Friday 17 January 2014

SAP Training: The SAP Conundrum

SAP Training: The SAP Conundrum:  With nearly 48,000 companies in 120 countries using its software, SAP has become the leading provider of enterprise resource planning sof...

The SAP Conundrum

 With nearly 48,000 companies in 120 countries using its software, SAP has become the leading provider of enterprise resource planning software. It has leveraged that position to expand into related fields, including business intelligence and customer relationship management, while also introducing its Net Weaver technology and applications platform focused on increasing interoperability between enterprise data and SAP’s large family of software products. As the company increasingly promotes vertical industry solutions across its broad product line, employers have likewise been seeking more workers with specialized business and SAP technical skills to implement SAP’s matrix of solutions, and finding grossly inadequate labor supply. Combined with the company’s success in bringing small and midsized customers into the SAP family (now amounting to two-thirds of their installed base), severe shortages have been most acutely felt for experienced SAP implementers.
 SAP acknowledges their dilemma and has initiated several programs to help accelerate growth of a robust, stable talent pool over the long term. One in particular, the University Alliances program, has earmarked $545 million towards providing universities with tools and resources necessary to give students hands-on experience with SAP solutions in integrating business processes and strategic thinking. Other programs are focused on created online SAP knowledge databases and searchable talent networks where skilled workers can be located by hiring authorities.
 There’s no doubt that SAP is focusing on its skills shortage long term, but that still leaves many in their customer base in dire straits now and over the next few years.  SMB employers in particular need professionals with three to six years of SAP experience minimum, multiple development life cycles, and specializations in more than one vertical or functional solution set. People who can ‘hit the ground running’ when they arrive, and at full stride these people are way too busy to train people.
SMB employers usually have little or no bench strength compared to larger employers who can shift resources. I just don’t see this category of employer being able to recruit the talent they require anytime soon, or large companies and services firms for that matter.
SAP actually caught a break with the current economic conditions being what they are. Budgets are under scrutiny, spending on enterprise applications systems has been pulled back and so has hiring associated with those application systems. Should the economy improve even a little, I suspect this SAP skills supply/demand disconnect will be much worse a year from now.”
The last few months have doubtless been trying for SAP professionals who once thought their SAP skill-sets were indispensable. But in this SAP job market, aligning with the proper SAP technologies and products can mean the difference between collecting a paycheck and collecting unemployment. There are plenty of SAP job titles that continue to thrive as well as skill sets that keeps employers happy.

"There is no one right way to break into SAP. You need to remember that the key to getting a foothold into the SAP world is not through training courses, but through hands-on project experience. I recommend two practical things: Head towards the area of SAP that is most relevant to your current skills, and review the SAP job openings you see online and compare them with your current skills. My approach to breaking into SAP is not to take the sexiest course you can find, but to carefully map your current skills into SAP and fill in the blanks."