"Reactions to ASUG-Sapphire 2009, The Pros and Cons of Co-Location, and SAP Security Trends"
Podcast Interview Date: June 11, 2009
Podcast: Listen Now!

Sometimes in the glitz of Sapphire announcements, the ASUG part of ASUG/Sapphire gets less attention. To learn more about why the ASUG part of the conference matters - not only to SAP users, but to industry analysts - I invited Gretchen Lindquist, SAP Mentor and stalwart ASUG volunteer, to share her views on ASUG/Sapphire 2009 and the pros and cons of co-location. I also had the opportunity to ask Gretchen about trends in SAP Security from the vantage point of her work as chair of the SAP Security Interest Group (SIG) for ASUG.

Since Total Cost of Ownership (TOC) is such an important talking point for both SAP and its customers, I was very interested to hear Gretchen's take on how security and authorizations often form a "hidden" expense in ERP TCO that needs to be reckoned with during implementations and assessments of new products like SAP Business Objects.

In the first installment of his "Sapphire in Review" podcast series, Jon Reed of JonERP.com welcomes special guest Michael Krigsman, President of Asuret and popular ZDNet blogger and Tweeter. Michael's focus is evaluating the keys to IT project success and failure, so during this twenty-eight minute podcast, Jon gets Michael's take on how project failure applies to ERP vendors and SAP specifically. Jon also gets the skinny on Michael's investigations of Business ByDesign at Sapphire, and why he sees SAP's focus on UI improvements and BI enhancements as important to ERP project success. In closing, Michael shares an inside view on what it's like to be part of SAP's Blogger Relations Program, mixing it up with SAP executives.

"Reactions to Sapphire 2009, Twittering Live Events, and the Impact of SAP BPX Skills"
Podcast Interview Date: May 14, 2009
Podcast: Listen Now!

In the second of two live Sapphire podcast recordings, Jon Reed of JonERP.com interviews fellow SAP Mentor Dick Hirsch to get his impressions of Sapphire 2009. Listen in as two self-described "BPX geeks" discuss the themes of Sapphire from a BPX perspective. Jon gets Dick's reactions to the Sapphire keynotes, and also gets his view on how Twitter is changing the experience of live events, both for virtual attendees and the actual participants. Dick also offers tips for how SAP professionals can move their skills into a BPX direction.

"Reactions to Sapphire 2009, SAP BPM, and the Pros and Cons of Solution Manager"
Podcast Interview Date: May 14, 2009
Podcast: Listen Now!

In the first of two live Sapphire podcast recordings Jon will issue this week, Jon Reed of JonERP.com sits down with Ajay Vonkarey of Alpha Sirius to discuss his views on Sapphire, his impressions of the SAP market, and in particular, his views on Solution Manager - a topic you could not get away from at Sapphire where Ajay has deep expertise. In this 24 minute podcast, taped in a classroom as Sapphire closes out, Jon asks Ajay for his views on the pros and cons of Solution Manager from a customer perspective, how Solution Manager fits into BPM, and how SAP skills needs are evolving in the era of BPM and "end to end process" management.

"SAP Job Market: Building a Future in an SAP Career"
Podcast Interview Date: May 5, 2009
SearchSAP "Building an SAP Career" Podcast

Jon Reed notes: Recently I appeared in a podcast on SearchSAP.com on the future of SAP careers. This podcast, conducted by Courtney Bjorlin, News Editor of SearchSAP.com, featured my comments as well as those of David Foote of Foote Partners. This podcast was actually the second in a two part series. The first part, on the SAP job market in 2009, featured David Foote's latest findings on SAP skills demand. In the second podcast, David and I riff on the future of SAP skills and what lies around the corner. I enjoy doing podcasts with David because his research is grounded in extensive customer surveys. Our views on the market largely coincide, but it's interesting to see how the views I get from inside the SAP Mentor community working with SAP thought leaders contrasts to David's research.

On March 20 of 2009, I spoke with Vijay Vijayasankar, Senior Managing Consultant at IBM and fellow SAP Mentor, and conducted one of the most important podcasts I have done since I started doing them almost two years ago. On my mind during the taping: my theory that SAP consulting is not just being impacted by the economy and will come roaring back later. I believe the changes in SAP consulting that are underway now are permanent in nature, and have implications for all SAP professionals. There was no one better to ask about these shifts than Vijay, who has broad market experience and has seen many of the changes I am talking about. Disclaimer: please keep in mind that the opinions Vijay expresses during this podcast are entirely his, and do not represent the view of his employer, IBM.

Before you listen to the podcast, I want to note that Vijay and I do not intend to make light of the layoffs and shifts in employment globally that most systems integrators (and software vendors) have undertaken. Nor are all these shifts necessarily bad for everyone who is impacted. However, we both believe that the reality of "global labor arbitrage" require a fresh look at what it takes to succeed in SAP and a pro-active approach to SAP skills development. During this forty minute podcast, we go into both the state of the market and some of the skills approaches that Vijay recommends. If you want to learn more about Vijay's takes on SAP, I highly recommend his popular SCN blog. (Recently Vijay was honored as a Top Contributor on SCN for 2008).

In this special SAP community podcast, Jon Reed of JonERP.com speaks with an expert team assembled by SAP's Ecosystem Workforce Group to assess the SAP skills trends that are relevant in today's economy. Joining Jon on the call are: Peter Russo, leader of PAC's SAP Services Research Practice, and Rob Fiddaman and Deepak Jaiswal of K2 Partnering Solutions. Rob is K2's North American Partner and Deepak, who called in from India to participate in our global call, is the CEO of K2.

The purpose of this podcast was to identify the hiring needs of SAP customers during a time of unprecedented economic challenges. As the rules of the economy change, the skills sets needed from SAP consultants have also evolved. But one thing hasn't changed: consultant quality remains a critical part of ERP project success, and SAP has set consultant quality as a top priority for 2009. So how do we define "quality" when it comes to today's SAP consultant? And how has the skills profile of top SAP consultants changed in the era of process-driven ERP, business intelligence, and Business Suite 7? Join us for this 26 minute podcast as we focus on the reality of SAP skills demand, with views from the front lines of SAP consulting.

"The Latest on the SAP Business Objects Roadmap, the Relevance of BI in a Downturn, and SAP Business Objects Skills Development"
Podcast Interview Date: January 14, 2009
Podcast: Listen Now!
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What's the latest on the SAP Business Objects roadmap? How can BI have a positive impact for SAP customers in a difficult economy? And what are the skills needed to implement NetWeaver BI products? To get to the bottom of these questions, I had the opportunity to interview Franz Aman, VP of Intelligence Platform Product Marketing for SAP Business Objects. In this podcast, Franz speaks frankly about the challenges SAP customers are facing and how BO tools can help. 

"How RunSAP and Solution Manager Skills Connect
(and How They Are Relevant in This Economy)"
Podcast Interview Date: January 19, 2009
Podcast: Listen Now!

In a sluggish economy, SAP professionals want to know where the action is. One area that looks promising in 2009: RunSAP and Solution Manager. But there's a problem: many SAP consultants (and project teams) are not yet clear on how the two products relate, nor are they clear on the skills needed to implement them. To shed light on this topic, Jon interviews Ajay Vonkarey, President of Alphasirius, a company with deep experience in both RunSAP and Solution Manager. Jon specifically invited Ajay to do this podcast because of Ajay's innovative thinking around RunSAP and Solution Manager skills trends.

"On SAP MDM, SAP Analytics, and the Importance of Master Data to SAP Projects"
Podcast Interview Date: November 26, 2008
Podcast: Listen Now!

In Jon's first podcast ever on SAP MDM, Jon interviews Mike Kerrigan, Vice President of Business Technologies with Laurus Technologies, on SAP Master Data Management (MDM), SAP Analytics, and the skills (and management approach) needed for SAP project success in a down economy.

"Dennis Looks Back at TechEd Berlin and Gives His Take on the SAP Market and Being an SAP Mentor"
Podcast Interview Date: October 28, 2008
Podcast: Listen Now!

In the last installment in Jon's "Tech Ed in Review 2008" podcast series, he speaks with Dennis Howlett, SAP Mentor and "Enterprise Irregular" ZDNet blogger. During this trans-Atlantic podcast session, Dennis shares his experiences at TechEd, his views on SAP's co-innovation strategy, and how he balances participation in the SAP community with his role as an independent analyst. One highlight of the podcast? Dennis' take on an important TechEd Berlin meeting between the SAP Mentors and SAP executives regarding the future of SAP development.

"The Role of SAP BPX Skills in a Changing Economy"
Podcast Interview Date: October 15, 2008
Podcast: Listen Now!

Recent SAP TechEd Shows have emphasized NetWeaver BPM and the importance of the Business Process Expert. To get a sense of why SAP is so committed to building a true "Business Process Platform," and whether or not BPX skills are still relevant in this struggling economy, Jon Reed spoke with Puneet Suppal, the SAP SOA Solutions Leader for Capgemini North America. (Puneet also writes on SOA trends in his "Cafe Innovation" blog for SAP SDN/BPX.)

At the time of the podcast taping, Puneet had just returned from giving a presentation entlitled "The Business Process Imperative" with Global BPX Head Marco ten Vaanholt at TechEd Berlin. He also shared plans to head out to TechEd Bangalore to deliver a similar talk. Having done this presentation at TechEd Las Vegas as well, Puneet's views on this podcast are informed by his recent SAP Community experiences. The result is a focused conversation on how project teams and individuals should approach "BPX skills innovation" during challenging economic times.

In the second podcast in the JonERP.com "All About SAP Training" series, Jon Reed asks Tom Michael of Michael Management about the state of SAP training and the range of training and certification options available to SAP professionals.

In the first podcast in the JonERP.com "All About SAP Training" series, Jon Reed asks Tom Michael of Michael Management about the state of SAP training and the range of training and certification options available to SAP professionals.

"Reflections on BPX Community Day, the Community Clubhouse, and other TechEd Highlights."
Podcast Interview Date: September 25, 2008
Podcast: Listen Now!

In the second podcast in my TechEd in Review 2008 podcast series, I spoke with BPX Community Evangelist Marilyn Pratt and got her honest take on TechEd Las Vegas 2008. This podcast has an interesting interactive twist - at a few points in the podcast, Marilyn turns the tables on me and gets my own reactions to what we saw in Vegas. Themes of this podcast include: the increasing importance of BPX themes at TechEd, an assessment of BPX Community Day, and the "greening of SAP," one "bottom up" idea at a time.

"Becoming an SAP Business Process Expert - One Consultant's Journey"
Podcast Interview Date: September 22, 2008
Podcast: Listen Now!

There's a lot of talk about "SAP Business Process Experts." SAP even has an online "BPX Community" set up around this emerging skill set. But what does this really mean to the individual consultant?

For the first time ever, Jon speaks in-depth with a senior functional consultant, Samantha Gammill, President of Osiris ERP Consulting, about her pursuit of the "SAP BPX skill set."

"How to Acquire the Right Skills
for SAP SOA Consulting."
Podcast Interview Date: September 19, 2008
Podcast: Listen Now!
View Transcript

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. 

"David Foote of Foote Partners Shares his Latest SAP Skills Findings"
Podcast Interview Date: September 15, 2008 
Podcast: Listen Now!

In this thirty minute podcast, David Foote of Foote Partners reviews his firm's latest 2,000-employer benchmark survey data on trends in pay and availability of SAP enterprise application skills. Hear what's hot (and by how much), including which SAP skill has seen a 57% increase in market value over the last 12 months.

"On the Corporate Green Movement, eSOA, and how SAP Customers are Streamlining Their Energy Consumption. "
Podcast Interview Date, August 13, 2008
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Gas prices have been flirting with $5 a gallon recently. But as Krishna Kumar of Enterprise Horizons points out in this podcast, when most SAP customers implemented their first SAP systems, prices were closer to $1 a gallon. This massive change in the cost of energy has created both a crisis and an opportunity. On this podcast, we look at the opportunity side of the equation. Jon and Krishna are joined by Paul Kurchina, Director of the Kurmeta Group, and author of the recently released book In Pursuit of the Perfect Plant.

"Maximizing Value from RunSAP and Solution Manager -
and How This Relates to 
the SAP Maintenance Fee Controversy"
Podcast Interview Date, August 5, 2008
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What is at the root of the customer frustration with SAP's maintenance fee increases? And what does RunSAP and Solution Manager have to do with it? To get at these questions and many more, listen in with Jon Reed and SearchSAP.com Site Editor Demir Barlas as they interview Robert Max, ASUG Evangelist for ASUG, Americas' SAP Users' Group. Formerly the SAP Infrastructure Manager for a Fortune 500 Company, Max has played a leadership role in many ASUG groups, including serving as as the Chair of the ASUG Solution Manager Community. During this podcast, Robert explains how SAP customers can achieve a greater value from SAP support by maximizing the use of Solution Manager, RunSAP, and end-to-end process optimization. He also talks about the skills needed by project teams (and individual consultants) if they want to take advantage of these emerging post-go-live opportunities.