SAP R/3 is the former name of the main ERP software produced by SAP. Its new name is mySAP ERP.
History of SAP R/3
SAP R/2 was a mainframe based business application software suite that was very successful in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was particularly popular with large multinational European companies who required soft-real-time business applications, with multi-currency and multi-language capabilities built in. With the advent of distributed client-server computing SAP AG brought out a client-server version of the software called SAP R/3 that was manageable on multiple platforms and operating systems, such as Linux since 1999, which opened up SAP to a whole new customer base. SAP R/3 was officially launched on 6 July 1992. SAP came to dominate the large business applications market over the next 10 years.
Reasons for success
From the late 1960s to the 1980s there was a concern that software development was too complex, and liable to go wrong. One of the solutions to this proposed by many people including Fred Brooks was the development of a modular approach in order to maximize software reuse and encapsulate common business processes within internal transactions. SAP introduced the object-oriented concept of "business objects"; for example, a customer in the system is actually an instantiation of a customer business object, and interacts with other objects in the system in a pre-defined, customizable way. In some ways, SAP can be almost thought of as an operating system for a business.
SAP software comes with customizable processes which a company uses in the modelling of its business. Traditionally, software purchases had provided tools for building applications, but these tools did not provide business processes. SAP provided standardized processes, which were termed best-practice solutions of processes. The implementation of SAP software commonly required the expertise of knowledgeable external consultants, who were familiar with these best-practices.
2006-08-17 03:47:46
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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check this great link:
http://www.thiagi.com/email-consulting101-tips.html
101 TIPS FOR CONSULTANTS: Current List of Tips
Current List of Tips After Round 4
Total Number of Tips: 142
TIPS
Note that the numbers are for identification only (and do not go in any particular order).
* Business Aspects
o 128. Take time out to put together a strategic plan for your own company (even if/especially if you are a solo practitioner). Make a plan to be doing what you want to do, where you want to do it. Then put that plan into action. (David Herdlinger)
o 131. SOURCES OF CHEAP HELP. Many new consultants can't afford to hire a secretary or bookkeeper to help moderate the administrative burden. Try these sources of cheap labor. Hire a neighborhood teenager for filing or phone duty after school. These kids can often do simple programming, too. Talk to a local college about a non-paid intern. If you give them a real project and coach them, they may be able to get credit while you get free assistance. Barter with a local group that needs your kind of services. Make a deal with your spouse or S.O. to give you 4-8 hours a week of their time in exchange for help with chores they hate. (Kaye Vivian)
o 106. WORK REALITIES. When you start working as a consultant, you won't be working 100% on the work you love to do. Plan on 1/3 new business development, 1/3 administrative work, and 1/3 doing the real work. The more help you can get with the first two, the more time you will have for the last third. (Kaye Vivian)
o 117. Get all agreements in writing-verbal agreements and lent have about the same weight. (Rowland Yancey)
o 122. DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB YET. One day you are a drone, slaving away for an employer. The next day you are a glamorous free-lance pursued by affluent clients. No, it does not work that way. The best approach is for you to get some consulting engagements while working on a regular job that makes your mortgage payments. Gradually accumulate enough reputation and long-term projects to make a transition to full-time consulting. Don't be sneaky, though. Inform your employer and get permission. Some of my successful consultant-friends have a mutually-beneficial arrangement that enables them to work part-time both as an external consultant and as an internal consultant for their corporation. (ST)
o 27. Get good legal and accountant advice from the get-go. (Pshank)
* Clients
o 121. Often times, clients know the solution to their problems, They just need someone to boldly go where they are uncomfortable treading. (Rowland Yancey)
o 107. WHO'S IN CHARGE? Different projects for the same client may have different decision makers. For each project, identify who your key decision maker and your key influencers are, and then enlist their aid in getting the project accomplished. (Kaye Vivian)
o 108. WHO'S IN CHARGE? To identify your key decision maker on any project, here are some reliable indicators. The decision maker is the person who can say "yes" (many others can say "no"). The decision maker may be the one who controls the budget expenditure. The decision maker may be in a department unrelated to the project. The decision maker may not be your main contact, even when they say they are! Use tact to find the real source of authority. (Kaye Vivian)
o 15. Remember your clients' names and keep them holy: When you are being introduced to your client's associates, shake hands, trade business cards, and above all, remember their names. Don't try to impress them, or it will confuse you. Don't even try to make them laugh, or it will distract you. (BDeKoven)
o 2. Acknowledge resistance. At the start of many consulting projects, some of the client staff might be resistant to your participation as an outside consultant. From the beginning, make it safe for them to air their concerns, and acknowledge these concerns. Don't refute them (which makes people defensive). Just make it okay for the client to have them. (Alain)
o 13. A consultant should try to learn not to take things too personally. The client often has a hidden agenda that has nothing to do with you. (France-Marie)
o 67. When all is said and done, it is the clients decision not yours. The goal of a consultant is to facilitate decision-making by the client-not for the client. (Rowland Yancey)
o 64. Keep your ego in your pocket. Remember that you are getting paid to help the client be successful, not to make the client wrong so that you can be right. Your ego (and your bank account) will be much better fed over the long haul from the pocket spot than from the center of the table. (Michele Ehlers)
o 65. Remember: The client often knows the right answer for them better than you do. You just need to help them discover it. (Michele Ehlers)
o 66. Talk to as many people in a client organization as you can before you start making suggestions. You won't get the whole picture from one person, and you don't have the whole picture until you've gotten the whole picture. (Michele Ehlers)
o 59. Nothing you have to say is as important as anything the client has to say. Listen actively, and empathetically. Frequently summarize the clients needs, ideas, feelings. (Andy Kimball)
o 60. Know a need when you see one. Most consultants mistake solutions or interventions for needs. "They need training! They need a job aid! They need a left handed widget with 192 megabytes of RAM. It is more useful to look for client needs in their vision, their objectives, their challenges, their values. (Andy Kimball)
2006-08-15 07:14:19
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answer #2
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answered by roy_s_jones 6
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