Database Reference
In-Depth Information
as the core product, the SAP Basis skill set was focused on installing and providing support
to one product. In large implementations and project teams, the Basis team used to consist
of resources specializing in performing transports, setting up printers and background jobs,
installing the systems, applying OSS Note corrections manually, troubleshooting ABAP
dumps, and improving system performance. Over time SAP has embraced Internet technolo-
gies and introduced Internet Transaction Server (ITS) and Web Application Server (WAS).
The Basis skill set has evolved from supporting SAP R/3 running on client-server technolo-
gies to supporting ITS environments running on Windows and WAS integrated with a tradi-
tional Basis layer. Also, SAP started introducing new products, such as SAP BW, APO, and
portals. Some of the newer products such as Portal introduced Java skills along with tradi-
tional ABAP skills. The SAP Basis administrator was expected to support multiple products
based on ABAP and Java stacks. It was at this time the Basis job became more and more
specialized.
The Basis team now has resources specializing in supporting BW, APO, XI (PI), portals,
and other products. One Basis resource might start specializing in each of the product areas,
and another would back him up. Cross-training in the Basis team, with a primary and sec-
ondary for each of the SAP products, became standardized. SAP consultants and independ-
ent contractors started specializing in newer areas, such as SAP SCM, CRM, and Business
Objects. Because of the increased specialization of newer SAP products, organizations had a
hard time finding professionals with these skill sets; usually these positions were filled by
contractors.
The SAP skill set is now moving toward virtualization, cloud computing, and in-memory
database technologies, and the Basis/NetWeaver skill set will gradually evolve to support
this infrastructure. Some skills will be commoditized as a result, and newer skills will
emerge to support the systems in a cloud computing environment.
Hot and Emerging SAP Basis/NetWeaver Skills
A “hot” skill is one that is in demand and considered valuable to businesses. The term
“emerging” is used in the sense that the skill has the promise of becoming valuable to busi-
nesses in future. The following list does not rank these skills in any particular order; their
importance or relevance depends on a whole range of criteria.
Hot SAP Basis/NetWeaver Skills
The following skills are valuable in the SAP Basis market at this time:
•
SAP ERP Enhancement Package Skills
SAP ERP skills related to the new enhance-
ment package installer, switch framework, and integration of ERP solution to other
SAP products such as BI, PI, and MDM are valued.
