SAP customers who want to expand their knowledge about a product or service have access to education on a variety of topics, available both in person and online. But nothing quite compares to the learning experience offered during SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference.
Brandon Dean, principal analyst, cybersecurity at Salt River Project (SRP) has spent more than 20 years working in various roles implementing SAP products, starting with SAP ECC R3. He has attended the ASUG Annual Conference more than 10 times since then.
In his current role, Brandon is responsible for managing system integrity and security concerns within all the SAP products onsite at the Phoenix-based utility company. He shared with us why SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference is the best platform to learn about new products and their road maps, as well as some tips for navigating your way through the week.
Sharon: Why do you attend the conference? What do you look to learn that will help you in your current role?
Brandon: The conference helps me stay abreast of technology changes in the SAP landscape. I look for an overall vision of where a product is going. While it’s helpful to attend webinars from ASUG and other sources throughout the year, I appreciate the opportunity to hear from peers about their successes and opportunities in person.
I also appreciate keynote speakers and visionaries, such as Hasso Plattner, who share their view of the industry and technology two to three years out. I get to take that information, analyze it, and collaborate with others to better align that vision with our own strategic plan.
I also get to network with peers and glean insights on opportunities to use SAP products in a more efficient manner. Specifically, finding individuals in our industry or related ones and trying to understand what they are doing with SAP provides ideas for solutions that we might consider adopting.
Sharon: What have been some of your key takeaways over the years?
Brandon: My favorite part of each of the conferences I’ve attended are the educational opportunities highlighting the experiences of others. The SAPPHIRE NOW sessions are shorter in duration, higher level, and more focused at executives. ASUG sessions bring a more customer-centric flavor.
I prefer to attend the ASUG sessions and hear perspectives from customers and from their implementation partners/system integrators. Whether it is a new process that they implemented, or a new piece of functionality, I find it refreshing to learn the real experiences of how they overcame implementation challenges and realized benefits. ASUG sessions are the place to get that information.
Keynote speakers also light a motivational fire for the inevitable change that will be introduced in our workplaces. Whether specific to SAP S/4HANA, the proliferation of cloud technologies, or the like, strategy is clearly articulated.
In addition, let us not forget about the Thursday evening entertainment event—always an engaging way to conclude the conference!
Sharon: You mentioned ASUG conference sessions in particular. What do you get out of the ASUG Education Zone that you do not get elsewhere at the conference?
Brandon: The ASUG sessions bring a unique perspective from the customer’s viewpoint and include other presenters such as the systems integrator or partner. This is where one learns all the things that the marketing slides will not tell you—the nitty gritty details on approach, pitfalls to avoid, etc. It is where you learn from others’ successes and opportunities for improvement.
The ASUG Education Zone provides tangible information I can take back and use at my company.
Sharon: With 500 plus sessions to choose from, what’s your process to select the ones that are most relevant for you?
Brandon: My approach evolves year over year. Ideally, your reason for attending has a dedicated educational track. At times, you may find sessions scattered throughout several disciplines. Topical searches help you home in on the most relevant conference offerings. I have also found it beneficial to create a virtual schedule ahead of time.
In the field of cybersecurity as an example, one may find a cogent educational offering within the procurement track. The speaker may cover a business process not explicitly security relevant, but in which a security implication exists. This makes it a little challenging, but investing the time to read conference overviews to understand these tangential relationships is important and a worthy challenge.
Last year, I attended one of the ASUG Pre-Conference Seminars, Cybersecurity Boot Camp. Given that this full-day session contained topics pertinent to my role, I found it to be the most beneficial information I obtained from the entire conference. A side benefit was the work that one of the facilitators had done to highlight all SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference sessions that were relevant to cybersecurity topics, providing the course number, schedule, and location for each. Between the work I had done ahead of time and a comparison with this information, the conference went off without a hitch.
Sharon: What advice would you give to a first-time attendee?
Brandon: Do not delete those preliminary email invitations you receive to participate in the conference. I find a review of content and focus areas to be highly beneficial and that it is important to check for updates regularly. The more you prepare for the conference, the more you will get out of it.
Look for things that align with your goals. For example, if there’s a specific technological challenge or hurdle that you’re looking to overcome, look for sessions that speak to the problem that you’re trying to solve. Inevitably, you will find something of interest and value.
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