments 2007 conferences from October 22-24 at the Miami Beach convention center. - How Rohana made his move into SAP and how his consulting role has evolved into his current position. - Why Rohana made the unusual choice of committing himself to multi-year projects and what he sees as the advantages to working on projects over multiple years. Rohana talks about the way that he has become a more well-rounded consultant through long-term projects, and he explains one of the biggest benefits of a long-term consulting role: being nominated to handle more complex and "mission critical" projects. - Lessons Rohana has learned from global SAP rollouts, and why the "human side of SAP implementations" is crucial to project success. Rohana shares an example of a cultural issue that flared up on his project and how his team resolved the problem and got a diverse, multi-country team on the SAP page. - Rohana's experiences upgrading to ERP 6.0, and why he thinks that the overall upgrade process to ERP 6.0 is not as difficult as some make it out to be. Rohana compares the 6.0 upgrade to other SAP moves of the past, including from 3.x to 4.x and from 4.x to 4.7.   - The impact of SAP's New GL and why it is a significant functional enhancement. - The significance of grasping the overall business processes that SAP addresses, and why understanding the integration points between SAP modules is so important to SAP consulting. - How Rohana defines the ideal SAP consulting skill set, and why he thinks an 80/20 mix between technical and functional skills is more marketable than a 50/50 SAP "techno-functional" skills mix. - Why ABAP programming know-how is important - even to SAP functional consultants. - Jon asks Rohana why he thinks there could be an outsourcing backlash, and Rohana provides an overview of economic and labor supply issues in India that could make outsourcing more expensive and less appealing than in-house options. - Rohana explains why he thinks NetWeaver is a bit overhyped in today's market and why many software companies, including SAP, push new functionality for marketing purposes while the real work remains focused on existing releases, and in SAP's case, in core functional processes rather than hot new eSOA technology.

The market for SAP jobs is hot, with some SAP skills paying premiums over the general IT market. In this podcast with David Foote, president of Foote Partners LLC, find out which modules have a particularly rosy outlook and which ones aren't expected to fare as well. Foote also discusses how outsourcing could affect SAP professionals and gives a general market update and predictions for the upcoming year.Download to your favorite mobile device.

To get an inside view of the evolution of SAP Business Intelligence, Jon tracked down senior SAP BI consultant and ProKarma SAP Solutions Director Pat Pesa. Pat has one of the most compelling takes on the potential of BI to transform the enterprise. Listen in as Jon and Pat go through the evolution of the BW product from the earliest releases to NetWeaver BI. Along the way, Pat shares the reasons that BW projects fail and the tactics needed to make them a success. Pat goes into detail regarding the skills consultants need to be successful in the SAP BI market and how they might break into BI from a range of technical backgrounds. In this forty minute look at BI consulting trends, Jon and Pat cover key topics such as: - How Pat broke into SAP and found his way into BW consulting roles. - How SAP managed to move beyond the criticism from data warehouse experts, who initially viewed BW as a "joke." How SAP made BW a quality product with a proven value to SAP customers. - Pat highlights how the work companies had to do with early releases of BW, building ETL, Extractors, and InfoCubes, has changed. Now BW is a fully-loaded product with plenty of business content. - The current applications of BI 7.0, from web reporting to faster analytical environments, from Integrated Planning to Enterprise Data Management. - Why BI was important to SAP's push to move beyond a transactional system to an "intelligent" program that allowed companies to leverage their ERP data for better reporting and decision-making. - The keys to a successful BI implementation, which include: assessing your information requirements, understanding where the data needs fall within your organization, smart use of blueprinting, and quality documentation. - Why the "siloed" BW implementation approach didn't work, and why the BI "enterprise-wide" data management approach is much more effective. - Pat's take on why most successful BW consultants come from technical backgrounds, and how functional consultants can be effective in their work dealing with the BI team. - Pat explains why he thinks the convergence of functional and technical SAP skills sets is not the ideal skill set for BI work, and why technical folks are generally better suited to BW project roles. - How data warehousing experts can fit into BW/BI projects, and the range of SAP technical skills that are applicable to BI projects. Pat also describes the kind of ABAP knowledge needed to be effective in BW. Jon gives his take on the ideal technical/functional skills mix for SAP consultants. - How the SAP ecosystem makes products like BI easier to implement than SAP projects used to be. - The impact of NetWeaver on BI, and how BI have moved beyond basic BEx reporting to web-based reporting. How Portals, iViews and SAP MDM tie together to improve the user experience in BI. - Why eSOA is an "enabling technology" that will allow SAP customers to innovate in ways that will help SAP customers to think in terms of business strategy and not in terms of their technical releases (R/3, BW, etc.) - Whether BI is effective in more diverse environments where non-SAP data is a key part of a company's data management challenge. How companies can structure their BI data integration around the SAP Financials functionality when SAP Financials serves as the system of record. - The future of information management in SAP, and why the underlying "source system" that a company's data is on will no longer be the defining factor. Pat explains why this shift allows NetWeaver to flip the "source system" approach on its head and allows business users to define their processes without worrying about which systems their data resides in. - How Pat balances his own career between practice lead functions and hands-on work, and why it's important to him to remain involved on the technical side of SAP.

In this interview with senior SAP consultant Suresh Sreenivasaiah, Jon and Suresh get to the roots of the opportunities in the SAP Retail consulting arena. Co-sponsored by B2B Workforce, this podcast takes a closer look at why SAP Retail consulting is picking up steam and the skills that companies need to achieve success in their SAP Retail implementations. Jon also asks Suresh to give his perspective on why SAP’s Retail solution has become so successful after a rocky start. Suresh shares with JonERP.com members the "best practices" he has seen on multiple SAP Retail installations. In this thirty minute interview, Jon and Suresh cover key topics including: - How Suresh got his start in SAP and how he was able to break into SAP Retail consulting in the late ‘90s. - How SAP Retail triumphed over its rocky beginnings through developing industry best practices. Suresh’s "keys to successful SAP retail implementations," including the importance of quality resources, master data, user interfaces, application integration, and best practice reviews. - The main consulting roles on SAP Retail projects and the skills consultants need to have to make a contribution to Retail projects. Factors such as retail industry experience, SAP Retail solution skills, finance, procurement, and Retail ABAP are considered. Suresh notes the various "entry points" into SAP Retail consulting. - Jon gets Suresh’s take on why there is more emphasis on industry-specific SAP skills by hiring managers than ever before, why companies are emphasizing this point, and why there is a tension between what companies are looking for and the availability of qualified consultants. - Why an industry focus has helped Suresh to succeed as an SAP consultant. - How Enterprise SOA and NetWeaver are impacting SAP Retail consulting, including issues pertaining to BI, Portals, and reporting. - The importance of quality master data for SAP Retail installations and how SAP’s own Master Data Management (MDM) solution might fit into a Retail solution environment, and whether you must have MDM installed to have an effective SAP Retail installation. - What skills Suresh is looking to acquire next and why the RFID skill set is compelling to him in the context of his retail specialization. - What "scommerce" is and why Suresh is excited about its potential in the SAP marketplace in terms of visibility and point-of-sale solutions. - Given that there are limited training and certification opportunities in SAP Retail, what are the entry points into SAP Retail consulting and how can consultants get involved? Suresh answers that question and explains how retail experts without SAP background can also break into the field.

This is Jon Reed's "roaming podcast" from the floor of SAPPHIRE 2007, Day 2 and Day 3. Follow Jon's unscripted, instant reactions to the press briefings and executive interviews he conducted on the final two days of the conference. On these last two days, Jon talked with a number of industry insiders and SAP executives and consolidated what he learned onto this podcast wrap. A couple of major highlights included the backgrounds needed for consulting success in BI and RF/RFID, and the emerging NetWeaver "jobs roles of the future." Highlights from Jon's uncensored and unscripted conference reactions included: - Jon's reaction to the key themes of the big SAPPHIRE keynotes, including the shift from "disruptive innovators" to "innovation without disruption." - Jon documents which SAP terms are in and more notably, which SAP terms are on the way out. Terms on the way out include: ABAP, Basis, and R/3, but also more surprising departures such as XI, mySAP, and ESA. - Jon tracks the hot consulting areas emphasized during the conference, including emerging activity in the retail industry as well as xApps and selective SOA implementations. - Jon's detailed review of a NetWeaver executive's review of the SAP job roles of the future. Jon describes the roles of "Composer," "Consolidator," "Repository Keeper," and "SAP Developer," and notes the skills and backgrounds that will be necessary to move into each of these new roles. - Jon documents a couple more public admissions by SAP executives of pending skills shortages and Jon speculates on whether the skills gap is as big for SOA as the skills gap once was between mainframe and client-server technologies. - Jon details the emerging RFID consulting role and the kinds of skills profiles that will find success on an SAP RFID implementation. - Jon looks more closely at BI consulting and which types of functional and technical SAP consultants will succeed in BI and BW consulting going forward. - Jon describes a rapid mySAP ERP 2005 xApp implementation, how it was accomplished and what kind of skills were needed to complete it. - Jon also predicts how long the SAP upgrade wave will boost consulting and when we will return to a "winners and losers" consulting market like we had for most of this decade before the upgrade wave hit. -  Finally, Jon wraps the podcast with another review of the hottest areas of SAP going forward (BI, Retail, SOA, functional and technical skills convergence, and HR and FI (but not classic back office HR and FI). Editor's Note: at the 6:25 time stamp mark on this podcast, Jon Reed says that SAP now uses PI as the abbreviation for "Process Industries." In this context, he actually meant "Process Integration," the replacement for SAP XI.

This is Jon Reed's "roaming podcast" from the floor of SAPPHIRE 2007, Day 1. Follow Jon's unscripted, instant reactions to the press briefings and executive interviews he conducted on Day 1. On Day 1, Jon conducted numerous interviews with SAP product managers. He also sat in on several press briefings including a CIO panel of SAP customers. Jon reported back his insights from each event, and took an honest look at how the latest developments will impact consulting demand.   Highlights from Jon's uncensored and unscripted conference reactions included: - Why mid-market companies are looking at outsourcing and why they find that some SAP consultants are too specialized for their needs. - How SOA has evolved from a "good idea" to a product that SAP's partners can truly sell and therefore truly endorse. - Why "On Demand" Solutions like CRM On Demand are not as appealing to mid-market companies as one would think. - The significance of leveraging "unstructured" data and how partnerships like Duet are focused on this area. - Which SAP consulting areas seemed hot based on the day's interviews and why (hot areas included CRM, SOA, and BW/BI). - Why functional and technical skill sets are converging. - A NetWeaver executive who admits on the record that there are not enough of the "new wave" of techno-functional NetWeaver consultants to meet customer needs. Jobs like Composer and Repository Keeper may not have emerged yet, but the demand for those skill sets has. - The need for consultants with more industry-specific know-how and more business process knowledge (and why the BPX community is a factor here). - The problematic Microsoft partnership...all smiles at SAPPHIRE, but what happens when Microsoft wins a bunch of SMB business from SAP? Will Microsoft partnership ever deteriorate like the Oracle partnership has?

Sit in with Jon and Brian Trout, SAP Practice Manager at B2B Workforce, for 45 minutes of straight talk on where things stand for SAP consultants in today's market. Jon and Brian move beyond the NetWeaver hype for an in-depth look at which skills are hot and which are not. Brian's take on the SAP market has influenced many SAP consultants. Check out this podcast and find out why. Jon and Brian cover themes such as: - Are the core functional consultants having the last laugh? Why is work shifting away from the previously-titled "New Dimensions" products like APO, SEM, and CRM? - What are the hottest areas in SAP consulting now, and how are upgrades fueling the consulting demand and the types of opportunities available? - Why is there so much confusion about SAP product names and version numbers? How do the NetWeaver and mySAP release numbers match up? Which components fit into the new ECC (Enterprise Core) releases? - Are companies getting the message and upgrading to 6.0, or are they also upgrading to other SPA releases? Which versions of SAP are most marketable for consultants? - Get Brian's take on why SAP consultants should choose skills over rates. Find out how the elite consultants he knows stay in demand. - Is ABAP programming "dead" as a career path? Brian offers his take on the type of SAP programmer who can succeed in today's outsourcing-heavy market. - Find out why Brian thinks that functional consultants need to move beyond configuration skills. Hear Brian's view on why business process and industry knowledge matters more than ever. - NetWeaver isn't just impacting technical consultants. Brian shares how NetWeaver is changing functional SAP consulting. - Hear why Business Intelligence is here to stay, and why functional consultants should also be adding BI and BW skills to their profile.

Members of the America's SAP Users' Group are taking part in about 60 influence councils that help shape application updates and fill gaps in SAP software. Learn more in this audio download.Listen here or download to your favorite mobile device.

Zia Yusuf, who leads SAP’s Platform Ecosystem unit, is finding software vendors that fill various gaps in SAP’s software. In a wide ranging interview, Yusuf explains his role shaping SAP’s strategy.Listen here or download to your favorite mobile device.

Michael Doane, founder and chief intelligence officer of Performance Monitor discusses his firms study of the top systems integrators.Listen here or download to your favorite mobile device.

Consultant Doug Whittle discusses the support issues SAP customers face after their new systems go live and the support strategies that get the most value out of an SAP system.Listen here or download to your favorite mobile device.