Just wondering, is it possible to download the trial/academic version of SAP and install it at home? So that I could play around with SAP?

In a word, no.

There isn't a trial/academic version. It's not the sort of software you play around with to see if you like it, it's not even the sort of software that you can ring someone up and say "hey I want to buy a copy". It's the sort of software where you can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars just for someone to help you install it.

You can get hold of the technical bits - Netweaver to play with. Have a look at
www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/downloads

Depends on what you want to learn. SAP have a reasonably wide product set now-days. What are you looking for?

Paddles writes...

It's the sort of software where you can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars just for someone to help you install it.

Hee hee, make that millions of dollars :-P

K-Lines you work for ACN yeah?

hmm I am kind of interested on SAP Fi/CO module, my uni has a SAP system to play with but I would like to be able to understand straight away fresh from the CD not a configured SAP.

The system your uni has is the best way to learn. The installation process is a complicated one (I've been doing SAP technical for 10 years) and if your focus is on FI/CO then your best bet is using that system. Perhaps you can request they do a client copy from client 000 for you. The client you then get is about as clean as a freshly installed system.

Also, have a look at help.sap.com and sdn.sap.com - good resources the both of them.

what exactly do you want to know bout FICO? let me know and ill get some info for you.

i am a SAP consultant and work mostly with SD, MM, and PM but know a fair bit about FICO as well.

as for the above responses..ignore them. You can install miniSAP..which gives you a basic overview of SAP...does not contain any tables but gives you more of an idea to practice things at home from more of a technical level than anything else.

whim me for exactly what you need/want to do. i have seen lecture notes gives to people who study 'SAP' at unis...but they are more from a transactional/navigational level where all they do is post documents rather than gaining any understanding of the functional and technical design of the SAP system.

...

tajhay writes...

gaining any understanding of the functional and technical design of the SAP system

so what is your suggestion then? What is the best way to learn SAP? I would have though for start , reading a book is a must. But again which book? any pointers on this?

FYI as far as my background concerned, I did bachelor of Computer Science so kind of technical background ... but I did 6 Commerce subjects in University. This includes 2 accounting subjects, so kind of get an idea of general ledger and basic accounting concepts.

k-lines writes...

What is the best way to learn SAP?

It depends on what you want to do. No-one can do everything or know everything there is to do in the world. No-one can be simultaneously a manager, an accountant, a mechanic, a data entry clerk, a technician, a doctor, a financial controller, and a warehouse controller at the same time.

Unless your name is God.

Maybe the best way to learn SAP is to learn everybody's names and phone numbers, so you know who to phone when you need to get something done.

Southern Lights writes...

Unless your name is God.

It's quite likely that even God doesn't know how SAP works, that is the nature of the beast ;)

Best way to learn SAP is to work for a company or in a consultancy that does SAP. Period. You cannot learn from books or just with miniSAP. You gotta play with the real deal (of course on the non-production boxes)

Hi K-lines

There is a book a dymocks, called SAP fi/co that you can pick up, it is a good start

hope this helps

SAP isn't just a piece of software, thats the first thing you need to realise. Its huge. Mammoth.

Big companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars to implement it.

Where to start? Personally, I think you could perhaps get a beginners book on it and read up on it on the web to get some basic awareness. But absolutely nothing beats getting a hands-on role. Try looking for junior roles that may teach you it, or even an internship.

The problem with SAP is that if you want to be a functional consultant, you need a very good awareness of the business side of your module (HR, FI, SD/MM etc). It really isn't hugely reliant on your technical skills. Funkies are all about client facing and business process, and knowing how SAP works to best fit the business requirement.

If you want to be a SAP techie, then its a different story... but you still need to get in hands-on.

SAP just isn't like CISCO or a programming language like JAVA or something where you can do some personal research and take a test on your own. You have to work with a live system to understand it, and it takes a long time (years).

Vandrius writes...

You have to work with a live system to understand it, and it takes a long time (years).

Even then, each company has different business rules and customizations. Knowing one implementation has not much relevance to another implementation.

Vandrius writes...

SAP isn't just a piece of software, thats the first thing you need to realise. Its huge. Mammoth.

The truth indeed.

I've been working with SAP for 5 years and only know a tiny percentage of it. You really need to specialise.

SAP is impenetrable if you want to teach yourself. It's the most illogically designed, poorly documented, buggy and frustrating system I can imagine. That's the sheer genius of it and what keeps my salary high 8)

It really takes years to be even remotely competent at it.

hopeless writes...

That's the sheer genius of it and what keeps my salary high 8)

Best to keep it that way.

Southern Lights writes...

Unless your name is God.

Wait, didn't God cast down Lucifer SAP to hell?

Unknown Designer writes...

Wait, didn't God cast down Lucifer SAP to hell?

He surely did, and the masses rejoiced as they installed it right, left and centre.

The demons are currently the most highly paid IT consultants in the business, because of that :-)