Neeraj Gupta: The focus of a lot of IT education programmes today is on certifications rather than on long-term career courses. Why is it so?
S Narayanan: SAP Education focusses on providing skills and competencies that are essential for implementing various enterprise solutions. The certification though very important is a result of a very rigorous training and skill development programme that prepares the individual for a long-term career.
Riya_dang: Is the current trend of certifications not a stop gap career option?
S Narayanan: No. In this ever changing technology environment , you need to constantly re-skill and up-skill yourself to maintain competitive advantage. Else you certification cannot take you far.
Seema: Which are the independent certifying agencies that can guide the students about the right kind of certifications?
S Narayanan: Certification on SAP solutions is done only by SAP.
Deepak: What is different about SAP certifications that other popular ERP courses such as PeopleSoft or Oracle do not offer?
S Narayanan: The SAP education and certification is delivered from a unique system that simulates typical operating environments in an enterprise. It is a model company and a living breathing organisation that demonstrates various business processes integrated across various functions. So, one gets a real feel of Enterprise Solutions work.
Grewal_win: Do the students get to work on live projects during the courses offered by SAP?
S Narayanan: Students work on a live environment that simulates the operating environment in an enterprise. A number of case studies used strengthen the learning.
Dr_Anand: Why are ERP certifications so expensive to pursue? Is there an RoI study done that can help people make the decisions?
S Narayanan: In view of the complexity of enterprise business environments, ERP training programmes have to mirror these and teach effectively. The increasing number of trained and certified consulting professionals here who have benefited and used these as stepping stones in their careers is a reflection of the ROI that people pursuing SAP careers have realised.
Kartik: The likes of NIIT and Aptech are still feeling the heat of IT slowdown. In such a scenario why should anyone go for a company-specific training?
S Narayanan: The SAP Ecosystem is today the largest in the enterprise space. There is an increasing demand for high quality SAP trained implementation consultant across the world.
Nag120: What is the most cost-effective way of training the consultants who already have years of experience in support, upgrade and full-cycle implementation?
S Narayanan: For example over the last 1 year, we have trained over 2,500 people. If they have specific experience in SAP implementation and support, they can get themselves certified by SAP without going in for fresh training programmes.
Abbu: Most SAP openings requires min. 3 yrs SAP experience, do you see any place for freshers in today's turbulent economy?
S Narayanan: The need for experience stems from the fact that SAP is an Enterprise Business Solution and consulting implementing SAP Solutions are better placed when they come with business experience.
Shyam_Arora: Out of all SAP courses, which are the hottest currently?
S Narayanan: All SAP courses are in demand and they reflect what is happening in the business world. For example, Business Information Warehouse, SCM, CRM, ERP, HR and Financials are all in demand. However here's a word of caution, when you choose a particular program, please be sure that you have the right skills to learn it and use it and do not jump into it simply because the subject is hot.
Shashi: Could you please elaborate on the demand-supply situation for SAP certified professionals in India and abroad?
S Narayanan: In these turbulent times, business has consolidated around organisations like SAP. In India alone, we have certified over 1,200 consultants in the last 2 years and we understand that most of them are deployed on projects in India or abroad.
K_Dilip: What are the basic eligibility requirements for doing SAP training?
S Narayanan: For functional consultants 4-5 years of business experience in their specialised areas such as Accounting, Procurement, Marketing, HR etc. No special IT experience is required. For technical consultants its 3-4 years of programming experience.
MS_Bindra: Apart from SAP, where else can one get certified on SAP technologies?
S Narayanan: In India SAP education is offered by SAP India at Bangalore and Mumbai; Siemens Information Systems at Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi; and Genovate Systems at Mumbai. SISL and Genovate mentioned here are the ONLY authorised SAP Education partners in India.
Harsh: Within SAP there are so many different technologies and courses. What are the best ways to clear the confusion as to which course to take?
S Narayanan: This is a very broad question. We suggest that you visit our website www.sap.com/asia/education for an idea or email us at education.india @ sap.com
KavitaDas: How many professionals has SAP certified in India thus far and what percentage of overall ERP certifications does that represent?
S Narayanan: In the last 2 years SAP has certified well over 1200 consultants in India. Given SAP's Market leadership, this is likely to represent a very large % of the total ERP certifications in India.
Chitra: Does SAP India has its own faculty to teach the courses or is it franchised to companies such as NIIT?
S Narayanan: As mentioned earlier, SAP India together with its 2 partners SISL and Genovate are the agencies delivering SAP Education in India. The faculty is drawn from a large pool of SAP trained and experienced consultants from within India and overseas.
George: If I want to set up a training facility for SAP certifications, how much would it cost in terms of licensing fee/revenue share from SAP?
George: SAP Education Partnership is a formal partnership with SAP. We are not currently actively looking for proposals for new partnerships
Kamal: Presently, which are the courses being offered by SAP?
S Narayanan: All courses under the mySAP.com platform of solutions. For details please email us at education.india @ sap.com
Parag21: How do you expect the SAP market to expand in India in near future and how large is the opportunity for technical consultants?
S Narayanan: SAP is the market leader with over 350+ customers in India and growing!. The market for technical and functional consultants is bound to be steady
Hello1213: Would you be willing to take in a freshly graduated engineer student for your SAP training?
S Narayanan: I would recommend that you acquire a good work experience of 3-4 years before you decide to enroll for an SAP programme. This way you would add value not only to yourself but to the organisation that you will work with.
Javed Khan: How are the exams for SAP certifications conducted? Is there an independent testing company such as Sylvan Prometric involved?
S Narayanan: SAP certification is administered directly by SAP India. This is an online test and pass % is 70%. The evaluation is done by an independent agency in Germany and certificate is issued by SAP AG. This certification is internationally recognised.
Parag21: What is the approximate cost of an SAP certification course?
S Narayanan: The cost varies from course to course. You can write to us indicating the subject of your interest at education.india @ sap.com.
Gurbux: At what point in his career path should an IT professional or aspirant consider SAP certification?
Gurbux : After 3-4 years of work experience.
Abbu: All SAP courses offered by SAP India are above Rs 250,000, does SAP offers any finance assistance? Or does SAP give assistance for placements?
S Narayanan: SAP does not offer any financial assistance. We help our certified consultants in finding placements. However, at the same time, we offer no guarantee for placements.
Reema: After the certification, what kind of career growth does SAP education provide?
S Narayanan: You could pursue a SAP consulting career with SAP implementation partners in India or worldwide. You could also become a developer in any of the SAP development centers. You could also possibly join SAP customers and help them implement/support SAP solutions.
Vadi1234: Are there continuous updates in SAP technology?
S Narayanan: SAP Technology is constantly evolving and improving. SAP is the leading e-business solutions provider. Worldwide and in India and we offer cutting-edge of technology solutions constantly.
SOURCE : INDIATIMES
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