What is SAP? Is it a technology or a company?

Well, SAP is “NOT” a technology it is a company. To be more specific it is a software company, which is the market leader in ERP technology space. Wherein, ERP software allows businesses to maintain their customer relationship management software (CRM), their supply chain management software (SCM), as well as managing their employee, financial, production
records as well as their archived data. SAP system consists of a number of fully integrated modules, which cover virtually every aspect of business management.

What are the various types of SAP consultant?

• Business Consultant: This role requires a considerable amount of knowledge of SAP software technology. Their primary role as an SAP business constant is to attract customers & tell them about the benefits of SAP implementation. Business consultant tries to help the customer with business issues, a lot of time just before the implementation starts e.g. helping with building a business case, developing an IT strategy, etc.
• Functional Consultant: The primary role of a business consultant is more of a functional in nature. A functional consultant talks to the customers about their business needs and requirements. Also, they configure the business processes i.e. the real-world business scenarios into SAP software. Well, the good news is it doesn’t require learning any programming language to be a functional consultant. Any graduate with good knowledge of the business processes of a company, which can be easily gathered with a few years of work experience.
• Technical/Development Consultant: A technical consultant customizes SAP ABAP software as per the specification of customers. They develop new SAP business applications or enhance existing implemented SAP software. They are responsible for developing JAVA and ABAP application software.
• BASIS Consultant: The focus of a BASIS consultant is on network management & network-related configurations such as installation, server maintenance or control of the network and user management.

What are the Duties & Responsibilities of an SAP consultant?

An SAP Consultant must become an expert in one or more modules of the SAP software. In order to excel in this role, they need to master their niche in the SAP offering and manage projects and programs for implementation of the software as per end-client needs. The most common duties of an SAP Consultant include:
• Design and Implement SAP Solutions;
• Configure SAP software as per and client's individual needs since SAP software is not a one-size-fits-all solution;
• Propose Solutions;
• Help clients improve the performance of their operations;
• Manage Personnel;
• Train the new joiners in the organization.

How to learn SAP?

There are 3 ways you can learn SAP
• Learn from authorized training institutes;
• Learn from non-authorized local institutes;
• Internal training from your organization.
An authorized institute such as Dygitech provides global certification training. The training methodology can be of various types and is recommended based on individual needs and convenience. For example, classroom training is conducted throughout the day and a working professional needs to take leave from his/her work to complete the training. Typically each module requires 20 working days to complete the training. On the other hand, online training (self-paced training) is recommended when an individual is unable to take leave from his/her current workplace. In this case, one has to complete the training in 200 hours within 3 months. On completion of the training, one has to write the certification examination to acquire the SAP global certificate.
One good advantage of authorized institutes is its placement cell and this is one of the very critical factors to consider while taking a call on the training institute selection. Local institutes are comparatively cheaper but may be suitable for experienced SAP professionals who want to augment his/her niche skills in the SAP domain. For a fresher these institutes are not recommended primarily because on completion of the training program, the candidate may not be eligible to write his/her certification examinations. Also, a candidate without any past working experience is considered for recruitment by a good organization only if one possesses an SAP global certificate.
The best option is to get trained internally within the current organization but this path is not that easy. It is not easy to switch careers within the current organization until and unless the company has a critical requirement for a consultant and sees a huge potential to invest in any individual.