Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Impact of Outsourcing on Basis/NetWeaver Jobs
Outsourcing and offshoring business trends in the last decade have significantly affected IT
careers. Jobs have been moved within the country and oftentimes to a remote service deliv-
ery center anywhere in the world. Fortunately, the SAP Basis/NetWeaver job has proved to
be resistant to outsourcing and offshoring. Even though some routine jobs/job functions
have moved to the delivery centers, most of the organizations still hire full-time SAP Basis/
NetWeaver administrators and consultants to keep them onsite and address any issue imme-
diately. This is primarily because of the need of organizations to make sure that the systems
are available all the time. Unlike ABAP development work, which has been heavily out-
sourced or offshored, SAP Basis/NetWeaver skills are not suitable for outsourcing or off-
shoring to a significant extent. For instance, if the business needs someone to troubleshoot
an application problem that is preventing users from posting business documents to the data-
base, someone needs to work closely with the functional team member to understand the is-
sue and resolve it in a timely manner. This process is difficult to write as a technical spe-
cification for a remote resource in a different time zone to complete the task. One other key
reason is the job needs someone to resolve issues in real time and needs close client interac-
tion. This can be best achieved by having resources on-site, or at least in the same time
zone. SAP Basis jobs are also heavily application-dependent and datacenter-dependent and
will most likely stay close to the business.
Strategies for Breaking into a Basis Career
Breaking into the SAP Basis field as a newbie, progressing from experienced Basis adminis-
trator to an IT management/executive position, and moving from a SAP Basis full-time pro-
fessional to an independent consultant need certain strategies, which will be discussed in the
following sections.
Strategies for a Newbie
Breaking into the SAP Basis/NetWeaver field is indeed challenging for a new graduate, but
there are certain things you can do to help improve your chances for landing at entry-level
SAP Basis job. The following are some strategies you can use to help break in as a newbie:
•
Download the trial version and learn the basics
SAP provides free copies of its
software on a trial basis for evaluation purposes, and you can download the software
and learn SAP Basis basics on your own. The software can be downloaded at the fol-
lowing location:
www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/downloads
•
Free resources on SAP SDN
SAP SDN has a number of free e-learning courses and
how-to guides. Use this information and the trial version of the software to further im-
