How Does SAP Protect Your Data?

by parth.devdhar@aeonx.digital | Mar 15, 2021 | Blog, SAP

Any information or data recorded and stored by a business digitally needs to be protected. From financial information to payment and personal details, it is imperative that this data is protected for the safety and maintenance of your business. These can be key pieces of information commonly stored by enterprises such as consumer details, employee records, transactions, strategy, and transactions among many. They need to be prevented from being misused by fraudulent third parties. 

What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation is a pan-European data protection law that is significant in bringing about a 21st-century approach to data protection. It enhances the rights of individuals to control how their personal data is collected and processed and obligates organizations to be more accountable for data protection. This is relevant as SAP has to directly comply with this. 

There are 6 principles of data protection outlined by the GDPR:

1. Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency

Organization’s need to make sure their data collection practices abide by the law and that they aren’t hiding anything from data subjects.

2. Purpose limitation

Organizations should only collect personal data for a specific purpose after clearly stating what that purpose is, and only collect data till the purpose is met.

3. Data minimization

Organization’s must only process the personal data that they need to achieve its processing purposes. 

4. Accuracy

The accuracy of personal data is integral to data protection and necessary steps should be taken to rectify inaccurate and incomplete information. 

5. Storage limitation

Further organization’s need to delete personal data when it’s no longer necessary.

6. Integrity and confidentiality

Any and all personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorized processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. 

Data Protection By SAP

Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing, better known as SAP is dedicated to ensuring complete data safety of all its users. Data Protection comes with various legal requirements and privacy concerns. It is a lot of complicated stuff and involves compliance with general data privacy regulations along with industry-specific legislation in different countries. SAP offers specific features and functions to support and aid compliance with regard to respective legal necessities of data protection. These security features and data protection-relevant functions include simplified blocking, deletion, or depersonalization of personal data, etc.

How Does That Work?

SAP signs data processing agreements with each of their cloud service providers which mirrors the terms of SAP’s customer-facing data protection agreement and includes the standard contractual clauses. This way SAP implements and maintains organizational, technical, and legal measures to effectively protect the personal data of its clients.

SAP has a complex Data Protection Management System which consists of company-wide data protection guidelines, function-specific work instructions, and a global network of data privacy representatives.

By regularly training all its employees, SAP verifies a high level of data protection awareness with regular audits in more than 100 locations all over the world, annually. It has been accredited by the British Standards Institution (BSI) of London to have a high standard for personal information management systems. 

SAP provides a support portal in addition to the SAP Trust Center which extends public offering through access to additional documentation exclusively available to SAP customers and partners. Audit details and results are accessible by the consumer through the annual customer audit report.

As a business owner or manager, one has the duty to make sure the data is secure and accurate. It is imperative that data is collected consensually, processed correctly, and stored safely.  By following proper data protection measures, organizations can prevent cybercrimes such as frauds, identity thefts, and/or hacking.

This is significant as a breach in your data security can be very costly. Along with legal implications, the business can lose its precious credibility. 

SAP ensures that it can efficiently comply with all Data protection legalities and specifications all over the world. In this extensively digital world, proactive data protection is the key to a healthy business.

Driving Innovation With SAP

by parth.devdhar@aeonx.digital | Feb 7, 2021 | Blog, SAP

Integrating and coordinating business operations for several enterprises worldwide, Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing or SAP has been an industry game changer. With over a number of fully integrated modules, the SAP system efficiently covers virtually every aspect of business management.

Developing a successful business model, depends highly vis-à-vis the industry it wishes to compete in. Since the business environment differs for every industry, the communication and management needs to be tailor-made for every enterprise.

SAP offers solutions to aid your company run better with best practice business process and intelligent technologies. It promises intuitive industry specific priorities and solution capabilities.

Energy and Resources:

SAP provides reliable solutions for the energy and resources industry which will enable the business to tap into deeper customer insights, speed time to market, optimize the supply chain, and maximize brand and promotion investments. similarly, it aids digital logistics by improving speed, efficiency, and sustainability by aligning distribution and fulfillment processes and collaborating with logistics participants. SAP gives real-time visibility and transparency of manufacturing operations, optimize processes, and collaborate in global networks. Enterprises can plan inventory and supply through cross-functional collaboration, analysis, and optimization of demand signals, supply constraints, and financial considerations. SAP solutions can help businesses manage commodity prices and risks, plan and execute shipments, run maintenance operations, and connect to operational technology. This industry includes construction, production and manufacturing, chemicals, mining, oil and gas, and textiles. 

Financial Services:

With banking and insurance shifted to a digital platform, the need for SAP is inevitable. SAP supports seamless connectivity, highly automated core processes, superior financial insight, and risk control, all supported by data-driven intelligence. Therefore Financial institutions use this ERP software to assist sales, services, marketing, and digital engagement for context-sensitive, cross-sell, and up-sell offers and profitable product and service bundles.

Therefore it is very useful to attract, cultivate, and maintain consumers by managing a multichannel environment to maximize customer engagement.

Consumer Industries:

SAP drives innovation in consumer-based industries by increasing transparency, improving collaboration and project management between R&D, and enforcing compliance and quality. It braces the supply chain by optimizing customer services and profitability by balancing supply to meet dynamic demand at optimum cost. Businesses can revolutionize decision making with analytic capabilities to discover, plan, and predict better business outcomes. SAP also provides database management solutions to gain real-time insight anywhere and anytime. 

Discrete Industries:

The SAP software empowers businesses in the discrete industries (such as defense, automobiles, high tech, software providers, etc) to accelerate vehicle and service innovation, improve quality, reduce manufacturing costs and sell and service vehicles more profitably. This boosts market share growth in a highly competitive global market.

Service Industries:

SAP enables service industries (media, sports, cargo transportation, telecommunications, and travel) to monitor performance against plan and respond quickly to market change. It helps you understand the performances of all marketing activities to optimally plan resources and drive customer loyalty and growth. It ensures consistency between financial, logical, and physical views of network assets. In all consumer channels, it helps to deliver contextually relevant and personalized experiences.

Public Services:

These include defense and security, future cities, healthcare, education, postal, and public sector services. SAP helps you design, analyze, and review public processes and drive positive outcomes for society. In addition, it aids government organizations to adapt swiftly, innovate constantly, and transform the lives of citizens. 

In conclusion, In today’s data-driven world, businesses in any industry are incomplete without SAP. Success may vary from industry to industry, but the key is inefficiently managing complex business processes. SAP allows companies to proactively deliver on their organization’s purpose and performance.

Top 30 SAP Interview Questions & Answers

by parth.devdhar@aeonx.digital | Jan 28, 2021 | Blog, SAP

Working in SAP is fundamentally a technical job and while theory and strong concepts are imperative for candidates applying for the position, practical and applied knowledge are much needed as well. Like most interviews, SAP candidates will be especially questioned about their previous experience and roles.

Listed below are 30 frequently asked SAP Interview Questions and Answers Every Candidate needs to take a look at:

1. What do you mean by ERP?

Ans. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning Software and is an integrated computer-based system used to manage a company’s resources effectively. It ensures smooth flow of information amongst various departments in an enterprise or a company and manages the workflows.

2. What do you know about SAP?

Ans. SAP is the abbreviation for Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing. It is a German company founded in 1972 by Wellenreuther, Hopp, Hector, Plattner, and Tschira. Along with the name of the company, SAP is its ERP product as well. Leading the ERP industry, SAP customers include around 92% of the Forbes Global 2000 companies. Alongside SAP is also a market share leader in analytics, supply chain management, human capital management and experience management. 

3. List the Different Modules in SAP.

Ans. SAP provides several industry- specific solutions and has various modules such as Financial Accounting, Controlling, Enterprise Controlling, Investment Management, Sales and Distribution, Human Resources, Production Planning, Business Warehousing, Quality Management among many others. As the world expands, the list too is ever-growing.

4. Explain Metadata, Master data and Transaction data.

Ans. According to the commonly agreed categories of data in the data management field:

I. MetaData is data about Data i.e it tells you about the structure of data or MetaObjects.

II. Master Data is the key business information about customers, employees and other business elements that supports transactions.

III. Transactional Data describes business events and is the largest volume of data in the enterprise, for example buying from suppliers or selling to customers.

5. Which are the three stages of data mining?

Ans. Data mining is the process of discovering hidden, valuable knowledge by analyzing a large amount of data. It is a very important process, advantageous for various industries, such as manufacturing, marketing, etc. Three stages of data mining include

• Initial Exploration
• Model building
• Deployment

6. Mention what is the difference between SAP BASIS and SAP ABAP?

Ans. SAP ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming) is a high level programming language used within SAP to customize, generate forms, generate reports, etc. While SAP BASIS is the administration module of SAP used to control code changes, upgrades, database admin, network setup, etc. It is the technical foundation for SAP and consists of middleware programs and tools that support the interoperability and portability of SAP applications across systems and databases.

7. Explain what is meant by “Business Content” in SAP?

Ans. Business Content in SAP is a pre-configured set of role and task-related information models that are based on consistent metadata stored in the SAP warehouse, which can be used directly or with desired modification in varying industries. It provides selected roles within a company with the information that the roles need to perform their tasks. 

8. Mention what are the standard stages of the SAP Payment Run?

Ans. SAP provides Automatic Payment Run which manages payments and carries out tasks like posting accounts payable (payment to a vendor) automatically. It also helps you find out due/overdue invoices, process consumer lists and vendor invoices to make payments seamlessly.

In the SAP Payment Run, the standard stages of SAP includes 

1. Entering parameters includes entering company codes, vendor accounts, payment methods, etc.
2. Proposal Scheduling includes the system proposes a list of invoices to be paid.
3. Payment booking is the booking of the actual payments into the ledger.
4. Printing of Payment forms.

9. What is Bex?

Ans. Bex means Business Explorer. It enables the end-user to locate reports, analyze information, view reports and can execute queries. The queries in the workbook can be saved to their respective roles in the Bex browser. It has components like Bex analyzer, Bex Map, & Bex web.

10. What is NetWeaver?

Ans. NetWeaver is an integrated technology platform for all products in the my SAP suite to run on a single instance of NetWeaver, known as SAP Web Application Server (SAP WEBAs). NetWeaver is beneficial as you can access SAP data using the web (http protocol) or even mobile. All in all, it helps you save on costs involved in training users on SAP Client-side GUI.

11. Mention what is the process to create a table in the data dictionary?

Ans. Data dictionary is viewed as metadata in the SAP database with the metadata stored by the database and is used to create and manage data definitions, create tables, data elements, domains, views and types.

To create a table in the data dictionary, you have to follow these steps:

• Creating domains (data type, field length, range)
• Creating data elements (properties and type for a table field)
• Creating tables (SE 11)

12. Mention what is the importance of ODS in BIW?

Ans. An ODS (Operational Data Store) object serves to store debugged and consolidated transaction data on a document level. It defines a consolidated dataset from one or more sources of information. This dataset can be evaluated with a Bex query or an Infoset query. The data of an ODS object can be updated with a delta update into InfoCubes or other ODS objects in the same system or across systems. Contrary to multi-dimensional data storage with InfoCubes, the data in the ODS object is stored in transparent, flat database tables.

13. Other than SAP, are there any ERP softwares in the market?

Ans: Yes, there are others available in the market such as Microsoft Dynamics, PeopleSoft, Siebel, JD Edwards, Baan, etc. Each of these ERPs has different specialities. Apart from these, there are various other lesser known ERPs and many small enterprises tend to use them because of the cost factor. 

14.  What drove you to choose a career in SAP?

Ans. Enterprise Resource Planning is the backbone of any large organisation. Without using an ERP, the functioning of these organisations is bound to slow down and be vulnerable to errors. I had always dreamt of working in an MNC and since SAP is at the top of the ERP market, it was the obvious choice. SAP is said to have 140,000+ installations and 25+ specific business solutions. I think working in such an accomplished company with so many intellectuals will push me to the best of my capabilities.

15. In SAP, how many simultaneous sessions can you have?

Ans: In SAP, a user can have 6 simultaneous sessions at one time for one client.

16. What are the different layers in the R/3 system?

Ans: There are three main layers in the SAP R/3 system;

• Presentation Layer
• Database Layer
• Application Layer

17. What are the most common transport errors that you can come across?

Ans: The most common transport errors in occurrence are:

• Return Code 4
• Return Code 8
• Return Code 12
• Return Code 18

18. Mention what is the difference between Domain & Data Element?

Ans. The basic difference is that data element is an intermediate object between domain and table type, whereas domain defines attributes such as length, type and possible value range. 

19. What does an update type with reference to a match-code ID mean?

Ans: Whenever the data in base tables of a match-code ID changes, it needs updating. In this instance, the update type tells us about the time when the match-code needs updating and also clarifies how to do it.  Another significant function of the match-code is that it defines the method which is to be used for building match-codes.

20. What are SET parameters & GET parameters?

Ans. To use parameter IDs, you need to SET values in the global memory area and then GET values from this parameter ID memory area. In the case of the online program, you have to SET values from screen fields, and you will GET these values for screen fields.

21.  What do you mean by one-time vendors?

Ans. In certain industries, it is not feasible to create new master records for every vendor trading partner. One-time vendors enable a dummy vendor code to be used for an invoice entry, and the information that is normally stored in the vendor master is keyed on the invoice itself.

22. What is an extended star schema?

Ans: The star schema is an amalgamation of fact tables and dimension tables. Separate tables are used to store master data and these tables have reference to characteristics in dimension tables. These separate tables are called extended star schema.

23. Why do organizations generally choose to implement SAP? 

Ans. Organisations choose to implement SAP as it is highly configurable and assures secure data handling. Along with that there is minimum data redundancy and maximum data consistency. Organizations can also take advantage of economies of sales like purchasing apart from tight integration-cross function. SAP makes coordination of resources across the organisation swift and effective.

24. Does SAP have its own database management tool?

Ans. SAP is not a database itself but an application that uses databases provided by other servers like Oracle, or SQL Server. 

25. What does ‘transaction’ mean in SAP terminology?

Ans. According to SAP terminology, a transaction is a series of logically connected dialog steps.

26. Explain the application, presentation, & database servers in SAP R/3?

Ans. The application layer of a R/3 system is made up of the application server and the message server. Application programs in an R/3 system run on application servers. Using the message server, the application servers interact with presentation components, the database, and also with each other. All the data are stored in a centralized server, which is the database server.

27.  Explain what is a company in SAP?

Ans. In SAP, ‘company’ is the highest organizational unit for which financial statements like profit and loss statements, balance sheets can be drawn according to the requirement of organizations. A single company contains one or many company codes. All the company codes in SAP must use the same COA (chart of accounts) and fiscal year.

28. Mention the two types of services that are used to deal with communication?

Ans. To deal with communication, you can use two types of services: 

1. Message Service is used to exchange short internal messages by the application servers.
2. Gateway Service allows communication between R/3 and external applications using CPI-C protocol.

29. Name the different types of variables there are?

Ans. The different types of variables are characteristics variable, hierarchies, hierarchy nodes, text, formulae, processing types, replacement path and default type.

30. Mention some shortcomings of SAP

Ans. Despite being a game-changer in the data management field, SAP has a few setbacks. These include the high cost and lengthy implementation time. It demands a highly trained staff as the interface can be a bit complicated. SAP also does not determine where master data resides.

E-Invoicing Under GST India

by parth.devdhar@aeonx.digital | Dec 29, 2020 | Blog, SAP

Where There Is Business, There is SAP

by parth.devdhar@aeonx.digital | Dec 16, 2020 | Blog, SAP

A typical business enterprise has numerous departments and units which are constantly communicating with each other to carry out the various operations. The success of any enterprise highly depends on effective communication and the exchange of data. But how to navigate through so much chaos and get work done efficiently? That’s where SAP comes into the picture.

Read more:- A Sap Consultant Guide 2022 : Career, Salary, Jobs, Scope, Skills

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What is SAP?

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SAP stands for Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing. This is an ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning software developed in 1972 in Walldorf, Germany by Wellenreuther, Hopp, Hector, Plattner, and Tschira. The software aids in managing business operations and customer relationships. The SAP system consists of a number of fully integrated modules, which cover virtually every aspect of business management. 

Leading the ERP industry, SAP customers include around 92% of the Forbes Global 2000 companies. Alongside SAP is also a market share leader in analytics, supply chain management, human capital management, and experience management. 

Why does every business need ERP?

Running a business is tough. Especially following a complicated channel of communication to getting tasks done can slow down the process and productivity. This calls for a centralized system of enterprise resource planning. The benefits of ERP are many, only waiting to be tapped:

1. Real-Time Information: Having a centralized database conveys all the relevant information to all the internal departments in real-time. For example, the production and sales department can be updated with the current inventory situation as and when they require it. This facilitates fast decision-making and effective execution.
2. Quality data: ERP software eliminates duplication, discontinuity, and redundancy in data. 
3. Control: ERP supports and integrates almost every functional area of a business process such as procurement of goods and services, sale and distribution, finance, human resource, manufacturing, and logistics under one complex database. This makes it easier to control and regulate the flow of actions taking place.
4. Strategizing: A centralized ERP improves capital planning and helps in executing organizational plans and strategies.
5. Expand reach: An ERP is a network for all the networks. It has the potential to extend the business network to wider domains. It promises long term profit by expanding the products and services to reach more customers, suppliers, and partners. 
6. Adaptability: The business environment is a dynamic space and having a centralized ERP makes the organization adaptable to the rapid changes in the business process according to the needs.

Future of ERP 

With new businesses being set up every other day, incorporating more employees, and navigating various technical spaces, ERP is bound to become popular among organizations. There are immense opportunities for ERPs to evolve and integrate futuristic technologies such as 5G and AI. There is a scope for innovation to make ERPs mobile, flexible, and more user-friendly.

One thing can be said for sure, Enterprise Resource Planning is the reality and need of every business out there.