SAP Solution Manager

What is SAP Solution Manager?

SAP Solution Manager, better known as SAP SM, is a robust management solution that brings together various tools, content and direct access to SAP. It supervises and efficiently handles organizational processes, ranging from deployment to solution monitoring. This solution helps in optimizing core business processes and facilitates technical support for different distributed systems and IT infrastructure.

SAP Solution Manager collaborates lines of business and IT aspects of an organization, thereby easing the communication channels between the IT department and rest of the business. This centralized solution supports SAP and non-SAP software, inclusive of future SAP releases as well. Businesses can derive maximum advantage through their IT investments in this SAP environment.

Solution Manager is a centralized support and system management suite. An SAP system landscape may include a large quantity of system installations of SAP systems. SAP Solution Manager tries to reduce and centralize the management of these systems.

In such a landscape,SAP Solution Manager is the managing system, and the business suite applications (e.g. CRM) are the managed systems.

The current version of Solution Manager is Solution Manager 7.0 Enhancement Package 1.

Solution Manager provides an extensive set of features in the IT Support area for enhancing, automating and improving the management of SAP systems:

• Central System Administration
• Project Management
• Test Management
• System Monitoring
• Business Process Monitoring
• E2E Root Cause Analysis
• IT Technical Reporting
• Centralized Alerting
• Installation Keys
• Early Watch Reporting
• Change Management (Change Request Management & Maintenance Optimizer)
• Service Desk

SAP is actively improving and extending all the areas, so this list may be outdated very quickly.

SAP Solution Manager is the successor to ASAP ValueSAP. SAP Solution Manager helps in implementing and managing complex system landscapes. Globally systems are being distributed across geographies and business processes cover more than one system. In such complex scenarios, integrating technical and business requirements is important for the success of IT. SAP Solution Manager provides SAP customers with an efficient means of handling both the technical and business process side of solution implementation.

As part of SAP Solution Management Solutions, the customers receive best practices relating to:

• Global Strategy and Service Level Management
• Business Process Management
• Management of MySAP Technology
• Software Change Management
• Support Desk Management

SAP delivers this using support programs during implementation of the system solution. Some of the benefits of using SAP's Solution Manager are that it helps:

• Manages the technical risk associated with the implementation of the solution ensuring technical robustness
• Helps leverage users core competencies in implementing solutions
• Ensures solution works as intended with best practices built in.

Scope and Opportunity of a Career in SAP Solution Manager

A career in SAP SM provides countless opportunities for all certified candidates. With SAP SM modules in place, they get a chance to help organizations attain high value through their software investment with this certification. Their responsibilities would include the facilitation of technical support for distributed systems, optimization of various business solutions in an efficient manner, and deployment/operations of different SAP solutions.

The salary package for such positions is quite high and increases through the years. Being certified in SAP SM enables ones to be an expert in all things related to SAP solutions.

Become a Certified SAP Solution Manager Consultant

The first step to receive a certification as a SAP Solution Manager is getting all the basics of SAP solutions clear. This module paves the way for one to be an expert in SAP SM and eventually become a consultant who can work alongside various companies and help them reach their goals.

The testing of expertise in the field is done through a computer based exam lasting about 180 minutes. It comprises of 80 questions which are mostly multiple choice questions. There are no negative marking for incorrect answers and some may have more than one correct answer. The average pass percentage is 65%, however it can vary.

Candidates can try out three types of certifications: associate, professional and masters. Once this exam is cleared, the candidate gets certified after which he/she can pursue a bright career as a consultant.

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