The Cost Controlled Upgrade - Essential strategies for the SAP project manager

The Cost Controlled Upgrade Essential Strategies for the SAP Project Manager May, 2010 Frank Powell Chief Operating Officer

Download the presentation recording with audio from the Symmetry Knowledge Center www.sym-corp.com/knowledge-center

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Introducing… Frank Powell Chief Operating Officer

In This Session … Identify ways to reduce the cost of an upgrade Describe the process at a high level Discuss how to develop a rock-solid plan for success

What We’ll Cover … Understanding what to upgrade and why Taking a look at the upgrade cycle Aligning the objectives of the upgrade Reducing traditional high cost items Preparing the Pilot upgrade system Creating a cookbook Wrap-up 6

Upgrade What? The Upgrade “Stack” SAP product version Unicode conversion 32-bit to 64-bit conversion Interfaced applications (Taxware, EDI) Database version Operating system version Servers and Infrastructure

Why Upgrade? Current version of SAP going into extended maintenance Save money Take advantage of new features with the upgrade Make money Prepare for future initiative Make money? Stay current – maintain a supportable environment Less downtime, faster reaction, easier to support

Why Upgrade? (cont.) You don’t have to upgrade now You will have to upgrade at some point The longer you delay, the higher the cost and complexity At least every three years Business decision: This year, next year or the year after? Some businesses have a “constant upgrade” philosophy to spread out costs and complexity – big irritation vs. constant irritation

Overview of Upgrade Cycle (New Servers) Old Hardware Transports Transports DEV QAS PRD DB copy then upgrade New Hardware DB copy then upgrade Transports Transports DEV QAS PRD 1) Copy 2) Migrate 3) Copy PRD 3a) Copy 4) PRD PRD for Pilot and Upgrade for QAS PRD again for Upgrade Upgrade DEV Upgrade “Mock-PRD” Upgrade

Overview of Upgrade Cycle (Same Servers) Hardware Transports Transports DEV QAS PRD 1) Copy 2) Migrate 3) Copy PRD 3a) Copy PRD for Pilot and Upgrade for QAS PRD again for Upgrade DEV Upgrade “Mock-PRD” Upgrade

Technical Upgrade Procedure Procure and install new server hardware (if needed) Install SAP software Restore source database into new instance Back up your systems Run SAP upgrade PREPARE phase issues problems or prerequisites for starting “R3UP” process consists of 30 or more phases that individually succeed or fail All the sins of the past appear in the initial pilot upgrade Can take weeks to complete if serious bugs are encountered Final PRD cut-over can usually be completed in a hard 48-72 hour weekend Secret is to document the cookbook and refine, refine, refine 13

Technical Upgrade Procedure: New Servers Example Running SAP R/3 PREPARE 1. If you have not already done so, execute R3dllins.exe to prevent problems during the upgrade (on the Upgrade Master CD in NTI386NTPATCH) 2. Shut down all Microsoft Management Console (MMC) applications while PREPARE is running, otherwise you’ll get an error in General Checks that LIBRFC32.DLL is running and can’t be updated 3. Execute script below from SAP Note 558197 to improve performance in certain phases for 6.40/Oracle Prepare & Upgrade Download scripts from the SAP Note cd to H:cdsmisc sqlplus “/as sysdba” @dba_ind_columns_sap.sql … then run: sql> select * from dba_synonyms where synonym_name=‘USER_IND_COLUMNS’; … If a synonym is returned for user “SAPR3” please drop it with: sql> drop synonym sapr3.user_ind_columns; 14

Technical Upgrade Procedure: New Servers Example Running SAP R/3 PREPARE 4. From Windows Explorer, go the Upgrade Master CD, g:cdsmasterUm1NTI386 and start PREPARE.exe (page 72 of the Upgrade Guide) 5. Choose EXIT when script completes 6. Copy the upgrade TOOLFIX into the put directory (do not un-car it, just copy it) • file FIX_ECC500SR1.SAR • cd h:cdsmisc • copy FIX_ECC500SR1.SAR <drive>:usrsapput 7. Place the new version of R3UP (for 640) in the usrsapputexe directory (located in h:cds640_patches) 15

Technical Upgrade Procedure: New Servers Example Running SAP R/3 PREPARE 8. Start the upgrade assistant: Open a DOS window on the console … then run command: iview /cp h:usrsapputUAua.jar UaServer 9. Log in to the upgrade assistant using Internet Explorer • http://<host name>:4239/ua/UaGui.html • userid = Administrator (or observer) • password = admin (or observer) 16

Aligning the Objectives of the Upgrade Pick two! 18

The Cheap Option What trade-offs are acceptable? Does the upgrade have to be great or is pretty good, good enough? Can the PRD cut-over date be changed? Can you tolerate a code freeze? How long can you negotiate PRD down-time during the cut-over weekend? Can your users survive a couple of bad days during cut-over? 19

The Cheap Option (cont.) Does the upgrade have to be fast? Why can’t the upgrade be done over many, many months? How much change occurs in your environment? What is the allowable down window for go-live? 20

Reducing Traditional High Cost Items New servers Project management consultant Full-time functional consultants (one per module) Full-time Basis consultants Project team training Upgrading interfaces and utilities Large, cast of thousands, integration tests Re-work on ABAP custom reports or interfaces Security re-work Large, cast of thousands, end user training 22

New Servers No Production systems over three years old No Development systems over five years old Re-task PRD to QAS or DEV Retire oldest boxes Performance of new systems hidden ROI Look for opportunities to reduce labor costs (e.g., tape library) Look for opportunities to raise service level (e.g., reduce weekly downtime by implementing online backups) 23

Project Management Consultant Be your own project manager Extend upgrade project time frame to allow research Upgrade guides SAP Notes User groups and colleagues Conferences Vender proposals Obtain sample project plans Create an internal Pilot upgrade system to reference your actual data 24

Full-Time Functional Consultants Extend upgrade time frame to allow for internal, part-time functional participation Revitalize internal business process procedure documentation Purchase “delta training” and “upgrade angel” services from venders instead of full-time resources Base third-party consulting requirements on discovery in internal Pilot upgrade system (actual requirements) Shop for individual requirements Find venders with spot, ad hoc support services Get fixed priced quotes, not hourly quotes Leverage SAP America services (e.g., go-live check) 25

Technical Consultants Avoid multi-month hourly contracts Use internal resources for tasks within competency for portions of the work Get fixed priced quotes Don’t rely on individual talent, seek venders with a managed solution 26

Project Team Training Leverage ASUG and other free resources Build Pilot upgrade system with your own production data Extend upgrade time frame to support “learn as you go” Utilize third-party consultants to conduct on-site upgrade workshops using your Pilot system 27

Upgrading Interfaces and Utilities Take a hard look at third-party interfaces Are you still using them? Can new functionality in SAP eliminate requirement for interfaces or programs? 28

Integration Testing Rigorously test business processes in Pilot system Chances are good 80% will be fine Catching errors here is far cheaper than at go-live Focus on most important processes Set expectation that everything will not be exhaustively tested Performance testing probably won’t be a concern 29

Rework of Custom Application Code (ABAP and now Java) A real issue with no easy answer Start early – upward compatibility tests can be done now Revisit what reports or interfaces are really being used SPAD/SPAU output in PREPARE will generate list of objects that need attention Extending the upgrade time frame will give internal resources more time to address Cool new capabilities are available, they may be worth the expense of implementing 30

End User Training SAP R/3 4.6C to SAP ERP isn’t that big of a jump Give power users access to Pilot upgrade system for extended testing Sell the upgrade, make the enterprise aware of the project, and solicit buy-in, participation Make an educated decision about advanced training or help desk support at go-live 31

Security Even in a strict Technical upgrade, some security modifications will be required Include security in gap analysis on Pilot system Finish migrating to Profile Generator if not done already Although an added cost, a full security re-work may be justified by reduction in ongoing administration costs 32

Pilot Upgrade System Gives the technical team an opportunity to work through the upgrade process issues Start building the cookbook Gives the functional team an extended amount of time to evaluate the impact of the upgrade without impacting the productive support landscape (DEV, QAS, or PRD) Allows you to evaluate the need for external consultants 34

Pilot Upgrade System (cont.) Depending on the hardware it is performed on, the Pilot upgrade can also: Allow for some performance testing Judge runtime of the upgrade process Help determine the need for additional hardware Reassures management about the process and impact on the business (no longer a complete unknown) 35

Pilot Upgrade System — Requirements Should be performed well in advance — weeks if not months If months ahead of time, upgrade to latest version, include all available support packs, latest OS or DB patches, etc. Should be done on a separate piece of hardware VM is a good option for Windows or Linux systems Hardware partitioning an option for UNIX or iSeries systems Size doesn’t matter, although it’s nice to have More about process than performance Should be a copy of production Functional or development teams will demand it Good time to test your backup or recovery or disaster recovery plan 36

Pilot Upgrade System — Process Start a procedural document! Build the sandbox server Install database software and SAP on sandbox Be sure to patch OS, database, and SAP kernel to match PRD Install required third-party applications Restore copy of PRD database Start the SAP system on the Pilot system and confirm basic functionality Make a backup! Copy the necessary upgrade CDs to local disk Check upgrade prerequisites 37

Pilot Upgrade System — Process (cont.) Upgrade database if necessary (good idea even if not required) Upgrade SAP Make a backup! Open system to functional teams Test the Basis operational stuff Backup Restore dbverify, dbcc, etc. Archiving Other 38

What Is a Cookbook? Documents all the steps of the technical upgrade Provides a step-by-step procedure document for all technical tasks to be followed for all upgrades Merges upgrade information from multiple sources Manuals Notes Customer-specific tasks (pre- or post-work) Reassures management of the process Provides a reference for future upgrades Creates an audit trail of what was done (SOX compliance) 40

What Should You Include in a Cookbook? Step-by-step instructions for all actions and data entry List of referenced docs SAP Note number SAP manuals used (by document number) Technical documents from other vendors Copy of the last UpgDialog.log text file from previous upgrade Reference to the transport list (or the list itself depending on size) Runtimes of the previous upgrades 41

Fri., Aug. 5, 2006 Task Start Finish Duration 17:15 Production shutdown Backup begins 21:00 Backup finishes 21:05 Reboot SAPPRD 21:15 Backup wage types table T512W 21:20 Start R3UP 21:25 Enter initial upgrade parameters 21:45 Turn off database logging in Oracle Sat., Aug. 6, 2005 Task Start Finish Duration 4:00 ACT_640 phase ABAP Dictionary adjustments -- input necessary 6:00 Re-run ACT_640 phase to re-activate necessary tables 12:00 Enter final upgrade parameters 13:00 R3UP completes 13:05 Basis post go-live processing - restore wage types table - clear SPAU - modify profile parameters - update kernel - restart system 16:00 Run in transports per Todd’s direction 17:00 Kick off SGEN -- 21:00 SGEN completes - System available to functional team Sun., Aug. 7, 2006 Task Start Finish Duration 1:00 Cold Backup 23:00 DC Shift starts Symmetry available as required for functional support 42

Resources http://service.sap.com/upgrade http://help.sap.com SAP Netweaver  SAP NetWeaver at a Glance  IT Scenarios at a Glance  Software Life-Cycle Management  Software Maintenance  Release Upgrade www.sapfans.com Got to User Forums Search on “upgrade” 44

7 Key Points to Take Home SAP ERP isn’t that different than many other recent releases Start now with activities you can do in advance (at least six months in advance) Create a Pilot upgrade system well in advance Piecemeal third-party support based on real requirements Don’t forego the opportunity for process improvements just for the sake of minimizing cost Position the upgrade as innovation, not a cost of doing business IT needs to evangelize – Sell the upgrade! SAP Solution Manager is required 45

Download the presentation recording with audio from the Symmetry Knowledge Center www.sym-corp.com/knowledge-center

Frank Powell 414-732-2731 fpowell@sym-corp.com

The Cost Controlled Upgrade - Essential strategies for the SAP project manager

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The Cost Controlled Upgrade - Essential strategies for the SAP project manager — Presentation Transcript