SAP users get BMC`s BSM expertise

SAP and BMC have joined forces to provide full business service management capability to the SAP environment, something for which today`s CIOs have been clamouring, says an expert from Europe.

In May this year, BMC Software announced that its flagship business service management products received additional SAP Certified Integration status and are now certified for the SAP NetWeaver integration and application platform. BMC Software specialises in business service management (BSM), enabling companies to move beyond traditional IT management and manage their business services from both an IT and business perspective.

Roger Holder, business development manager at BMC Software for the EMEA region, says the combination of BMC`s management expertise and SAP`s application strength is good news for CIOs looking for more simplified management of their SAP applications.

"SAP users expect a powerful computing infrastructure that will help them deliver standardised business processes regardless of location," says Holder. "They are also looking to speed their return on investment to maximise their SAP investment. SAP systems, however, are inherently complex. They affect each department and process, so they must be managed effectively to keep the business running smoothly. That takes experience and training which can be a significant investment. BMC`s alliance with SAP will allow existing SAP users to manage their SAP environment using standard IT disciplines such as ITIL."

Holder, who is a regular visitor to SA and keeps a close eye on local enterprise management trends, says it is all about simplification. "How can today`s CIO do more with less? Businesses ask us this all the time: less effort, less work for the IT department, less risk to the business and more standardisation. Also typical operations management teams need SAP to be managed as part of the overall IT infrastructure rather than as a separate unit requiring specialist skills. On top of that CIOs don`t like change. Businesses are becoming averse to too much change - they want to keep things as stable and as simple as possible.

"SAP has understood this already with NetWeaver in the way that it has gradually incorporated open technologies such as HTML and Java into its architecture. The extended integration certification for SAP NetWeaver means that existing BMC Software customers can achieve even greater efficiency and automation, proactively manage their IT environment further, and react to potential IT issues early."

The payback for users of SAP and BMC will be quick, especially as many companies continue consolidating their servers, storage and hardware.

"When consolidation proceeds apace, how do you optimise infrastructure for application performance? How can you grow performance and availability over time but not so that you end up with infrastructure which you don`t use? Technology for technology`s sake is not acceptable any more. When the business is focused on making a profit, then the technology needs to be closely defined. Is my process available or not? Is IT delivering what I`m asking? Now in an SAP and BMC environment those questions can be answered," he concludes.

"BMC Software is focused on helping users of SAP solutions accelerate their return on investment in SAP applications by improving the management of their systems and aligning IT with business priorities," says Arjen Wiersma, business development manager for BMC Software in SA.

"Thanks to African Legend Indigo, our master distributor in Africa, we have very strong local support and feedback from our client base. By working closely together with AL Indigo, any challenges from their clients can be fed back to BMC very quickly."