Does anybody know where I could find a list of the "starter" or "quick start" packs available for BPC?  I know there is the capital project that appeared in an article a month or so ago, but don't know if there are any others.

Thanks, but I didn't see what I was looking for there.  I was reading an arcticle title "SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation: Evaluate Planned and In-Flight Initiatives with the Starter Kit for Capital Planning in Financials Expert by William Newman, Managing Principal, Newport Consulting Group, LLC".  While this article focused on the starter kit for capital planning, I was wondering if there were other such starter kits out there.  The page you sent did show an IFRS starter kit but not the capital planning so I am more confused now.  I appreciate the link though as it will help answer some of my other questions.

Daniel -- As Jackie said, I reached out to Bill. He's always happy to talk to people in the SAP space and knows his stuff; I imagine he'll have some helpful information (if you're on Twitter, you can follow him at @william_newman).

One thing I wanted to point out -- Bill is working on a new article on another of the starter kits, the liquidity planning starter kit. It's one of the next couple of articles we'll be publishing, so look for it within the next month or so. It's of the same style as the previous one, and shows some pretty interesting features.

Hello et bonsour Daniel!

Sorry for the delay, I've been head's down working on a proposal project and Scott passed along your note.

There are several "starter kits" particularly for EPM subject areas emerging.  These are under development at SAP proper and others are being developed by partners.  While the starter kits generally come at no expense, in most cases they come with dashboards which require you to purchase / own a copy of Excelsius (now branded as Crystal Reports Presentation).  So not exactly "free" but the presentation tool may be downloaded on a free trial basis so you can evaluate.

The three starter kits we have been focused on in our practice are the kits for IFRS transition, CAPEX planning, and liquidity management.  Beware!  Each uses different base versions of SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation (we still call it BPC but will be politically correct here).  So there is a bit of a matrix of availability based on whether it is NW vs MS platform and at what release number of "BPC." 

The IFRS starter kit is most mature.  SAP's Karol Bliznak has written much on the subject and you can find his articles referenced here (Dr. Bliznak also contributed to our recent SAP Press EPM titel, he's a super fellow and extremely knowledgeable in these areas).  Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) management is a great area since you can align it to the strategic portfolio you define in SAP BusinessObjects Strategy Management, exceptional to understand value realization and outcome management.  The Liquidity Planning starter kit is relatively new and comes from Deloitte, and as such likely they will be directed most if not all of these leads. 

Our role is to work with our clients to determine which building blocks will fit together, the right components to address an organization's direction, and to structure an implementation program for blueprint and realization.  EPM solutions, including the starter kits, have a BI flare to them - very data driven.  So these projects are much different in look and feel than say your typical FICO or O2C project using ERP.

I hope this helps, feel free to reply here or to email me directly at wnewman@newportconsgroup.com and we can help you further.

Kind regards / salut -

Bill