Similarly to last year, Panaya Inc released recent 2012 SAP Salary survey. Part of this study was based on a conducted SAP talent salary survey but also taking in consideration Panaya’s deep knowledge of the SAP market. There is a chance that you, as a SAPLAB.org reader, might have contributed for the results shown in this report.

The earnings of an SAP professional depend on many variables, including your location, education level, and experience, as well as the location of the company you work for and the industry you are in. Published by Panaya for the third year now, this survey will help you compare your compensation makeup to industry peers, better understand what drives compensation in this market, and get useful ideas for increasing your value.

Please click on the image below to access the full report (pdf)

Related posts:

1. 2012 SAP Talent Salary Survey
2. Get your 2011 SAP Salary Survey
3. 2011 SAP Salary Survey – Infographic

The 2011 study conducted by Panaya Inc. was read by thousands of SAP professionals all over the world and received great accolades as one of the most comprehensive salary studies focused on SAP talent.

How does your salary compare with those of other SAP professionals in your industry?
Would you like to know where you stand on this hot topic?

Just fill in the survey and see how your salary matches up to those of other SAP professionals. It is based on parameters such as:

• Job Title
• SAP experience
• Region
• …and many other parameters

All individual responses will be strictly confidential. The report will be available only in aggregate form (in a future post).

Please click on the image below to access the survey.

Related posts:

1. 2010 SAP Salary Survey
2. Get your 2011 SAP Salary Survey
3. 2011 SAP Salary Survey – Infographic

Back in 2010, ERP consultancy company Panaya ran an experimental SAP salary survey that was received with tremendous interest. In 2011, the same approach has increased the number of participants by more than doubled to over 800.

Panaya’s main focus in this study were issues that are of interest to the global SAP community versus regional issues.

For example:

• Are Europeans earning more than Americans? (Hint: No)
• Is there gender bias among SAP professionals?
• Is there a correlation between education and pay level?
• What are the top paying jobs?
• What is the outlook for 2011?

Note: you can also view the 2011 SAP Salary Survey to access the complete figures and survey results.

The SAP Salary Survey

The earnings of an SAP professional depend on many variables, including your location, education level, and experience, as well as the location of the company you work for, the SAP version you are working on, the industry you are in, as well as your gender. Panaya conducted this survey to help you compare your compensation makeup to industry peers, better understand what drives compensation in this market, and get useful ideas for increasing your value.

Get your 2011 SAP Salary Survey – Infographic

Please click on the image below to access and download the whole PDF.

About Panaya Inc

Panaya’s software-as-a-service helps companies that use SAP or Oracle reduce 80% of their upgrade and testing risk and effort. Utilizing a cloud-based supercomputer, Panaya simulates the upcoming upgrade, automatically pinpointing which custom programs will break as a result of the upgrade and automatically ?xing most of these problems.

Panaya’s testing solutions dramatically expedite ERP testing and eliminate the need for manual test script maintenance. Seamlessly capturing business knowledge in the background, as users work with the ERP applications, Panaya automatically generates plain-English test scripts that are rapidly executed and continually self-adjust based on test results

Related posts:

1. Get your 2011 SAP Salary Survey
2. 2010 SAP Salary Survey
3. 10 SAP Blogs you must follow

Jon Reed is widely known in the SAP community. Not only as a SAP mentor, but also as an independent analyst, blogger, tweeter and creator of (lots of) podcasts covering different SAP areas, with special focus on SAP trends and SAP careers. In 2010, Jon Reed embraced another new project, as Editor in Chief of The ERP Executive – Panaya’s Magazine for SAP Managers. Recently, Jon and partner-in-video-crime Dennis Howlett launched JD-OD.com – a video commentary web site for the on-demand enterprise. Jon is also an Enterprise Irregular (more on Jon Reed’s full profile).

As SAPLAB.org owner and blogger, I take this opportunity to thank Jon Reed for his availability to answer some questions and contribute, yet again, with rich content for the SAP community.

SAPLAB: Jon, it seems that you’re a natural entrepreneur and that your scope within the SAP world never stops growing. How did this all start?

JON REED: It first started as an SAP recruiter. Actually, I was a failed Lotus Notes recruiter. I became a recruiter because I felt I didn’t understand sales, it was the one area of small business management that I had not faced. I took a commission-only recruiting job with the chance to build a whole IT recruiting division. But: I really struggled for a while there. Eventually I discovered SAP and with some hard work and lots of luck, I put some people to work. I went on to build an ERP recruiting practice, but maybe the biggest thing, looking back now, is that I started publishing an email career newsletter for SAP professionals. There are a couple of lessons there: first, I had no idea about SAP when I started writing it, but was very determined. Second, I pursued the newsletter because it played to my journalistic strengths. Playing to your strengths is a key lesson for any entrepreneur. In 1996, I helped launch one of the first ERP web sites. Nowadays, we talk about the strategic importance of having great content. Back then it was just my determination to succeed and pay off my student loans.

SAPLAB: What SAP areas do you think are worth investing reading and learning in the short, medium and long term?

JON REED: Every SAP professional needs an area of focused expertise. Having said that, it’s important to understand the intersections between “transactional ERP” and “next generation ERP,” which I would classify as the long and difficult journey towards the “intelligent enterprise.” Companies still haven’t gotten enough value from their ERP investments, but I think it’s a fair argument that ERP tied into BI, in-memory, and strategic cloud and mobile extensions can help to bring that value. Understanding those trends is important. In particular, learning how to integrate technical-know how with an ability to solve business problems is essential for any SAP professional. I don’t care whether you’re a developer or a Financials consultant, that advice stands.

SAPLAB: You’ve written several posts referring what you call “SAP Hot Areas” or “SAP Hot Skills”, which we had the privilege to quote in SAPLAB.org in post “Are you SAP hot skilled?”. If you had to revisit these skills today, what would be your list of topics?

JON REED: I’m not sure that much has changed yet from those hot skills. Except perhaps even more BI. Having said that, two years from now we should see some VERY big differences, such as a demand for mobility, on-demand, BI (BusinessObjects) and in particular in-memory (HANA) related skills. However, many of these areas are still emerging (for example, NetWeaver Gateway and Sybase Unwired Platform 2.0 are both still in ramp-up), so we won’t see big job growth in these areas for a while. BI 4.0, the new Business Objects platform, should generate even more hiring in that SAP BW/BusinessObjects vein, but again, I see next year as a much bigger year for that as BI 4.0 is still in ramp-up also (though the GA is close).

SAPLAB: We keep receiving questions from readers regarding where to obtain high quality SAP certifications. Can you tell us a bit about the “certification five” and also your own view on certified SAP consultants VS non-certified SAP consultants?

JON REED: Well, there’s really only one form of certification in the SAP world, and that’s from SAP itself. Now, there are other training providers now offering “certification” if you pass their test at the end of a course, but SAP is still the gold standard for certification, nothing is really close. However, I would correct myself and say that SAP is the “bronze standard” because SAP’s own certification program is only a small part of what I believe it can be. My views on SAP certification are pretty widely known but in summary I don’t believe at this time SAP certification is a good differentiator for quality SAP consultants. Many of the best SAP consultants I know are either not certified or have expired certifications. You may have heard otherwise but that’s the fact. Field experience and “soft skills” are still way more important to SAP consulting success than being SAP certified. SAP is doing a nice job at the university level with certification. If you’re at that early level I strongly recommend the process-oriented TERP10 certification. I love what SAP did with TERP10 and I want to see that extended into more senior level courses. But aside from that, investment in SAP training and certification has to be considered in the context of an overall investment in your skills development that also includes books, trade shows, webinars, etc. People who think certification will land them an SAP job are naïve. The Certification Five, a group of five SAP Mentors of whom I am a part, formed because we believe passionately that SAP certification could eventually become that “gold standard” that provides a trusted benchmark for hiring managers and also a roadmap for all SAP professionals to aspire to. SAP Education has responded, and we’re moving ahead I with the formation of the Certification Influence Council – one of the C5’s core action items – which had its kickoff meeting this spring at SAPPHIRENOW. The CIC includes two members of the C5 (myself and Martin Gillet), as well as key customers, partners, and user group leaders (as well as SAP Education of course). We have had very good meetings so far but it must be said there is a very long way to go. The jury unfortunately is still out on where SAP certification is ultimately headed so I can only hope that we reach some consensus and move ahead aggressively. In particular I want to see the Master Level fully developed and re-instated to the three tiered SAP certification vision. I also want to see the Professional Level moved off of pure multiple choice to better validate field experience. Not everyone agrees with me but those are my views and I’m not backing down.

SAPLAB: What are your thoughts about SAP HANA?

JON REED: I have issued a couple of key podcasts on JonERP.com on this topic so I highly recommend checking them out as there is a lot to cover there. I love the vision of HANA because I think it has the potential to reduce the cost of ownership for SAP customers while providing a huge amount of increased business value. The long term vision of HANA might even mean the ultimate reunion of OLTP and OLAP systems for customers which could be extremely powerful. Even BW running on HANA could be a major step, and SAP says there could be some ramp-up there by the end of this year. Having said that, HANA concerns me because I believe that many in the marketplace have bought into the hype that HANA is ready now to have some huge impact. I’m sure SAP will be irritated that I say this, but I don’t believe HANA is ready yet to have that impact. I see it as an early stage product, not unlike the early releases of BW. I believe some harm may be caused by the overhyping of HANA versus the reality on the ground. For example, most people didn’t realize that almost every HANA customer featured in Hasso Plattner’s SAPPHIRENOW keynote was an early stage Proof of Concept (POC) customer, not a live productive use case. SAP has done an undeniably fantastic job creating buzz around HANA but now they need to find a way to deliver (or clarify the messaging into something more realistic) before they get a backlash from those who had huge expectations that HANA would do something right away. I’d like to see SAP talk a lot more about the practical use cases that are possible now. I was encouraged SAP did a podcast with me and some other Mentors to talk about exactly that. Right now there are indeed some interesting use cases for HANA that customers need to be more aware of, and I think that kind of talk is important, not just “game changing” hyperbole about what may someday be possible. I should say that I’m not alone here, I have talked with the leaders of many of the European user groups about this issue and they feel very similarly.

SAPLAB: We also have lots of beginners asking us for advice on where to obtain “proper” certified training in SAP. Some of them come to us disappointed with official training programs, looking for alternatives. I imagine this is a delicate topic to advise upon… You’d you like to like to comment?

JON REED: There is a wide variety of SAP training options out there. I do think SAP takes its SAP training seriously and they have worked hard to make it much more role-based, which is a practical improvement of some significant value. The big problem is that it’s not realistic for most people to take a couple weeks off for in-class training anymore. We need more flexible training models that include more on-demand learning, but also interactive on-demand that blends self-directed study with teacher interaction. SAP to its credit is well aware that on-demand is a big part of the future of training delivery, but there is quite a bit of work to do here. I think you have to be careful with your readers, and separate training and certification. If you want to be SAP certified, you should get that certification from SAP. That means likely you would take the class from SAP too, as you likely won’t pass the exam if you don’t take the training that is linked to the exam. I’d like to see SAP issue more exam preparation materials for experienced consultants. Other SAP training firms have started to provide their own “certification” as they say, but let’s be honest, these currently have limited market value beyond the pride you might feel for completion. As to the quality of training, I see it like anything else – you have to ask other customers and get references and then try to “buy smart” by investing in training that has worked out well for other students. I’m not going to recommend specific products here however.

SAPLAB: What advice would you give to an SAP beginner-to-be-consultant who’s overwhelmed by the SAP global dimension?

JON REED: Start small. Pick an area you are passionate about that seems to be in some demand in your region. Don’t pick an SAP specialty if you are not passionate about making a life becoming an expert in it. And cast a wide view, if you’re going to be an SAP programmer, for example, you should be passionate about development trends as a whole, not just with SAP.

SAPLAB: I have been enjoying a lot your new project JO-OD.com. How did the JO-OD.com project start? What was its main driver?

JON REED: Dennis Howlett approached me and said, “let’s do this,” and I said, pardon my language, “F*ck yeah!” For a few reasons. First, Dennis is a fantastic collaborator and a trusted friend. He’s also pretty darn good with video production and has taught me a lot there. I think he and I have some chemistry because while we agree on many things, we have our differences and have always been able to argue well and give each other a bit of a good-natured hard time in public and in private. This keeps us both honest and can make for some funny moments on video, like when I brought up StreamWork in our Sapphire Edge on Demand video and got an immediate visceral reaction from Dennis. Though Dennis is a well-known curmudgeon, I can be pretty grouchy as well. If one of us is over-excited about a technology the other can provide a corrective. That makes for a good banter I think. Obviously, the on-demand focus of the site matters, because “cloud” is a topic full of BS but also full of impact for today’s enterprise. There is much to dissect and many hype balloons to puncture. A main driver behind the project is that, first of all, video is a big part of the future of enterprise media. I continue to love podcasting and sharing the long-form conversations, but video is a different medium where more concise ideas can be vividly shared. The learning curve in video is steep but there is great opportunity to share moments that you can’t really capture any other way. Video coverage is particularly key at events. Dennis and I can set up a shoot quickly and grab a 15 minute video with a customer or executive and be on our way. Dennis and I both believe that too much of the video that is produced is, in a nutshell, vendor-sponsored crapola. We try to capture a more informal and honest discussion, and we think that’s where enterprise conversation needs to go – less spin, more unscripted moments. We’re really trying to emphasize customer views because that’s where the buck stops. As I see it, this kind of unfiltered content should help us make sense of the blazing speed of today’s tech developments, where a site like Google Plus can launch and have 10 million members in weeks. So far, JD-OD has been blowing out our video bandwidth limits each month, so maybe we are doing something right.

SAPLAB: Your website and blog is highly content driven and has been growing considerable in size. Any plans for the future?

JON REED: I don’t really plan things so much anymore, preferring to shoot from the hip based on what I see out there. I will say that the JonERP site will likely get a bit of a makeover in the next year to move to a more modern platform. My current platform is awfully fast and reliable but it’s time to move. I can tell you that my view on content creation has changed over time. Nowadays, I only do content that I think captures a freedom of expression on my part and also advances the conversation around a topic. So, I do less podcasts than I used to, for example, but I try to make each one a can’t-miss event for me as a participant and hopefully for the listener. Whatever media format I work in, video or what have you, I try to be consistent in that attempt to create something memorable. But: I don’t want to do it with cheap sensationalism. My style is what I call “ruthless fairness” and that’s not always a sexy as tearing people down, but that’s my style. I like to attack an issue from all sides and get into enough detail to hit on the nuances. For me, the details are where the real story is almost always buried. I realize that many people think that you can only do short podcasts because no one has any time to listen to something longer than five minutes, but I don’t agree. I don’t want to live in a world where no one can focus for longer than five minutes. So, I do the content that pleases me and helps me learn and hope that others will come along for the ride. I’m also proud of the third party product reviews I am doing with Amit Bendov on the ERP Executive site because I think there is a need for in-depth, independent product reviews of all the third party SAP solutions out there, and no one else is really doing them. I’m interested to see where that goes. Because so much of my content is a big production, I’ll continue to enjoy Twitter, and now Google Plus, as places where I can riff and share in quick bursts. One word of advice: while I’ll always have my own web site, you can’t hang out only on your own site anymore. You have to go where the conversation is and that’s a key mantra for anybody who wants to be an influencer these days, whatever that word means.

SAPLAB: Finally, what do you think of SAPLAB.org?

JON REED: I’m enjoying your site more and more because I think you are focusing more and more on creating original, unique content. That’s what it’s all about. There are a lot of “scraper sites” out there that are trying to make a name (or a cheap buck) by scraping and featuring bits of other people’s content. As a content creator I hate that stuff. Let’s face it, there are no shortcuts. I think you’re heading in the right direction with your current approach.

SAPLAB: Jon, thank you very much for your collaboration and contribute. Not only readers will get to know a little bit more about you, as we’re all lucky to read your thoughts towards the future on SAP.

JON REED: Thanks for the interesting questions. Have your readers contact me on Twitter if they have any questions that aren’t answered here.

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1. SAPLAB Version 2.0 is on-line!
2. Best SAP SDN Blog Posts from 2010
3. 10 SAP Blogs you must follow

The results of the 2011 SAP Salary Survey are here, published by company Panaya. The survey results are based on responses from more than 800 SAP professionals around the world.

You can now download the complete survey results, with the latest salary figures broken down by job title, geography, education, experience, and other variables.

You will be able to answer questions such as:

• What are the highest paying SAP job titles?
• Does higher education mean higher pay?
• Which industries pay top dollars for SAP skills?
• Do men earn more than women among SAP professionals?
• Get your 2011 SAP Salary Survey Results and find out everything you wanted to know about SAP salaries.

The earnings of an SAP professional depend on many variables, including your location, education level, and experience, as well as the location of the company you work for, the SAP version you are working on, the industry you are in, as well as your gender.

Panaya conducted this survey to help you compare your compensation makeup to industry peers, better understand what drives compensation in this market, and get useful ideas for increasing your value.

Nice, how do I get my hands on it?

Please click on the image below to access and download the whole PDF (you will need to register with Panaya).

About Panaya

Panaya’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions enable companies that use SAP to save up to 50% of their application lifecycle costs and minimize the risks associated with system changes. Utilizing cloud-based simulation to analyze the impact of pending changes, Panaya automatically pinpoints which custom programs will break as a result of an upgrade or support package implementation and automatically fixes most of these problems. Panaya provides a complete solution for managing these changes, explaining how to fix the anticipated issues, fixing most of them automatically, suggesting the most efficient test plan, and calculating required project budget and resources. To learn more access Panaya’s website.

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1. 2010 SAP Salary Survey
2. SAPLAB Version 2.0 is on-line!
3. Webcast – Best Practices in Building Your SAP Consulting Business

After almost 2 years since it was recorded, this webcast continues to be useful in the times we live in. On June 25, 2008, Jon Reed gave a presentation on the best strategies for becoming a successful independent SAP consultant and growing your consulting business. The content from that presentation is now made available in saplab.org. Even though this webcast was designed for any aspiring SAP consultant, there are a some points to keep in mind as you watch or listen:

The presentation was prepared for the SAP Developer Network audience. The material is certainly useful for any SAP consultants, but it pointed specially towards SAP technical professionals, in particular, SAP developers.

A main theme of the presentation is how the free online resources of SAP’s online communities can help further consulting success. Jon Reed also explains how SDN Software Subscriptions can provide a great value for those consultants who are serious about self-education and software development.

The presentation does not assume that the audience is already running a consulting business. Many consultants wanted to “go independent” but have never taken the leap.

The general agenda is the following:

• how to become (and remain) a successful SAP consultant;
• how to grow your SAP consulting business;
• how to leverage SDN Subscriptions to develop bona fide third party software solutions using your own protected SAP Namespace.

Additional topics covered in the presentation:

• Finding a marketable SAP niche with consistent demand;
• Taking the plunge: accept that first independent project.

Access the Webcast:

• Click here to enter the Webcast event lobby
• Click here to download the audio only version (mp3 file)
• Click here to download the Powerpoint presentantion (ppt file)

Additional links and resources:

• Jon Reed on SAP Consulting

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2. 5 Keypoints if you want to be a SAP Consultant
3. Best Practices for SAP Netweaver Portal 7.0

Well I can say that this is a long awaited SAP launch and that will provide help to many users worldwide. If you’re like me, at a certain point in your SAP career, you felt the need to have your own SAP sandbox. Being for professional purposes or for your own personal skillset build, an SAP sandbox system is always handy and you can’t well perform this kind of experiments on your client development system.

Up until now, there weren’t many (viable) available solutions. There are some companies that provide you a paid service for you to have your own SAP system/client but usually expensive for most of us.

This month Learning on Demand by SAP launched a new service called SAP Sandbox onDemand, which consists of an SAP ECC 6.0 system with sufficient basic data, such as customer and vendor master data, to enable substantial experimentation.

Using this system, users can access the core ERP functionality of modules such as FI and CO, SD, HR and MM and can write and test ABAP code and modify SAP Netweaver settings and configurations. This offering will provide interested individuals with the ability to reinforce their existing SAP ERP knowledge and skills through experimentation in a live but safe environment. It will also enable you to clarify areas of ambiguity in your knowledge or to test new functionality that they may be considering for an existing or new client.

Given that the SAP Sandbox onDemand is accessed via an SAP WebGUI, there is no need to install any client-side software on your PC, so you can start using the system immediately after receiving your access details.

Comparing with other and existing offers, SAP Sandbox onDemand has a fair price in my perspective: US$80 for 30 days access.

Click here for more info and start playing now!

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2. SAPLAB Version 2.0 is on-line!
3. 22 SAP How To’s you can’t miss!

ARE3 Consulting is the result of an innovative idea towards market approach and recruitment areas, specifically for SAP ERP implementation projects. With more than 10 years in the market, ARE3 specializes in SAP recruitment giving response to their clients that are more and more demanding in terms of SAP skills and qualifications. ARE3 operates on sound judgement and that for the company counts on specific market consultants, to cover markets such as the Portuguese and Spanish.

In 2009, ARE3 acquired a CRM platform and hired additional experienced senior recruiters to respond to market demands. The result was a turnover above 250m Euro. In the beginning of 2010 ARE3 invested on the ARE3 Job Board, which is already well known in the SAP job market. ARE3 is also investing in social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, the SAP Club magazine and also advertising in specialized SAP websites and SAP blogs such as SAPLAB. In the first semester of 2010 ARE3 has almost doubled it’s turnover comparing the whole 2009.

In what relates to the future, ARE3 started a partnership with SAP and with a gold partner, assuming itself as an EBM (Extended Business Member) for small and medium businesses.

Click here to access ARE3 website or access ARE3 Joboard directly

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1. 2010 SAP Salary Survey
2. SAPLAB Version 2.0 is on-line!
3. Are you SAP Hot Skilled?

Many opinions have been written about working with SAP systems and, specifically, assuming yourself as an SAP expert or Consultant. If you’ve been working with SAP or envolved in other IT based Projects, for sure that you will have your own opinion and insights on this matter. In this post, I will share my own experience and 5 key points which I find of most importance for anyone who wants to prevail as a successful and long-lasting SAP consultant, advisor, expert, working as a permanent employee for a Company or as a Freelancer.

1. Choose your niche… wisely

At the end of the day, your work as a SAP Consultant will be to help and advise your clients, usually big companies, on how to implement highly dependable IT systems who literally help improve and run their businesses. I’d say that choosing your niche will depend on 2 distict factores: your background and opportunity. If you’re coming from a technical, computer engineering or networking background, SAP security and Basis can be a good area to bet on. This is a cross area to any SAP solution. On the other hand, if you’re coming from a business or even law degree, you can try SAP FI (Finantial Accounting), CO (Controlling) or even LO (Logistics General). There are several SAP Applications Areas which might be interesting, according to your profile and expectations. Just remember that as you grow in your SAP career, more and more you will be facing the client and acting as an advisor. The client might even depend on your judgement to choose which way to go or which solution to aquire. Besides having a good domain over the solution or industry you’re in, you must also be a good communicator and easy going with people.

2. Niche, not Narrow

Whether you work for a big consultancy firm, a medium size company or if you’re an SAP freelancer, odds are that you evolve and grow in a particular SAP Application Area. Perhaps you might even become an expert in a specific SAP Application Area within a particular industry. In my opinion, it’s ok to become a subject matter expert in your area of expertise. But it is crucial to keep expanding your knowledge and being able to look at the global picture. This means you should accompany SAP’s evolution in your area of expertise and try to be knowledgable about the connection of that area with other SAP subjects or even other suppliers. Remember: focus on your area but keep an open mind and interest at all times.

3. Money or evolution?

My opinion is that you should bet on less profitable but cutting edge projects that give you space to get your hands dirty and get paid experience. This is particulary important if you just turned a SAP freelancer. Of course at this point you have a great deal of knowledge and experience, but being a freelancer means that you’ll have to perform twice as more than a “regular” SAP consultant. So if you can choose between a solid project which gives you room to learn more, do it, even if the pay isn’t as much as other projects which aren’t big challenges to you.

4. One percent genious, ninety-nine percent perspiration

Recruiters usually say entering the SAP world is a very good learning experience and school for ambitioning to be a good professional, programmer or project manager for IT projects. Since SAP is so broad in it’s application areas and each one, by itself, is also such a big world, it’s natural that when we get used to working to SAP, we’ve travelled a step further. The important point to take home is that not only geniuses prevail. You will need to work harder though, being able to run the extra mile.

5. SAP vs IT

It is really important to understand until what extent we’re dealing with IT details and what relates to SAP and the client organization, business processes and business model. In fact, an SAP project implementation is not alone an IT Project. Of course there are several technological components, moreover with the maturation of Netweaver, but it is important to note that an SAP project is an organizational project, which impacts all levels of a company. It is crucial to have a clear commitment from every person involved, starting with the CEO, down to the managers and all the way to the key-users.

A SAP Consultant is someone who has the ability to speak the functional language in his area of expertise (e.g. FI/CO, HCM, MM, etc.). At the same time, he has to understand clearly how the company works, what is the business model, what are the client’s requirements, what does the SAP standard module cover, what can be extended and what can be done custom built (identifying the gaps). In parallel, it’s a plus if the SAP Consultant is able to get inside the system, not only knowing how every piece connects but also how to create what’s necessary to meet his client’s needs. For this reason, it is always a good idea to start your career with SAP by learning ABAP.

I strongly recommend you to take a look at Jon Reed’s blog “Career answers for SAP Professionals“. It is a full content, very complete blog about SAP careers. Inside you will find several Podcasts and Webcasts. Jon Reed also updates the blog regularly with SAP Job market information, trends and job opportunities.

Related posts:

1. 2010 SAP Salary Survey
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Based on 430 SAP Professionals’ Responses, industry Leader in SAP ECC6 Upgrade and Support Package Automation, Panaya released a survey which highlights very interesting findings related to SAP professionals’ salaries.

Here is an excerpt from the survey:

The earnings of an SAP professional depend on many variables, including the version you are working on, industry, education level, and experience. Panaya conducted this survey to help you compare your SAP talent to industry peers, better understand what drives compensation in this market, and get useful ideas for increasing your value.

After filling in the necessary information, a link will be presented in the page and you will be able to download this 18 page PDF survey. Here’s the link:

• 2010 SAP Salary Survey

Related posts:

1. SAPLAB Version 2.0 is on-line!