Which one to take: SAP ABAP, Oracle DBA or CCNA?

Q. I'm really confused as to which IT career I should pick. I'm choosing between SAP ABAP, Oracle DBA and CCNA (Cisco Networking Academy). I'm a computer science graduate.

I know and everybody says that it depends on what I love to do. Modesty aside, I think I can be in networking and programming. Among the three, maybe I'll consider based on which is best in terms of salary and career-wise.

Your advice and opinion is very much appreciated.

Ran Lloyd Ong

Career advice from Stella Thevarakam, regional HR director of management and technology consulting firm ISS Consulting (M):

Sounds like you are a techy type of person. As such, I would recommend you to pursue SAP ABAP training and then move on that career path.

SAP "ABAPers" are very much in demand and it pays very well (good future).

Related Links:

• SAP vs Oracle
• Career Shift: Which would be the best option: Oracle or SAP?
• What is the future of a SAP technical/ABAP programmer?
  
  
  Source: ZDNetAsia

Switch from BPCS to SAP?

I have two years of experience in AS400 with BPCS as the ERP (enterprise resource planning) platform. As BPCS is stagnant now, will changing from BPCS to SAP be a good move?

Hema

Career advice from Andrew Sansom, director of executive recruitment agency DP Search:

Actually Hema, BPCS still has a lot of active sites and many of these still require skilled staff to enhance, manage and maintain their systems.

Nonetheless to answer your question directly, SAP is and will continue to be a major player in the ERP market and of course changing your skills to SAP would probably benefit you in the longer term.

There are other ERP systems too by the way, so SAP is not the only game in town.

There are a few ways to do this conversion. The cheapest and easiest way is to find an employer who is willing to bring you in and train you in a the new systems. That employer needs to recognise your BPCS skills as an asset.

The alternative route, which many people have followed in the past, is to put yourself through SAP (or other ERP) training. Although this is expensive, many IT practitioners have decided the cost and sacrifice is worth it in the long run, as they may be able to secure a better and more rewarding job as a result.


Source: ZDNetAsia

An ABAP-trained MBA holder eyes an SAP-based job

Q. I have an MBA in marketing and engineering in computer science. So far, I don’t have any great career growth probably due to a lack of planning or implementation. I did engineering in 2002 and the MBA in 2007.

Before doing the MBA, I had training in SAP ABAP, but couldn’t be placed anywhere due to lack of opportunities for "freshies" in SAP. Again after doing MBA, I want to go into SAP. ERP is my dream job. Currently I am a sales manager.
Please suggest how to enter into an SAP functional job and which module training will be best according to today's trends.
rahul

Career advice from Stella Thevarakam, regional HR director of management and technology consulting firm ISS Consulting (M):

Since you had some SAP ABAP training, I would advice you to continue with ABAP and get certified and then have cross-functional training into a logistic module based on your background.

There will be a sharp learning curve for you and probably a salary cut as you are going into a completely different career path and your past experience cannot contribute much to the SAP path.

You need go into an organization as a freshie and go through their "freshies" program to pick up the SAP skills. Then, after about a year, move into actual implementation, still as a freshie and grow from there.

Road to an ERP career in HR/Finance

Q. I've some SAP exposure as a user for business processes etc. I am interested in pursuing an ERP career.

As I am from a non-info systems background, would you recommend study that consists of both ERP and info systems or would ERP alone be a good starting point?
I would be interested in pursuing the HR/Finance functions. Any advice would be most appreciated.

Mart

Career advice from Stella Thevarakam, regional HR director of management and technology consulting firm ISS Consulting (M):

You could join an SAP organization that runs "freshies" programs, go through their program and get certified. You could choose to do the HR module in that program.
After about a year of classroom training and on-the-job training, you would be on to a good career path of the high-in-demand HR SAP consultant.

Source: ZDNetAsia

Can a Computing graduate go into SAP?

Q. I am a recent graduate holding a Bachelor degree in Computing, and I'm interested in becoming a SAP consultant.
I'm getting the impression that a SAP consulting career is for those non-IT graduates with some years of experience in their respective fields such as finance, sales and production planning. Is this view of mine correct?


Career advice from Roger Olofsson, associate director of executive recruitment agency Robert Walters:
No you don’t need functional experience in a particular field such as finance or logistics to carve out a successful career in SAP consulting. SAP at a broad level is divided into two different streams: technical and functional.

As a Computer graduate you are strongly positioned to enter the SAP consulting realm through the technical stream and I would advise you to scan the market for graduate hiring programs by the large IT consulting firms and other MNCs with large SAP set-ups in this part of the world.

On this track you would probably spend a couple of years doing technical programming work on SAP systems, after which you might decide to continue your career in the technical field up to a senior level or move across to a functional SAP role through getting exposure in a certain business domain.

Source: ZDNetAsia

Logica eyes more SAP business from Europe

MANILA, Philippines -- The shortage of SAP software skills in Europe means good news for London-based Logica’s IT outsourcing business in the Philippines, according to a top executive.

Logica set up its Manila office two years ago and has anchored its IT outsourcing business in providing development and maintenance services for SAP customers, among them Belgium-based inBev, the world’s largest beer manufacturer.

“There is a shortage of SAP talent in Europe right now,” said Jonathan Snowball, Logica's global business development director.

“SAP itself recognizes this and from our end, we would like to get as much talent as possible in other places like the Philippines,” he added.

He noted that SAP’s installed base has expanded from traditional large-enterprise customers to companies that fall within the small and medium business (SMB) segment.

Logica currently employs 220 workers locally, most of them software developers and consultants. The company has a workforce of around 2,500 people in India.

The company is looking to expand its business in the Philippines by adding more back-office services, following key acquisitions of three companies based in France, Nordics and Netherlands.

Snowball said Logica is looking to increase its workforce in the country to no less than 1,000 people. He added: “The days of going to places with lower costs is over. Now it’s about talent and we go where the talent is.”


Source: Inquirer.net

SAP Philippines cites Manila Water

Manila Water, the country’s premier water and wastewater service provider for the East Zone, has been awarded “SAP First” from SAP Philippines as a pioneer client of SAP in the country’s water industry.

The awarding coincided with the thanksgiving celebration in honor of former SAP Philippines Managing Director Mr. Krish Datta, who was recently promoted to Senior Vice President for Southeast Asia, Enterprise Support Division. An exhibit of over 30 paintings featuring the work of old and contemporary Filipino masters was also showcased as part of the event. Chief Finance Officer Sherisa P. Nuesa (holding the plaque) received the award for Manila Water from (left to right) Mr. Krish Datta, Mr. Patara Yongvanich, new Managing Director of SAP Philippines and Thailand, and Ms. Jennifer Ligones, Country Manager, SAP Philippines.

Source: Manila Water site

How to be manager in Accenture in only one week ?

Is this possible?

I love GOOGLE!

This is not related to SAP, just wanna share this clip to know how great it is to work in Google: