Podcast: Listen Now!
Vendor Podcast - An Interview with Sina Moatamed, CIO of BendPak, about how SMEs can use the cloud for business enablement, and why BendPak selected ByDesign.
An SAP SCN Community Podcast
Hosted by Jon Reed of JonERP.com
Podcast Interview Date: March 31, 2011

It's hard to assess the actual impact of "the cloud" unless you've been able to see it first hand. To get a better insight into the impact of the cloud on the small and medium enterprise (SME), Jon Reed interviewed Sina Moatamed, CIO of BendPak. An early SAP Business ByDesign customer, BendPak has had a chance to grapple with the role SaaS for SMEs and to evaluate its business benefits. During the 24 minute podcast, SAP's Siva Darivemula joins the discussion and shares the latest news about ByDesign on SCN.

As a guiding force behind the IT transformation at BendPak, Moatamed shares what he learned about the IT gaps within the company and how to address them. Based on his experience as the CIO of a larger enterprise and now at BendPak, Moatamed explains why moving to the cloud has the potential to shift the IT department from infrastructure management to systems enablement. In simple terms: cloud-based solutions can empower the business user to build their own services and initiate truly business-driven IT projects. Moutamed believes that SMEs actually have an edge on larger enterprises in this regard, and he explains why in this podcast. He also talks about why BendPak chose ByDesign, what he's looking forward to in version 4.6, and how ByDesign gives BendPak a new kind of "business agility." 

Editor's note: this podcast references the new Business ByDesign Community at BPX.SAP.com. Also check out the ByDesign and On Demand blog categories on SCN. During the podcast, Moatamed makes several references to SLAs (Service Level Agreements). For those new to the term, here's a definition.

"A live Q and A with Jon Reed and Tom Michael fielding questions on breaking into SAP with two Michael Management SAP training course students"
Podcast Interview Date: February 26, 2011
Podcast: Listen Now!

Breaking into SAP is no easy project - especially in today's economy. To get a better handle on the issues with breaking into SAP in today's market, I had the chance to tape a unique podcast with Tom Michael of Michael Management. The podcast includes two "students" from Michael Management's Pay it Forward SAP Training Program (PDF), which sponsored SAP training for five job seekers to help them move into SAP during a challenging SAP job market. We begin the podcast with Tom posing some questions to me about breaking into SAP in today's market. Then we enter into a free flowing discussion, with Tom and I taking any and all questions from the two aspiring SAP professionals who joined us on the call and shared their stories with us.

This podcast has been added to the JonERP iTunes podcast feed. If you're looking for more information on breaking into SAP and succeeding as an SAP consultant, check out Jon's YouTube series on breaking into SAP and his series on SAP consulting excellence.

"An informal chat with Leo on SAP SME, Business ByDesign, All-in-One, and Leo's upcoming attendance at SAP DKOM"
Podcast Interview Date: February 21, 2011
Podcast: Listen Now!

I'm always going for an informal feel on my podcasts, but usually we have a topic and an agenda laid out. In this case, we had a different podcast taping planned and it didn't pan out. Since I had SAP Mentor Leonardo De Araujo of Beyond Technologies on the line, I figured we should go ahead and tape a spontaneous podcast on some topics of interest. The end result is a very informal chat that covers a series of topics, most of them SAP SME related. During the 20 minute podcast, Leo and I discuss his pending attendance as a Mentor at SAP DKOM, what he's learning about Business ByDesign as a potential future Canadian partner, and his take on the SME market and SAP All-in-One. 

This podcast has been added to the JonERP iTunes podcast feed.

"Discussing Vijay's "Road Ahead for SAP Consultants 2011 Blog Post - Skills Trends and Realities for SAP Professionals" (ERP Lounge #18)
Podcast Interview Date: February 20, 2011
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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. Topics like why SAP upgrades are not increasing demand as much as expected are also covered. The last fifteen minutes delve into the impact of community recognition to career advancement, closing with an update from Jon and Leo on the latest with the "Certification Five."

Editor's note- podcast links: This podcast references Vijay Vijayasankar's "Road Ahead for SAP Consultants 2011" blog post as well as the "Road Ahead for SAP Consultants 2010." Also noted: Jon Reed's "SAP Industry Skills Rankings" and the work of the "Certification Five," a group of five SAP Mentors advocating improvements to SAP certification that includes Jon and Leo. Also mentioned: SAP Mentor Vitaliy Rudnytskiy's "HANA: What it Means to Your Business and Your Career."

Note: to comment on this podcast series, or send in a question for us to answer in the next one, be sure to join our ERP Lounge Group on Linkedin. If you want to subscribe to the series, get the The JonERP Master Blog and Podcast Feed. Or find Jon on his @jonerp Twitter feed. The ERP Lounge podcasts are also included in the JonERP iTunes podcast feed.  

"Thomas and Courtney dish on ASUGNews.com, their views on SAP in 2011, and field the kinds of questions they typically pose to others"
Podcast Interview Date: February 4, 2011
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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. If Tom and Courtney want ASUGNews.com to become the go-to independent news and analysis web site for SAP customers, they have their work cut out for them, but it's certainly a worthy challenge. This podcast documents their intentions at an early stage in this new venture. 

This podcast has been added to the JonERP iTunes podcast feed.

"January 2011 kickoff - SAP Solution Manager shop talk, myths/realities, and a few wisecracks"
Podcast Interview Date: January 31, 2011
Podcast: Listen Now!
[PC users: "right click" to download file]

The "Sol Bros" are: Jim Spath, Tony de Thomasis, Phil Avelar and Jon Reed. 

Previous "Sol Bros" podcasts: Episode 1, Episode 2 , Episode 3, Episode 4.

Music: For this Friday night taping (except for Tony who was already on Saturday morning), Jon selected a live Friday night jam: "Runnin" from Massachusetts' own Longview Gunslingers.

Podcast links: SAP Press SolMan System Monitoring, Solution Manager Service Desk - Change Management Integration by Tammy Powlas, SAUG Summit 2011, SAP Service Marketplace SolMan Info (log-in required), ASUG Annual Conference (Orlando)

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.

For detailed podcast notes and one-liners, click on "read more." This podcast has been added to the JonERP iTunes podcast feed.

Podcast: Listen Now!
Vendor Podcast - Previews of BO 4.0 and Getting the Most of the SAP Business Objects Community - A BOC Community Podcast
Hosted by Jon Reed of JonERP.com
Podcast Interview Date: January 26, 2011

It will be an eventful spring for BusinessObjects with the release of BusinessObjects 4.0 and continued talk about analytics, in-memory and mobility trends. To get a better understanding of what's new in BO 4.0 and how the SAP BusinessObjects Community can help with understanding the new tools, Jon Reed talks with SAP's Christopher Kim and SAP Mentor Ingo Hilgefort. Ingo talks about the advances in 4.0, how SAP users have improved their BO know-how on SCN, and how the online community can build into in-person networking and collaboration. During the 20 minute podcast, Ingo also explains why BI is shifting from an IT to a business focus and what skills SAP BO professionals need to stay in track.

Relevant SAP BOC links: BO Solution Architecture, BusinessObjects 4.0 tutorials, Dear aBI and Real World BI Stories. Other podcast links: SAP Mentors Tammy Powlas, Jamie Oswald, and Greg Myers. Register for the SAP BO 4.0 February 23rd virtual release event here.

"What makes SAP Workflow so darned sexy -- the motivations of the Workflow Influence Team -- plus a satirical take on SAP Business Workflow versus HANA and ByD" (ERP Lounge #17)
Podcast Interview Date: January 18, 2011
Podcast: Listen Now!

What is SAP's hottest, sexiest new technology? No, it's not HANA, it's not ByDesign. In this humorous-turned-serious podcast, Jon Reed and special guest and SAP Mentor Thorsten Franz talk about a hype-worthy technology known to insiders as "SAP Business Workflow." After 11 minutes of satirical riffing, Jon and Thorsten turn their attention to more serious matters as Thorsten talks about the overlooked power of SAP Business Workflow and what the Workflow Influence Team is doing to impact SAP Workflow's production direction. In this forty minute podcast, Thorsten explains why NetWeaver BPM does not render "classic" SAP Workflow irrelevant. He provides insight into why these two are actually complementary technologies. Thorsten also shares his ideas for modernizing SAP Workflow to make it compatible with BPMN standards and appealing for developers.

Editor's note- podcast links: This podcast references SAP Mentor Sue Keohan's blog post on the ASUG SAP Workflow Survery Results. Thorsten also a popular blog on SCN. Other links: SAP Mentor Initiative. Sue Keohan on Twitter. Track the SAP Workflow Influence Team on Twitter. Note: click here to download just the satirical "Announcing SAP's Latest Game-Changing Technology - SAP Business Workflow" portion of the podcast (first 11 minutes).

Note: to comment on this podcast series, or send in a question for us to answer in the next one, be sure to join our ERP Lounge Group on Linkedin. If you want to subscribe to the series, get the The JonERP Master Blog and Podcast Feed. Or find Jon on his @jonerp Twitter feed. The ERP Lounge podcasts are also included in the JonERP iTunes podcast feed.  

Podcast: Listen Now!
Vendor Podcast - Discussing SAP's On-Demand Line of Business (LOB) Strategy with SAP's John Wookey
An SAP SCN Community Podcast
Hosted by Jon Reed of JonERP.com
Podcast Interview Date: January 5, 2011

"On-Demand" is the buzzword du jour, but what does it really mean to SAP customers? What is SAP doing to create on-demand applications that are in line with the collaborative workstyle of today's "social workforce?" And why is the upcoming Business ByDesign release (2.6) a key milestone for not only SME customers, but large enterprise SAP customers and their partners? 

In this special SAP Community Podcast, Jon gets into these questions (and more) with John Wookey, EVP, Large Enterprise OnDemand at SAP. During their 20 minute conversation, Wookey gives an inside view on the new design principles behind Sales OnDemand, the first SAP Line of Business (LOB) app built on the ByDesign (Platform as a Service) architecture. Wookey talks about the design challenges SAP faced along the way, and why you cannot simply move the Business Suite to the cloud if you want to build an effective on-demand solution. SAP's Siva Darivemula joins the podcast to talk about the ByD and on-demand communities forming at SCN, and how get get involved in the conversation. Editor's note: this podcast references the ByDesign and On Demand blog categories on SCN.

What did we learn from the SAP Influencer Summit that we can apply to SAP in 2011? Why is the meaning of "Influencer" changing and what was the controversy around that definition? How are Mentors impacting the definition of Influencer and the blurring of lines between bloggers, analysts, and SAP experts? What did we make of SAP's on-demand, mobility, and StreamWork strategies? To get at these questions and more, I pulled together fellow SAP Mentors John Appleby of Bluefin Solutions and Dick Hirsch of Siemens IT Solutions and Services. We taped an end-of-year/new year kickoff podcast that spanned 60 minutes. We balanced some funny conference anecdotes with more serious talk on how SAP is banking its future on these new initiatives. Since Skype was down, we reverted to a backup taping option that impacted sound quality. If you missed any comments on the audio, check the detailed podcast highlights below the fold.

Editor's note- podcast links: This podcast references John Appleby's blog post on the SAP Influencer Summit, and his post on SAP mobility after the Summit. John has a blog on SCN and also contributes to the Bluefin Solutions blog. Dick also contributes regularly to his SCN blog. Other links: SAP Mentor Initiative. Dennis Howlett's blog post on Dreamforce and the SAP Summit is also recommended. Thorsten Franz's landmark post on Web Dynpro Java is also referenced. Also check out Jon Reed's review on SAP's on-demand strategy: Making Sense of the SAP Influencer Summit 2010. We also reference the previous ERP Lounge podcast with John Appleby and Kevin Benedict on SAP mobility. The SAP "on-demand refrigerator" comment is explained in the Enterprise Geeks SAP Summit podcast with Jon Reed.

Note: to comment on this podcast series, or send in a question for us to answer in the next one, be sure to join our ERP Lounge Group on Linkedin. If you want to subscribe to the series, get the The JonERP Master Blog and Podcast Feed. Or find Jon on his @jonerp Twitter feed. The ERP Lounge podcasts are also included in the JonERP iTunes podcast feed.