ASUG president discusses challenges for 2008 -- January 8, 2008 SearchSAP.com caught up with ASUG’s president, Steve Strout, to discuss the organization’s busy 2007, including which SAP announcement had the biggest effect on ASUG and its membership. Strout also looks at how ASUG will put Business ByDesign to use in its own organization, what members are requesting, and how ASUG hopes to improve its services in the coming year. Download this podcast here

NCPB tames ‘spider webs on LSD’ with SAP -- December 10, 2007 BOSTON -- The Northern California Public Broadcasting Company (NCPB) had no easy way to view and project budget and fundraising trends until it implemented Outlooksoft. NCPB stuck with the product after SAP acquired it and has already seen significant ROI. SearchSAP.com spoke with Jeff Nemy, NCPB’s chief financial officer, at SAP’s Influencer Summit last week to learn more about how SAP Business Planning and Consolidation has helped the company manage budgets, improve fundraising, and provide more visibility into processes that Nemy described as “spider webs on LSD.” Download this podcast here

ASUG influencing SAP products behind the scenes -- November 6, 2007 One of the Americas’ SAP Users’ Group (ASUG)’s main functions is to give member feedback to SAP on its products and services in order to influence future offerings. This influence is exercised in many ways, including surveys, conferences and ASUG meetings with SAP executives. Rod Masney, chairperson of ASUG’s board, and Steve Strout, CEO of ASUG, recently returned from meeting with SAP executives in Germany. They share their experiences in this SearchSAP.com podcast. Strout and Masney discuss their meeting with SAP executives and new ways ASUG is influencing SAP, including its 360-degree review program and how SAP users can have their voices heard. Download this podcast here

Becoming (and staying) a business process expert takes business, technical skills -- November 1, 2007 Business process experts face constantly changing demands and must combine technical and business skills to be successful. In this podcast, SearchSAP.com career expert Jon Reed and Marco ten Vaanholt, director of SAP’s business process expert community, discuss how to become a business process expert (BPX) and how to keep up with the changing landscape and demand for business process skills. Ten Vaanholt also gives an update on the SAP BPX community and what users can expect next from the group. Listen to the podcast from this Web page below: powered by ODEO Download this podcast here

MassMutual's NetWeaver admin director outlines SAP project tips SAP projects are complex, especially for large organizations. In this podcast, MassMutual’s director for SAP NetWeaver administration offers tips and tricks from his TechEd 2007 presentation. Download the podcast here

SAP NetWeaver jobs: What the future holds With NetWeaver upgrades going strong and enterprise service-oriented architecture (ESOA) projects becoming a reality, it is an exciting time to be an SAP professional. In this podcast, SearchSAP.com career expert Jon Reed and Ori Inbar, SAP's senior vice president of solution marketing for NetWeaver, discuss emerging SAP NetWeaver job roles and explain where talent shortages are expected in the future. Also, Inbar offers a sneak peek at TechEd 2007. Download the podcast here

SAP Business ByDesign: An introduction -- September 20, 2007 NEW YORK -- On Sept. 19, SAP released more details of its midmarket, ERP on demand product, formerly codenamed A1S. The product, now dubbed SAP Business ByDesign, will be priced at $149 per user per month, and already has early customer stories. At the unveiling event in New York, SearchSAP.com caught up with Hans-Peter Klaey, SAP's SMB (small and medium-sized business) president, and an early customer, Harry Krisch, SAP practice director for West Conshohocken, Pa.-based Judge Consulting Group. Download this podcast here

SAP SRM release 6.0 has been pushed back twice and is now branded as SAP SRM 2007. The new version will require users to be up to speed on MDM, Enterprise Portal and other NetWeaver components. SearchSAP.com checked in with veteran SRM (supplier relationship management) site expert and author Sachin Sethi on what's going on with SAP SRM, what the technology requirements will be, and whether SAP can keep up with the niche vendors. Download this podcast here

Supply chain management (SCM) is at the core of many businesses and the technology is developing at a rapid pace. According to Cambridge, Mass.-based AMR Research, the market for supply chain applications grew 7% in 2006 and is expected to reach $7.9 billion by 2011. SearchSAP.com caught up with AMR vice president of research John Fontanella to get an overview of what’s going on in SCM, where SAP fits in, what to expect next from RFID, and other supply chain management topics. Download this podcast here

Amidst the technology, cost and scheduling issues that arise in SAP implementation projects, the human element can often get lost in the shuffle. But Abiomed, a midsized medical devices manufacturer, found that staffing, communication, motivating project resources, and finding the right mix of consultants and employees are all important factors in a successful SAP project. Download this podcast here