I was thrown into decoding what SAP and SAP Solution Manager are very quickly. Questions I often found myself asking were “What is SAP Solution Manager?” and “How do I explain that to a person who has no idea was SAP even is?” So I am going to do my best to explain Solution Manager in an easy to understand way, something I would have greatly appreciated when starting out.

Let’s begin with SAP’s website definition: SAP Solution Manager is a centralized robust application management and administration solution used to implement, support, operate and monitor your SAP enterprise solutions, SAP Solution Manager is a platform providing integrated content, tools, methodologies and access to SAP systems.

Seems simple enough, but what exactly does that mean?

First, you have to understand that the Solution Manager toolset addresses the whole IT Landscape; from the technical and business assets to SAP and non-SAP software support. That makes it an ideal platform for all SAP users. This is neat because it makes it a pretty universal platform for anyone to use.

The next crucial benefit of SAP Solution Manager is that SAP customers have full access to the core of Solution Manager FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE. That means it’s an added bonus you can utilize for free (if you already have SAP support)  instead of paying a lot of money for a platform that is totally separate and makes you reliant on a 3rd party to move forward. With Solution Manager to the rescue, you don’t have to worry about those hidden fees.

So, what are the other benefits?

1. Lower total cost of ownership (TCO) throughout the solution lifecycle.

    According to Google, TCO is a financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or system.

2. Minimize risk and increase reliability of solutions.

    When starting a new project/upgrade/whatever, there is always a risk involved. A risk of failing an audit, risks related to data, and risk during technical/application operation. Also, with the agile environment SAP Solution Manager provides, you can increase the reliability of your solutions.

3. It ensures your SAP environment is performing at its maximum potential.

    With the technical monitoring aspect, SAP Solution Manager minimizes downtime, provides application-specific Monitoring, and gives you the ability to reuse templates- which is really convenient!

4. It ensures maximum benefits from your IT investment

    You’re getting a lot more with what you already pay for with the features it offers So, basically SAP Solution Manager can give you a greater Return on Investment (ROI) along with an agile environment and more efficient productivity.

Where are we at with updates/releases?

SAP Solution Manager 7.2 is the latest version, 7.1 is currently out of support from SAP. If you are on a version lower than 7.2, we encourage that you update as soon as you can. Here’s an article on why you should upgrade.  

What functionality does SAP Solution Manager provide you? 

According to SAP, with implementations and upgrades, SAP Solution Manager provides it’s users with content that accelerates the implementations and upgrades of SAP Business Suite.

 

So, when we fit the pieces together Solution Manager:

• Is top rated amongst all ALM platform offerings
• Requires NO additional software license or recurring software maintenance costs
  • Licensed as part of a SAP customer’s annual maintenance contract

• Is developed and fully supported by SAP
• Functionality supports both SAP and non-SAP applications
• Is foundational for driving SAP Operational Excellence and Efficiency

• Monitoring reduces system & end-user issues that yields numerous benefits including:

  • Reduction of user incident tickets
  • Reduction in the effort for the SAP support staff to respond to individual tickets
  • Increased up-time and successful system operation
  • Improved end-user experience due to the reduction in systems issues
  • Greater operational efficiency and reduction in overall operating costs

  • General improvement of goodwill and political capital related to SAP operations

How can the CoreALM team help?

Here at CoreALM we specialize in SAP, Agile, DevOps and Automated Testing. We’ve been successful with companies like: Apple, Microsoft, Nike, Harley Davidson, and more. We’re happy to get on a call with you and discuss your environment today!

Source: SAP