For those readers who are surprised by how I've defined "functional" and "technical" here, it's important to understand how SAP has defined Portals consulting roles. SAP has grouped SAP Portals people into two different groups. The technical group is what most people are familiar with in relation to Portals. These folks are typically ex-Basis and/or SAP DBA types, along with some adventurous ABAP'ers. These "technical" Portals people do the installations and set up the pre-configured BSPs supplied by SAP (very little custom programming is possible using these pre-configured models).

With the serious debut of WAS (especially WAS 6.40), the "functional" Portals role comes into play. These are Portals roles where business process and content knowledge in FI/CO, MM, APO, SEM, HR, etc. comes into play. For people in those current functional skills/disciplines, just knowing what you know now will not be enough to keep up with the new SAP. These traditionally functional disciplines are going to have to acquire "Internet skills," some Java and XML, as well as some basic programming expertise. Fairly soon, I see the architecture of CI App servers and dialog servers being supplanted by Web Application Servers. I know that this sounds like "Much ado about nothing" until you get into doing it. Then you find it's a whole new ballgame.

While I'm on the subject of rapidly changing SAP technology, the SAP ITS architecture also appears not long for this world. Most of the ITS functionality is already in WAS 6.40, and I expect that when we actually get to WAS 7.x, there will be no more ITS. Somewhere around this point, the "client/server" architecture in its truest sense will give way to an "Integrated Web Services" architecture. This has to happen to get SAP out of the CIO's department and into the entire company. One doesn't have to be a prophet to see this already happening. Look for this to happen everywhere, sooner much more likely than later.

Getting back to the opportunities in Portals consulting, make no mistake about it, the era of the One Person SAP Portal team is OVER!!! I don't know how I can emphasis this more. SAP sales just now seems to be catching on to the power of their product; as for the end-users, they have been their waiting for us to catch up. My advice for consultants is simple: if a project you are on or going to has anything to do with SAP Portals, get yourself involved! I don't know of any Portals consultants out there now that (1) wouldn't appreciate the help, and (2) aren't more than willing to teach anyone who is serious and who wants to learn.

The future I see is for Portals to permeate the whole SAP architecture so thoroughly that simply being an SAP Portals person is not going to be enough to get you hired to do anything. Find your niche in the Portals process and develop it. Do it sooner rather than later. Case in point: because I have Portals experience (especially EP6), my next project, which is 6 months long, will pay $36K more that it would have without the Portals experience. In a perfect world, where we all work 12 months every year, that is a $72K difference in billable rates.

Also, I refuse to take an "all in" contract where I am responsible for expenses. To my astonishment, that has not cost me a single opportunity - everyone agrees to my rate + expenses quote. (We still have to be reasonable here, my next contract is in EMEA at a place I've always wanted to visit. It's literally 24 hours in the air and airport time, but I still have to travel Economy class. And when I get there, they are going to put me up in my own apartment, but I have several choices and the final selection is mine.)

That brings up the last point: GO WHERE THE WORK IS... Don't wait for it to come to a neighborhood close to you, nothing new is coming that fast. I did have three choices this time around, two in the US and two with a Tier One consulting company. I did take the Tier One consulting company, but took their overseas one because I wanted a bit of a change of scenery (my wife plans to visit me instead of my coming home each month, so how much I might net on this contract depends on her I imagine).

Lastly, there is a "night and day" difference between EP5 and EP6. Truly that much. Jon, in the coming months, I look forward to sharing my thoughts with your readers as I compare a typical EP5 design and installation with the new EP6 project that I'm going on. I'm not one for SAP certifications being of much importance, but I did pop $3250.00 for the TZTEP6 course from SAP academy, and it was worth every penny. If you get a chance and you have EP5 experience (they won't take you if you don't - I had to provide references) this one is worth the $$$$. Beginning in September, they will have the EP 6 version 101 for clients and people new to SAP Portals, so keep in touch with Waltham for the time and places for the latest classes. Good luck out there everyone!

Very best regards:

Pat McCarthy Jr.

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Dear Pat,

Thanks for that Portals update. You've done a great job forecasting the types of opportunities in the Portals consulting space. Not to mention your provocative comments about the future of functional SAP consulting!

I must say that I agree with quite a lot of what you have to say here. The only thing I would say is that not all SAP users seem to be on the same "fast track to EP6." Some SAP users seem like they're ready to pursue the transition from client-server to web server aggressively, and some seem more determined to get results from the current production environment and not change until they are darned good and ready.

Of course, the danger for consultants is that they can get lulled into a false sense of security by projects that pay well but don't advance their technical or functional skills. I know several consultants on long-term 4.1 and 4.5 projects. These projects pay well, but they're a one way ticket to skills obscurity. Consultants are well advised to heed your advice and seek out projects where new SAP releases and Internet-based initiatives are in full swing - even if it means taking a hit on rate, or, as you have pointed out, traveling far and wide to get to the right kind of work.

I'm not sure I totally agree that SAP functional folks are going to need to be programmers in order to survive. But I will meet you halfway, because I have heard from a number of insiders that functional SAP roles ARE becoming more technical and technical SAP roles are requiring more functional knowledge. Certainly, functional consultants who ignore all the architectural changes brought on by NetWeaver and Web Application Server are in for a rough ride. And your comments also hint at something I have noticed: when it comes to Portals consulting, I think we are seeing two separate things: First, distinct Portals consulting roles are emerging, with their own skills characteristics and attributes. Second, Portals work is becoming integrated into a range of functional areas across the SAP and mySAP product line. Kind of like BW.

Portals is becoming one of those SAP "mega-skills" that just about every consultant is going to need to be aware of, because sooner or later, their functional niche is going to be affected by Portals innovations. We have already seen Portals have a very strong impact on FI, SEM, HR, and CRM, to name just a few. Of course, this creates new skills challenges for functional consultants, but as you've pointed out, new technologies also create new opportunities.

Along those lines, one thing that surprised me was learning more about custom Portals development. You didn't mention this in your letter, but I've started to make contact with some consultants who are specializing NOT in installing the pre-configured Portals setup, but helping clients to customize their Portals environment. Our new Enterprise Portals editor at SAPtips (www.SAPtips.com) is a good example of this new kind of Portals development. He is finding a niche helping SAP users develop their own Portals apps. For example, he recently helped a client develop a custom benefits program using EP5 (they didn't want to use SAP's standard Portals benefits app).

Evidently, this is very interesting work that involves the use of the PDK (Portals Development Kit), iViews, Java, and lots of J2EE-based and "open source" types of programming methodologies. These "custom Portals developers" seem to have strong ABAP and Java backgrounds, and are enjoying the chance to push their programming skills into the Internet age but stay inside of the SAP environment. Anyhow, you didn't really mention pure programming roles either in your initial Portals interview or in your follow-up, but it does seem that there may be some Portals opportunities for hardcore SAP developers that are ideally suited for them, that won't require competing with Basis and DBA folks for project roles that aren't as relevant to their backgrounds.

We'll have to keep on eye on these trends, but from where I can see, it seems like Portals is creating new consulting opportunities for almost every type of SAP consultant, and as you've rightly argued, the opportunities come with an edge: if you don't pursue them, you might find yourself out of work sooner rather than later. It's taken a lot longer than we thought, but the web-based and web-enabled applications are here to stay in corporate environments, and the Portal looks like the user interface of choice for all these next generation applications.

It looks to me like you've found (knock on wood) one of the "sweet spots" in SAP consulting for the next couple of years. Of course, you know all too well that you're only as good as your last project, and I have to take my hat off to you for your willingness to do "whatever it takes" to stay current, even if it means traveling to distant locations with huge SAP books packed into your carry-on. One thing you haven't shared with our readers is that you always try to keep a current development environment handy on your own computers. The story you told me about installing EP5 on your laptop was an adventure all in itself, and while I know that cost you some long nights, I hope readers understand that it's that kind of over-the-top effort that has kept you in the game and where you want to be.

Thanks as always for sharing your honest take on the market with the mysapcareers.com community.

Keep us posted as the market evolves!

Jon Reed

2008 update: We hope you enjoyed this look back at the evolution of the Enterprise Portals market. We'll continue to update JonERP.com readers on Portals consulting opportunities and how to position yourself for the NetWeaver Portals era.