Welcome to the fourth edition of The ERP Lounge: Misadventures and Opportunities in SAP Consulting, the new podcast series from JonERP.com! The ERP Lounge is the new "long form" podcast series that features uncensored, in-depth discussions on the hard truths and real opportunities in the SAP skills marketplace. All ERP Lounge podcasts kick off with reader questions from listeners like yourself!

Join Jon Reed and special guest co-host Michael Doane, author of The New SAP Blue Book and the now-released SAP Green Book, for this 60 minute fourth edition as they tackle reader questions on the hot SAP skills of 2010, and then head into a freewheeling discussion of how SAP will fare in a SaaS world, how SAP consulting is changing, and what Michael means when he talks about "gain share" consulting. 

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 and let us know what you want us to cover. If you want to subscribe to the series, get the RSS feed for The JonERP Master Blog and Podcast Feed. You can also pose questions live to Jon on his real-time @jonerp Twitter feed. The ERP Lounge podcasts are also included in the JonERP iTunes podcast feed which is updated no later than 24 hours after the podcast posts here. For the timeframe of this episode and more on the topics covered (as well as some links to topics cited in the podcast), read on. 

Note: two companies mentioned in the podcast as SAP consulting and/or "SAP consulting in the cloud" innovators: CumulusIQ and Vivido Labs.

Podcast Highlights

Memorable quote: "Consultants who can add "intelligence" to Business Intelligence are the ones who are going to succeed"

Memorable quote #2 "I've spent 14 of my 35 years in IT as an independent consultant. I've never once been hired for my technical skills." 

Memorable quote #3: "There's enough SAP resource out there that is under-employed at the moment, this is the time for you to dig in."

Memorable quote #4: "Don't just sit in a room and configure. Get out in front of the client and address their issues. You may be wonderful at SAP configuration, but totally lose the client because you haven't addressed their issues."

I. (0:00) Opening Banter   

II. (5:35) Ice Breaker - Reader Questions and Comments

The main reader question came in from multiple readers: what SAP skills are going to be hot in 2010?

Jon shares a recent list of emerging skills for a salary survey he is conducting with a partner: 

- SAP BusinessObjects and BI/BW skills
- ERP 6.0 upgrade skills
- GRC, security and Identity Management skills
- Business Suite skills (CRM, PLM, SRM, or SCM)
- SAP virtualization and "cloud management" skills
- NetWeaver Developer Studio and Web Services Skills
- Web Dynpro, RIA, and UI design skills
- Solution Manager tools exposure
- NetWeaver BPM and BPM methodology experience
- SAP project management and implementation methodologies
- Enterprise architecture (technical SAP landscape planning)
- Solution architecture (SAP functional business design) 

Jon also has a poll running on the SAP skills JonERP readers think will be hottest in 2010. 

Current results: Which SAP Skill Will Be Hottest in 2010?

Business Intelligence and BO 42.9%
SAP Upgrade Skills 17.6%
Enterprise Architecture/Integration 13.2%
Security and IDM 11%
Rich Internet Apps (UIs) 6.6%
Cloud-Based SAP Add-Ons 4.4%
SAP Virtualization Skills 4.4%

Michael agrees with these skills lists but has more:

"BI, BI, and more BI" Michael: "BI is what I am hearing from the client side again and again." But there are problems to conquer also. SAP's BI product line is there, with the addition of the SAP BusinessObjects product line. Having SAP BI skills is a good thing right now, skills are in demand - but companies don't understand what true "Business Intelligence" is and why there should be disciplines around it. You have to know what you're going to do with their info. Consultants who can add "intelligence" to Business Intelligence are the one who are going to succeed. Those who simply implement the tools may not have the same success.

BI can only be as good as the data behind it. Why is BI going to be hot in 2010? These are more focused projects that are more affordable, giving SAP users a chance to leverage transactional data. BI is also a topic that is a high priority for the executives/business users who  in most cases make the buying decisions. Therefore you don't have to make the case for BI projects with the same vigor, they are "auto-justified."

There is another BI angle pertaining to sustainability. Michael: "I'm finding that there are some excellent areas pertaining to sustainability items that can bring not only business benefits but PR benefits." Michael had a client spending $1 million a month transporting chickens. Their planning for it was just a pad of paper. Using SAP Transport, they could reduce their mileage 25-30%. In addition to reduced mileage and delivery times and reduced cost, there is a sustainability item: "we are a green firm." Not to mention reduced oil consumption and reduced pollution. When you add up these "green points," clients can get a lot out of that and a serious business benefit.

The sustainability/BI skills connection...Michael: "I would think there would be a market for consultants, and systems integration firms of all sizes, to be selling some of these sustainability points with that in mind." 

More hot skills: We're getting beyond implementation, companies want to get more imaginative about how they are utilizing SAP solutions for improved business benefits. Michael: there's a gaping hole in the market for those who can go into a client and assess a clients' solutions, point out the gaping holes, and make specific recommendations on how they can optimize their systems. These are major opportunities for consultants. 

We're back to the distinction between the contractor who has a tools-based expertise versus the consultant who acts are more of a project advisor. Michael: "I've spent 14 of my 35 years in IT as an independent consultant. I've never once been hired for my technical skills."

Rare technical skills are a good winning hand, but technical skills are usually just the basic requirement that gets you a seat at the table. If you can get up with a white board and pen and answer client type questions, Michael will consider hiring you. "So much of consulting is pop quiz, so much of consulting is teaching...how do you do this? What are the options we can explore?"

II. (20:10) Market Banter - The "Dreamforce Buzz" - Has SaaS  Made SAP Obsolete?

SAP professionals didn't feel that secure about their futures following the massive Dreamforce conference buzz and the scathing comments from Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff about SAP's cloud strategy. Jon gets Michael's take on whether SAP professionals should be concerned about these developments.

III. (28:50) Into the Lounge, Feature Topic: The Impact of the Cloud on SAP Consulting

Jon and Michael talk about the following themes:

- Why Michael wrote the SAP Green Book and why post-go live is an area that needs a great deal of attention in terms of getting real business benefit out of SAP.

35:58 - How can SAP professionals help companies after go live and the role of help desks, both on site and off. If you are a good off site help desk provider, contact Michael.

Help desks are not just about cost savings. If you just offer a cut throat rate, that's not going to cut it. Michael shares a story about a great help desk - not the cheapest - organized by business process. 

39:00 - Jon gets Michael's reaction to a recent article on SAP consulting in the cloud. 

45:20 - Jon asks Michael about "gain share," a consulting model that is a true partnership between a systems integrator and a client. The SI lowers their consulting rate dramatically in exchange for a piece of the return on the project's success. Jon thinks that this is the future of consulting, but only 5% of projects are doing this now. Why isn't gain share more widely used? Michael says its because companies don't know how to measure and track the gains properly.

Jon thinks it's time for the SIs to adopt gain sharing and "put some skin in the game."

IV. (41:50) SAP Skills "Hot and Not" - or SAP Career Moves to Avoid

Michael: don't be a "prima donna". Michael describes the varying depths of prima donnas. "There's enough SAP resource out there that is under-employed at the moment, this is the time for you to dig in."

Michael: Don't just sit in a room and configure and do all the controls in the ASAP Methodology. Get out in front of the client and address their issues. You may be wonderful at SAP configuration, but totally lose the client because you haven't addressed their issues."

Jon: don't ask for cookie cutter answers like: give me the module I should focus on. The best SAP consultants take on areas they want to master and don't approach it like they need to be told what area is going to be hot - they take their own initiative.