Project insights into SAP Basis consulting

Julian Wildt, SAP Basis Consultant, provides us with exciting insights into his current project and the personal challenges he has encountered there.

Hi Julian, you’re a SAP Basis Consultant. Can you tell us what you actually do?

I’ve been working at valantic since November 2019 and was hired as a SAP Basis Consultant. Since at valantic we can take on various roles in our function, my task areas extend way beyond the “classic” field of basis administration. On the one hand, I focus on SAP Basis tasks such as the provision, installation, and configuration of SAP systems; on the other hand, I also handle development projects in the integration environment (interface development). This means that I network SAP applications and non-SAP applications using the integration tool SAP PI/PO (Process Integration/Process Orchestration) and SAP CPI (Cloud Platform Integration).

What does a project like this actually look like? What kinds of questions does the customer have for you?

Currently, we’re working on a project at our customer’s – the customer is a large service provider in the security industry – where the focus is on upgrading the integration platform SAP PI from Version 7.40 to Version 7.50. Since the support for Version 7.40 of SAP runs out at the end of 2020, we recommended that the customer perform an upgrade. In the process, we worked with the customer to create several concepts for how we can complete the project effectively and efficiently. We then performed a greenfield installation (new implementation) of the new SAP system for the customer, including the migration of relevant interfaces.

What’s your personal challenge on this project?

For me personally, the challenge is that it’s my first project, one that I’m coordinating more or less by myself and also implementing at the same time. On the one hand, I’m the contact person for the customer when he has questions; on the other hand, I’m responsible for the technical implementation. Here it’s important to satisfy the customer’s great expectations and make the processes transparent.

The project is very exciting since I’m not just the developer and technical implementer, I’m also handling the coordination-related tasks.

Can you tell us a bit more about the project? How large is the project team and precisely what is your role on it?

On this project, I’m working with one other colleague. Together, we’re responsible for establishing and configuring a three-system environment. It will consist of development, test, and productive systems. Since I have expertise in interface design and configuration, we can also include the migration and adjustment of the interfaces in our scope of services.

My colleague will establish and configure the system. When this is complete, I will pull each individual interface into the new system environment. This includes adjustment of the interfaces and also, of course, extensive testing.

What are you especially proud of?

Since I’m still relatively new to SAP consulting (approx. 1.5 years), I am pleased that this is the first project I’m coordinating and implementing by myself. Nevertheless, I don’t feel “lost” since I can get feedback from our experienced consultants at any time and since I have the freedom to continue developing. 

Of course it’s also always nice to hear when you get positive feedback from the customer and when your work is appreciated.