Introducing the Upgrade2Success openSAP Online Course

A free course for all on-premise SAP ERP Human Capital Management customers, created and offered by Upgrade2Success, will run on the openSAP platform from February 12 through March 13.

Upgrade2Success is an initiative designed to empower on-premise SAP ERP HCM customers as they consider, plan for, and ultimately make the move to SAP Cloud Platform and SAP SuccessFactors solutions. It brings together all the expertise, tools, templates, and resources to make digital transformation easier.

I interviewed Wim Valstar, course leader and global program content owner of Upgrade2Success at SAP SuccessFactors, to learn more about this new openSAP course.

Q: What is this course about? Why should we be excited about it?

A: The course is an introduction and gives more detail on the Upgrade2Success program and how SAP can help SAP ERP HCM customers make the move to the cloud by providing specially designed tools, assets, and services. It’s exciting because there’s a lot more available to you than you might realize. It answers a lot of the questions we’ve received from customers over the last few years. Also, I think the openSAP platform itself is pretty exciting, and many may not have heard of it or used it before. It allows you to take this course in a way that works for you.

At a recent Upgrade2Success customer summit in Atlanta, we asked attendees what they liked best about SAP. An attendee declared to the room that, “The openSAP platform is the most valuable resource for getting educated on all aspects of SAP and the business technology landscape…And, it’s free!” He then asked why we didn’t have more recent SAP SuccessFactors content – as everything is two years old. We were thrilled to let him know this Upgrade2Success course was coming. As a result of that feedback, our leadership team is spearheading efforts to update and create more SAP SuccessFactors courses, so it feels like this course is also kickstarting further useful courses.

Q: Who is the course for? Is it still relevant for customers who have already started to move human capital management to the cloud?

A: There are no formal pre-requisites or limitations to attend. The course is free and open to everyone. Ideally, it’s best suited to people who work in human resources (HR) as well as IT at organizations using SAP ERP HCM.

From an HR point of view, it gives the case for change but also supports the creation of buy-in within an organization for this change to get the project going for the right reasons and better support business. At the same time, there’s a level of detail within the course content that reassures that whatever your current situation, we’ve got it covered. For example, we will address questions, including: What do I do with my custom infotypes? What do I do with payroll? What do I have to consider regarding data protection? From an IT point of view, it considers integration, data migration, and more technical details.

It could be a relevant checklist even if you have started your cloud journey, to make sure there are no blind spots in the project both from your perspective and that of your implementation partner.

Q: What’s the structure? How much time will it take to complete?

A: The course structure is six units over the course of six weeks. Each unit should take 20 to 30 minutes to complete. The units are made up of short videos, test questions, readings, and interactive exercises. The slide decks will be provided to all learners for future reference. All materials contain links and QR codes for further reading and more details. Each exercise will be marked and there are final exam questions at the end of the course, but these are designed for your own self-assessment. The course is in English.

Q: Can I join the course late?

A: Yes, you can enroll any time starting now by registering for an account on openSAP and enrolling in the course. In fact, there are already more than 3,000 people signed up! You can join after the course has officially started, but you do need to complete all units by March 13.

Q: Can more than one individual per organization enroll?

A: The more the merrier! It would be ideal to send people from both HR and IT. It will be relevant for business leaders as well as those managing the application on a day-to-day basis. It is an entirely open course, so you could also include your implementation partner.

Q: As the instructor, what makes you excited about this course?

A: Being part of SAP, I realize we have so much available to our customers that would be helpful. But we don’t always do a great job of making it clear, easy to find, or consolidated in one place. This course and the Upgrade2Success program do just that, and it’s exciting to showcase these things to a broad audience. I look forward to seeing how this resonates and makes a difference to our customers.

Q: Any tips or pointers you can give prospective learners?

A: Get yourself a beverage and allocate half an hour of headspace every week to make the most of this course. It’s only 30 minutes but it will pay dividends! Share learnings, links, tools, and documents and discuss with your project and implementation teams after each unit to drive meaningful action. Approach with the ‘3 W’s mindset’– ‘I want, I wish, I will’ – and make sure you keep a record of it for yourself. At the start of each unit, consider what is it you want to get out of this session, such as a greater understanding of what’s involved in data migration. During the unit, consider what you wish to result from this learning, such as gain buy-in from those who you know are not yet certain. And finally, consider what you will do in the short- and long-term as a result of this unit, such as share details of a given tool with the team at this week’s team meeting.

Learn more about the Upgrade2Success program and enroll in the course.

Sophie Sheppard is communications and engagement lead for Upgrade2Success at SAP SuccessFactors.