October 11, 2010
theGuard! TransportManager 5.2 now available
Once again, the release of
theGuard! TransportManager was accompanied by a number of exciting projects. We were able to collect valuable feedback for the development of release 5.2.
Users of theGuard! TransportManager 5.2 can now approve their SAP transports through a Web interface without having to log in to the SAP system first. The transports are combined to form logical packages and signed with only one signature.
Since we have been supporting Java transports as well as SAP's CTS+ since release 5.1, it is now also possible to automatically include transport requests that have been released from a Portal system on the TM system into the workflow of the TM system.
In addition to the integration of theGuard! TransportManager with the
theGuard! ChangePilot to enable end-to-end change and release management, there is a wide variety of other new enhancements that we would like to introduce to you in one of our upcoming webinars.
Or contact us directly!
December 3, 2010
SAP Infrastructure Management and ERP for IT
In recent months, the SAP community has been talking a lot about the fusion of IT service management, application lifecycle management, and IT Infrastructure Library.
Here at REALTECH we have been dedicated to this idea for many years and are working on finding the most efficient ways of aligning a company's IT activities with its business objectives.
ERP for IT marks the development of a powerful solution that is capable of managing the IT organization like a business. In the future, we will therefore integrate theGuard! products with SAP Solution Manager to give customers the opportunity to add infrastructure and network data to the system component and business process data managed in SAP Solution Manager.
For more information, please read the related cover story:
download cover story as pdf (1 MB).
November 30.2010
Speeding up SAP systems while cutting costs
In 2007, Munich Re, one of the world's leading reinsurers, launched a project to reduce operating costs and streamline the performance of its own server landscape with more than 80 SAP systems. Another objective was to add more flexibility to the allocation of computing power.
At the same time, Munich Re placed heavy demands on the technical stability of its infrastructure. To achieve these objectives, Munich Re decided to migrate its entire SAP landscape from HP-UX to Linux.
go to the Success Story: Linux Migration at Munich Re
October 22, 2010
Marc Thier (SAP AG) speaks about SAP ERP for IT at TechEd 2010 in Las Vegas
In his presentation "Run IT as a Business with SAP ERP for IT", SAP AG's Marc Thier explains SAP's Enterprise Resource Planning for IT concept. Many IT departments are struggling with the fact that their own processes are often not fully automated which in turn makes the integration of the different software tools a time-consuming process. The objective is to automate IT processs while automating the business processes. This presentation will tell you how
REALTECH's theGuard! software factors into this equation.
Watch this
video stream from TechEd 2010 in Las Vegas for more information!
July 09, 2010
Custom Development Management Cockpit in SAP Solution Manager
The Custom Development Management Cockpit (CDMC) is the latest achievement in Enhancement Package 1 for SAP Solution Manager.
A wide variety of analysis methods in CDMC help users find the answers to many of their questions regarding the operation of their SAP systems:
- What objects are actually still being used in the current system?
- Will the next support package have any tangible impact on ongoing developments?
- How much time needs to be set aside during the next upgrade project to implement the modifications that have become necessary?
The Custom Development Management Cockpit is made up of two building blocks: the Clearing Analysis (CA) and the Upgrade/Change Impact Analysis (UCIA).
The Clearing Analysis helps administrators identify unused customer objects in the system, thus giving them the foundation they need to ensure a clean system. Applying the different analysis methods will allow development departments to get a detailed overview of their objects and the number of related transports. The individual views within the results provide auditors with the perfect insight into developments.
The Upgrade/Change Impact Analysis gives IT departments the means to determine the impact of an SAP upgrade or support package on their custom developments. It also gives them an estimate on how much time they will need to make the necessary modifications to their own objects. This type of analysis can thus be part of an upgrade plan or project. The time IT departments save in follow-up activities and testing is the decisive advantage of this analysis. After all, they now know beforehand which objects will be affected by an upgrade, allowing them to take a more targeted approach to their testing activities.
There is one major benefit for customers throughout the entire upgrade process: even more reliability!
The Custom Development Management Cockpit and its functionality in SAP Solution Manager and the connected systems can be used once the component ST-PI 2008_1 SP00 has been installed.
June 11, 2010
Best Practices for SAP BusinessObjects GRC solutions
Governance, risk, and compliance solutions are gaining increasing importance for many companies. For some time now, SAP has been offering its SAP BusinessObjects GRC solution, which unifies Access Control, Process Control, Risk Management, Global Trade, Services and Environment as well as Health and Safety.
In the light of this, the German-Speaking SAP User Group (DSAG) has developed a best practice guide for the introduction of the SAP BusinessObjects GRC solutions. The booklet has some 90 pages that contain information on legal aspects, hands-on instructions, and concepts for the introduction of the various tools.
For your copy of the best practice guide (available in German only), visit the GRC working group section on the DSAG website.
June 08, 2010
Extensions in theGuard! InterfaceManager
The current version of the theGuard! InterfaceManager was extended with several new modules.
The batch processor was developed to classify problems that occurred during processing. Occurring errors can be reprocessed automatically or a workflow to inform the responsible department can be initiated cause-driven via E-Mail or SMS.
Another important enhancement is targeting the access to external databases. With the new component jXChange a bidirectional dataflow can be established in non transparent networks. As a result, the expense of manual scripting, mapping and administration of external software components can be saved.
In addition to the already known ABAP reports, theGuard! InterfaceManager can now generate RFC - enabled function modules, too. With this new functionality of the theGuard! InterfaceManager and SAP standard functionality’s, it is now possible to create ABAP-Proxys as well as WebServices. So all tG! IM interfaces can be integrated easily in all customer scenarios using these technologies
With the theGuard! InterfaceManager some new API function modules are delivered. These function modules can be integrated in the SAP standard IDoc communication to ease and enhance the integration into the theGuard! InterfaceManager monitoring.
Important for us and a lot of our customers is the migration of all theGuard! InterfaceManager objects into the SAP partner namespace /RTC/.
May 22, 2010
SAPPHIRE NOW 2010 - a quick look back
After 2009, when no SAPPHIRE was held in Germany, this year's SAPPHIRE for EMEA was held in Frankfurt am Main. From May 17 to 19, the who-is-who of the SAP world came together for engaging keynotes, conferences, and panel discussions.
Of course, we were also on site for you. In addition to the opportunity to attend presentations and talk to customers and existing and potential partners, it was the latest innovations in SAP's line of products that attracted the most attention.
All of the different keynotes were very impressive. The focused on sustainability and, most importantly, on SAP's in-memory technology for "REAL REALTIME", approaches to timeless software, and the different on-demand solutions that will now also be offered to major customers in the context of Business ByDesign.
Conclusion: As an SAP and REALTECH customer, the future holds a wealth of innovations in store for you that will streamline your business processes. Naturally, we will be there for you to assist you with our expert consulting services.
April 16, 2010
REALTECH supports RAAD Research in a market survey on configuration management
The study, which was commissioned by the IT Service Management Forum (itSMF), surveyed 300 German IT managers and IT professionals in charge of their company's configuration management.
The objective of the survey was to give IT managers an overview as to how the market is currently responding to the issue of configuration management. The authors of the study not only looked at companies that have already implemented a sophisticated configuration management strategy but also at businesses that take a more skeptical stance.
In addition to the global question regarding the introduction, companies were also surveyed about the implementation of individual CM aspects such as the creation of inventories of IT resources as well as asset, license, and change management. The survey also provides insights into the difficulties associated with the practical implementation, identifies the tools that can be used in this context, and gives answers as to how satisfied companies are with their configuration management.
itSMF has come to the conclusion that companies with less complex IT environments have no need for a comprehensive configuration management strategy. It also states that CIOs shouldn't worry too much about always having the most up-to-date solution installed in their company. Nevertheless, it remains important to continuously review your own strategy and monitoring processes to be able to respond to any user dissatisfaction before it becomes a headache.
Please go to http://www.itsmf.de/studie.html for an opportunity to order your copy of the survey (available in German only).
April 14, 2010
Enterprise-wide process documentation system
Jungheinrich AG is one of the world's largest suppliers of industrial trucks, warehousing technology, and materials flow technology. Its mature processes are one of the company's key differentiators and were in need of documentation.
When the project started, Jungheinrich was running a document management solution that didn't quite fit its IT environment. The decision to turn to REALTECH was motivated by a recommendation from SAP.
Jungheinrich and REALTECH worked together to introduce a enterprise-wide process documentation system on the basis of the SAP Knowledge Warehouse that will allow Jungheinrich to achieve a six-figure ROI over the course of three years.
