The SAP Solution Manager is a platform which provides integrated support of the life-cycle of a business solution, from the Business Blueprint via configuration to production operation. The SAP Solution Manager provides central access to tools, methods and preconfigured contents, which you can use during the evaluation and implementation, as well as in operation processing of your systems.
The SAP Solution Manager also provides an authoring function, with which you can create your own project templates, which you reuse in an implementation. The SAP Solution Manager is thus also a tool for SAP partners and companies performing a global rollout.
You can manage and monitor systems and business processes in your solution landscape in operational processing. You can set-up and run your own solution support with the SAP Solution Manager.
Solution Manager is a natural extension of Accelerated SAP and ValueSAP methodology SAP Solution Manager is a separate system providing both Implementation and Operational tools. Solution Manager provides tools, content, procedures, and services to implement and operate your SAP solution. Solution Manager enables process-oriented design, configuration, testing, and on-going system monitoring during operations, regardless of the complexity of the system landscape
The SAP Solution Manager supports you in all phases of the evaluation and implementation. You can perform the following activities in an evaluation and implementation project with the Solution Manager:
- Project Preparation: Define Project, Define System Landscape
- Create Business Blueprint: Evaluate business processes, describe business scenarios and business processes in the Business Blueprint
- Realization: Configure, compare and distribute customizing, setup test system, organize tests
The Solution Manager also supports cross-project functions:
- Project analyses
- Call a Roadmap which leads you through a project step-by-step
Various user roles are delivered with the SAP Solution Manager.This allows a project team member to logon for the implementation project in the role assigned to him, and its authorizations, and only perform his own project tasks.
Evolution of Solution Manager
ASAP methodology (1996)
- Offline CD set of tools, content and a methodology for component-based implementation projects. The CD-ROM contained the first implementation Roadmap and associated tools
ValueSAP (1999)
- Offline CD set with tools, content and methodologies for evaluation, implementation and continuous business improvement. The CD-ROM contained advanced tools such as the QADB, BPML etc
- ASAP CD set is used as a tool platform. ASAP content is included to cover the implementation phase
SAP Solution Manager (200X)
- Online Platform (SAP WebAS based) to support key implementation activities including any key ASAP concepts and tool features
- Enhanced concepts due to new challenges of SAP implementation
- Integrated platform to support Implementation and Operation of SAP solutions
With the advent of Solution Manager, SAP has moved the ASAP methodology tools into an integrated systems which can help manage SAP solutions from implementation to Operations and Continuous improvement.
Benefits of Solution Manager
- Central point of access and support of key implementation activities
- Process-driven blueprint, configuration and testing approach SAP
- Automated customizing synchronization across mySAP components
- Standard scenarios provided through Business Process Repository
- Central repository to store project documentation and issues
- Project monitoring / reporting capabilities (not robust though)
Operations
- Reduction of operational costs (TCO) to an acceptable level
- Customer satisfaction through increasing performance
- Service Level management / reporting
- Application management / monitoring
- Software change management for the entire solution
- Best SAP Support with integrated Support Desk
SAP’s Solution Manager Strategy
- The latest version of SM is 7.0. SAP SM 4.0 officially got renamed to 7.0 as of May 1, 2008. The reason is to align SAP NetWeaver and SM having the same release number.
- As SAP SM is a matured product which provides sufficient standard out of the box application management functionality for SAP solutions to Customers, SAP has moved away from ‘annual’ releases of new versions.
- SAP SM 7.0 will be enhanced continuously through Integration Packages and focus group specific Extensions.
- SAP SM is mandatory for all Business Suite 2005 and beyond
Tools for implementing mySAP and creating templates
The SAP Solution Manager gives you central access to the tools which you need to implement your business solution. These include:
- the Roadmap, which leads you through all phases of the implementation
- the Project Administration, with which you can manage planning schedules, human resources and other project data
- a working environment for creating the Business Blueprint, in which you can select the business processes you need and specify the project scope
- Business Configuration Sets (BC Sets), with which preconfiguration can be imported into systems and documented
- the implementation guide (IMG), with which you can customize the selected business processes
- the Customizing Scout, with which you can compare customizing in selected mySAP.com components with customizing in SAP R/3
- the Customizing Scout, with which you can synchronize customizing in mySAP.com components with customizing in SAP R/3
- the Test Workbench, with which you can organize tests at the end of a project phase
- the project analysis
An authoring environment, with which customers and partners can create their own templates, is delivered with the Solution Manager. Partners can use this authoring environment to:
- add your own expertise to the preconfiguration and documentation which SAP delivers
- create materials for evaluation and implementation which are specifically tailored for your customers
Customers can use this authoring environment to:
- • save preconfiguration and documentation centrally
- • create a template which can, for example, be passed on to subsidiaries in a global rollout.
