If you're at this week's SAPinsider SCM, PLM, Manufacturing, Procurement & Supplier Management or CRM conferences, we invite you to share just a little of what you learn!
Simply post your technical tip on Insider Learning Network.(Don't forget to specify the conference you're attending and the session/speaker.) Then claim your contest-winning “Don’t be an outsider!” t-shirt at the Insider Learning Network booth:
1. Log in here at insiderlearningnetwork.com with your email & password.
2. From the left menu, select BLOGS. In the Blog Search menu, click on CREATE NEW BLOG POST. (After one last security measure, you’ll see “Add Your Blog Post", plus blogging tips in the right hand navigation).
3. Write your tip and submit!
4. Include the name of the conference you’re attending – whether it's SCM, PLM, Manufacturing, Procurement & Supplier Management, or CRM – and the speaker or session name.
5. When your post appears on Insider Learning Network's home page, be sure to visit the Insider Learning Network booth for your shirt!
The fine print: All posts will be moderated by our editorial staff and inappropriate content will be removed from the site. Posts must include technical tips; solely promotional content will be disqualified at the discretion of our editorial staff. Show off your new expertise!
After careful deliberation, the Insider Learning Network team and I selected Gary Byrne's "Don't be an Outsider" slogan as the winner. Look for this t-shirt at the SAPinsider Conferences this Spring!
I would also like to thank everyone that submitted an idea - and special kudos to those who submitted their full designs! Take a look at this concepts from Thomas and a sporty HANA themed design from Serkan Tumer...
So how to you get your own black "Don't be an Outsider" shirt? Simply post your technical tip or lesson learned at an upcoming SAPinsider conference, this spring. Then claim your t-shirt at the Insider Learning Network kiosk at the show!
The current poll on this site asks people how they like to learn about technology: read printed books and articles, live events, online tutorials, or Web searches. The goal is to be able to meet your training needs regardless of how you like to learn.
There is a poll just posted to LinkedIn asking SAP customers to select their favorite external help site. Choices are ASUG, ERPtips, IT Toolbox, SAP Fans or WIS Publications (guess Insider Learning Network is too new to be on that radar). I'm not sure I consider these to be comparable sites and content in terms of SAP coverage, but they all deliver information in generally the same way (via the written word).
What both polls fail to ask is the harder question of why. Why do you prefer to read vs. sit in a classroom, or vice versa? Why would you rather take your chances on a Web search than read a vetted article from a trusted source (or again, vice versa)?
Help us create the products that can help you the most by providing your thoughts below.
Vishal Sikka took the stage this morning at SAP TechEd 2010 with one goal in mind: To emphasize that you can have your cake and eat it too, or, in his words, to have innovation and evolution too. What he means is, you can have all the new tecnological innovations from SAP (cloud, mobile, advanced analysis, in-memory computing etc.) and continue to have a strong, evolving SAP landscape that maintains it's performance, security, reliabilty. Sikka said, "the innovations that we bring in need to work with existing systems and architecture."
To underscore this committment, Sikka started his walk though SAP's latest innovations with SAP NetWeaver 7.3. "NetWeaver is absolutely strategic for our customers, and for SAP," said Sikka. To those that fear that the beloved NetWeaver was being pushed aside in favor of BusinessObjects and Sybase, this was music to the ears, as was the list of enhancements coming to this platform with the 7.3 release. This laundry list was rattled off far too quickly (I better be sure I get to that session), but the highlight was the enhanced integraton between NetWeaver and BusinessObjects solutions.
The other highlights were an overview of SAP's initiatives in "new horizons" like cloud computing, mobility, and in-memory computing. Sikka previewed "River," the code-named project to help customers and partners build applications that complement Business ByDesign, and Project Gateway, which enables SAP data to be consumed by a variety of devices. (Once the Internet access improves on the show floor I will upload a video of the latter demo).
Other topics covered in the 90-minute address were an all too brief overview of SAP BusinessObjects 4.0, a demo of the Sybase Event Insight solution, and technology platform evolutions for SAP NetWeaver PI.
All-in-all, it was refreshing to hear a keynote that isn't completely consumed by SAP BusinessObjects, although it certainly was mentioned. That contributed t the greatest takeaway: That the core of SAP, and the future of SAP, are now walking hand-in-hand and standing together in the spotlight.
The marriage between business and IT, just like any "real" marriage, is all about balance, communication, commitment. Neither group can reach their full potential without the other. All-in-all, both parties have the same goal -- to do what's best for this marriage (aka the business) -- and just like traditional marriage there are challenges.
I recently wroteabout the evolution of the IT team at Varian Medical Systems, where Tom Rodden, the Director of Enterprise Applications, transformed his SAP IT department from a traditional technical support role to a position where IT is providing greater support for value-generating projects and initiatives.
Rodden isn’t alone. In my research I found several organizations that have recently redefined the role of IT by creating a more strategic union between both sides of the business (including Nobel Ilac, Boston Scientific, Perot Systems, and Amtrak). While this trend of creating a stronger marriage between business and IT results in many benefits to both the IT and business sides, it also comes with its share of challenges and growing pains. Some of these challenges reflect the same struggles faced in any marriage: Communication, getting buy-in, feeling like an equal participant, and so on.
Rodden is familiar with these challenges, and how to overcome them. He will be sharing these lessoons learned, and answering your question, in a live Q&A here on Insider Learning Network this Thursday, September 23 from 12:00 – 1:00 EST. Ask Tom your toughest questions on how he turned his IT team into a powerful enabler of business improvement and how you can apply these practices to your own IT team.
To participate in the live chat and ask Tom your questions, simply join the IT Groupon Insider Learning Network, and then come to the IT forumon September 23 at 1:00 ET.
To submit your question in advance, please enter it in a comment below.
