ABAP / SAP Training - methods including SAP courses, training CD-ROM's and learning Books

SAP is a very big and complicated piece of software and at times when you first try new functionality does not seem to be very intuitive or user friendly. Fortunately you soon realise that its not the fact that is not intuitive it is the sheer amount of functionality that can be achieved by SAP that overwhelms you and makes it difficult to use at first. This is why proper SAP training is essential for people who are going to be using SAP on a day to day basis. It does not matter if you are an SAP developer or someone who is just going to be using SAP to do there job effective training is the key to success will help you get the best from your SAP system.

When it comes to training there are many methods that can be used including training provided by SAP themselves, training provided by other SAP consultancies, SAP training books and SAP training CD’s…

Training from SAP
From my experience getting your training direct from SAP is a very good option to take. The theory is that it is SAP who produced the software so they should know it very well. Also for some of the newer technologies they often have there training available before anyone else. Obviously this is not always the case as with any training it is largely down to the actual trainer who is taking the course and as SAP sometimes get external consultants in you could be unlucky. Generally though they are very good especially with the new web technologies such as java, web dynpro etc as they get these courses available very earlier and in the UK / Europe have a very good trainer by the name of Keith Jardine ( he is also very keen on the Australian shark called the wobbagong / wobbigong / wobbegong and also wombats which I’m sure he will be more than happy to tell you about :). SAP also produces a very detailed catalogue of course including descriptions and dates available which makes choosing the right course simple. The only down side to SAP training is that it can be more expensive. Food is also excellent at SAP UK training centre, listen to me I sound like some kind of SAP training fanatic:) all I can say is I have been on many SAP courses and most have been excellent!

Training from other SAP consultancies
I have been on a couple of training courses performed by external consultancies which specialise in SAP and they have been very good. The only problem I have is that there is not as much visibility of there course and when they are available. From my experience you basically tell them what you want to learn and they produce a course to meet your requirements. This method is often cheaper and can produce as good results as training from SAP.

ABAP / SAP Training Books
There are many books available for various different areas of SAP which will allow you to teach yourself the many different areas of SAP development. The advantage of using a book is that you can have the book with you at all times for constant reference.

ABAP / SAP Training CD-ROM's
Much the same as books training by CD can provide a very effective method of learning a new subject or technique. They allow you to learn at your own pace and allow you to refer back the the training material at any point.