SAP,Business,One,Update,Newer, computer SAP Business One Update to Newer Version Things to Consider

Gone are those times when the companies and the organisations didn't need a hi-tech system to handle them. Owing to the considerable increase in the business sector and thus, an enormous increase in the complexity of the organisational struc ----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes a

There are numerous factors to consider and make a balanced decision.  In this small paper we will try to cover some of them that we believe are important in decision making.  We do not really address this paper to programmer.  It is rather for decision making people in company management team or even owners in the case of small business.  Let’s begin with the simple check if upgrade is an option for your company or not:1. Are you eligible to obtain new version license? If you have current annual contract with SAP which is typically paid in the beginning of the calendar year to your consulting company then you can go ahead and upgrade your old version.  If your contract lapsed then you have to discuss with your consulting firm how to reenroll your company into the support plan2. The reasons to update the version.  First of all it is technology obsolescence.  Old version might not be compatible with new version of Microsoft SQL Server, 64 bit operating system.  In order to keep your accounting up and running you would have to maintain old computers.  Secondly it might be difficult to get support directly from SAP or you consulting partner as they do not have a luxury to have consultants in staff trained to support old releases.  The third reason is changing business related legislation here in the United States and in the foreign countries where you may have offices.  Well of course if you think that in the mid-term future you decide to convert to another Corporate ERP platform then you may stick to the old version and enjoy the opportunity to cut annual support contract out of your budget3. Should we rush into upgrade as new version is just released?  Here we typically explain that new version typically contains substantial change in user interface and functionality or better say improvements.  And improvements in the new programming code might be exposed to undetected software bugs in the QA phase.  But this seems to be a norm in software developing business world where these bugs are fixed in so-called Service Packs and in SAP terminology service pack is known as patch.  As consultants we typically rush into installing new version as soon as it is released on our laptops and begin learning curve.  Of course our laptops are test polygons.  Our recommendation to the customer is to wait until several patches are released to fix reported issues.  Good time since the version was released for waiting is probably half a year4. Upgrade Project Management.  OK now you mastered to clear all the obstacles and ready to go.  Let’s talk about planning.  Do you have customizations?  They are typically programmed in Microsoft Visual Studio C#, VB or C++ with SAP B1 SDK libraries.  In some exotic cases integration is enveloped as SOAP XML web service and called from external application hosted in non-Microsoft platform.  Good example is ecommerce website hosted in Linux box in MySQL database and developed in PHP.  If you do have customization then its code should be recompiled on the computer with MS Visual Studio and new version of SAP B1 client installed.  It might be also a good idea to purchase new server hardware and deploy Business One on the newest operating system5. Update path.  So far it was possible to go over one version assuming that you are on one of the latest patches on your old version.  If you have to go from something older then the path should be designed by your consultant6. Is it possible to pick consulting firm who are not local in our area?  This question might be important in rural areas where local service offer might be limited.  We believe that the answer is ‘Yes’.  Modern remote access technologies allow remote consultant to make SQL company and system databases backup, transfer backup files on the new server, mount them there and begin upgrade from the downloaded installation media7. Is it possible to measure the project risks?  Risks are typically associated with modifications and modules coded in SDK uniquely for your business needs.  Let’s speculate about the following scenario.  Imagine that you decided to pick new VAR and the original reseller programmed custom add-on for you.  If you do not have source code of this program there is no way to recompile it to become compatible to the new version.  In this situation the risk is 100%.  Upgrade itself is typically stable procedure as you are not the first and not the last one and it was probably repeated thousand times and all the issues already fixed8. What is upgrade budget in hours in ballpark?  It depends on the number of companies, customizations, the size of the company database and other factors.  It might begin from ten hours if you are small firm without custom add-ons and it may end up in hundreds if you have multiple companies including international facilities and hundreds of employees.  Project management in consulting industry is pretty tough job and this is probably why consulting organizations bill their customers on hourly base9. Handling international branch.  SAP B1 is often used in so-called hub-and-spokes Corporate ERP model where in United States you may have SAP RX series or maybe Microsoft Dynamics GP and in the foreign country you have to deploy cheaper solution for smaller operations.  If this is your case then upgrade project should be considered for the whole group and not just handled to foreign office IT group10. Please call us 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904 (for international customers, where our representatives pick up the phone in Naperville and St. Joseph, MI call center).  [email protected].  We have local presence in Chicagoland, Southern California, South West Michigan, Houston and Dallas areas of Texas. We serve customers USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil nationwide and internationally via web sessions and phone conferences (Skype is welcomed). Our consultants speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese.  One of our experiences is international Corporate ERP and Consolidated Financial reporting