Sap And Enterprise Trends Podcasts From Jon Reed (@jonerp) Of Diginomica.com

This is Jon Reed's "roaming podcast" from the floor of SAPPHIRE 2007, Day 2 and Day 3. Follow Jon's unscripted, instant reactions to the press briefings and executive interviews he conducted on the final two days of the conference. On these last two days, Jon talked with a number of industry insiders and SAP executives and consolidated what he learned onto this podcast wrap. A couple of major highlights included the backgrounds needed for consulting success in BI and RF/RFID, and the emerging NetWeaver "jobs roles of the future." Highlights from Jon's uncensored and unscripted conference reactions included: - Jon's reaction to the key themes of the big SAPPHIRE keynotes, including the shift from "disruptive innovators" to "innovation without disruption." - Jon documents which SAP terms are in and more notably, which SAP terms are on the way out. Terms on the way out include: ABAP, Basis, and R/3, but also more surprising departures such as XI, mySAP, and ESA. - Jon tracks the hot consulting areas em

This is Jon Reed's "roaming podcast" from the floor of SAPPHIRE 2007, Day 1. Follow Jon's unscripted, instant reactions to the press briefings and executive interviews he conducted on Day 1. On Day 1, Jon conducted numerous interviews with SAP product managers. He also sat in on several press briefings including a CIO panel of SAP customers. Jon reported back his insights from each event, and took an honest look at how the latest developments will impact consulting demand.   Highlights from Jon's uncensored and unscripted conference reactions included: - Why mid-market companies are looking at outsourcing and why they find that some SAP consultants are too specialized for their needs. - How SOA has evolved from a "good idea" to a product that SAP's partners can truly sell and therefore truly endorse. - Why "On Demand" Solutions like CRM On Demand are not as appealing to mid-market companies as one would think. - The significance of leveraging "unstructured" data and how partnerships like Duet are f

SAP is at a crossroads. This year's combined SAPPHIRE/ASUG conference was a significant event in terms of how SAP positions itself for the next five years. In this podcast interview with ASUG President Rod Masney, SAP Career Expert Jon Reed talks to Rod about this year's combined ASUG/SAPPHIRE conference. He also asks Rod about the biggest challenges SAP users are facing and how ASUG impacts SAP's product evolution. In this 23 minute podcast, Rod speaks about these topics and more, including: - How to get the most out of the upcoming ASUG/SAPPHIRE conference: Rod shares his thoughts on the advantages of the combined format and how attendees can benefit. - The biggest challenges SAP users are facing: Jon asks Rod what he's learned from ASUG's own user surveys and discussions. - How ASUG is helping SAP customers address upgrade issues: Upgrades can be massive projects with plenty of misfires. Learn how ASUG is helping customers share information and lessons learned. - Making sense of SAP lingo and versio

Listen in with Jon as he talks with one of the most influential and compelling voices in the SAP community, Michael Doane. Along with Jon, Michael is the co-author of The SAP Consultant Handbook, and his recently updated SAP Blue Book has become the industry standard for all business readers looking to get a handle on SAP. In this in-depth, 45 minute interview, Jon and Michael sit down for a frank look at a changing SAP market full of new opportunities but plenty of challenges. During this "state of the industry" discussion, Jon asks Michael for his take on a number of key questions facing SAP professionals, including: - How the SAP market rebounded, and what factors contributed to SAP's market surge. - Michael's work at Performance Monitor and why Performance Monitor is uniquely positioned to monitor SAP (and Oracle) consulting trends. - Why Michael updated the SAP Blue Book and what has changed in the SAP market since his first edition. - The drivers that will push the SAP market forward in the

Sit in with Jon and Brian Trout, SAP Practice Manager at B2B Workforce, for 45 minutes of straight talk on where things stand for SAP consultants in today's market. Jon and Brian move beyond the NetWeaver hype for an in-depth look at which skills are hot and which are not. Brian's take on the SAP market has influenced many SAP consultants. Check out this podcast and find out why. Jon and Brian cover themes such as: - Are the core functional consultants having the last laugh? Why is work shifting away from the previously-titled "New Dimensions" products like APO, SEM, and CRM? - What are the hottest areas in SAP consulting now, and how are upgrades fueling the consulting demand and the types of opportunities available? - Why is there so much confusion about SAP product names and version numbers? How do the NetWeaver and mySAP release numbers match up? Which components fit into the new ECC (Enterprise Core) releases? - Are companies getting the message and upgrading to 6.0, or are they also upgrading

In Jon's first-ever podcast appearance, Jon is interviewed on a podcast hosted by SearchSAP.com. (Original version can be heard on SearchSAP.com). This 18 minute "State of the SAP Job Market" podcast features Jon's take on where SAP consulting is headed as we begin the "upgrade era." The focus of the podcast is an in-depth look at the changing SAP job market. Jon's portion of the interview begins at the three minute mark. During the 15 minute discussion, Jon comments on: - How the SAP job market has evolved since the year 2000 and how SAP has overcome the challenges it has faced since Y2K. - How SAP triumphed over the best-of-breed market in CRM and other area and why that's good news for SAP consultants. - Why the era of "enforced upgrades" should be a good one for SAP professionals and why software markets are at their healthiest when there is a carrot (new functionality) and a stick (fees for extended maintenance). - The potential impact of SOA and Web Services and how consultants can anticipate t