Respect SAP Certification

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

SAP recently started promoting "If you are SAP Certified and want a SAP Certification Logo to use on your Resume or Email Signature" to email them for additional details. I thought it would interesting to see the Certification logo and start to promote it especially given all the hard work the Certification 5 team has done over the past year. If you are not familiar I would highly recommend reading their presentation as well as filling out the certification survey.

It turns out that the Certification logo is ONLY for individuals that have a current release or recent SAP certification which doesn’t apply to me as I got my SAP HR (now HCM) certification back in 1998 at the SAP Partner Academy. SAP was kind enough to provide me a link where I could sign up for the exam to update my certification credentials.

It was very interesting that when I got certified 12 years ago I not only got a fossil watch but also able to get my foot in the door at a consulting company and now I am not even able to get a logo. I have no problem updating my certification but I need to see the value in doing so and am watching the Certification 5 to see if they are able to influence SAP to make the changes needed to restore SAP certification to something more desirable and respected in the industry. In addition I have worked for the past 4 years on ECC 6.0 and been at clients that were involved in ramp ups for EHP1, EHP2 and EHP4 so my SAP HCM skills are already very current even though my certification isn’t.

I had a good exchange on Twitter with Nathan Genez who is a SAP Mentor and he said "I'll be damned if I’m going to spend $ for any kind of certification if SAP can't first honor the ones I already have" and I couldn’t agree more. I believe individuals like Nathan and myself will be the type SAP will look towards when they finally roll out their Masters certification as not only do we have deep SAP experience and respect in the industry but are certified in their respective areas albeit many years ago which is why the current strategy regarding the logo is not wise in my opinion.

I can respect the fact that rolling out a new program and promoting certification via logos is a big task but in the same vein if it is going to be done it should be done right which means recognizing EVERY valid certification that was done at a SAP training facility as a starting point. This would take a big step forward with all the individuals that misrepresent that they are certified and also keep the options open if they wanted to do something different for the new associate and professional credentials.

As it currently sits a majority of the people in the marketplace that will be using the new logos will be entry level individuals that have an associate certification. As I was and entry level consultant many years ago I know now how little I really knew after getting my certification. Is this the group that SAP wants to have front and center to help promote the value of certification in the marketplace? I don’t believe it is.

[Former Member]

So the real question is: "What does a certificate prove"?

To my opinion it proves someone can study the theory. It does not reflect the years of experience.

Says a grumpy guy, with two 'old' certifications ;-), so no fancy email-logo for me. Instead I'll just do my job and rely on my years of experience...

[Former Member]

All very valid points.  I also have a couple of slightly out of date certifications now and I suppose it is frustrating that "newbies" can come along with little real world experience but a certification logo on their CV.

At the same time, I believe the industry is mature enough now to see this for what it is and the value of certification isn't what it once was.  Maybe that's the bigger problem?

[Former Member]

SAP certification helps only for entering into SAP Gate. It helps freshers to come into SAP boat in the IT organisations. Experience can not stand infront of SAP certificate holders.
Muthu

[Former Member]

Hi Jarret,

I agree and to my mind there is a clear mismatch here for highly experienced consultants such as you and Nathan.

SAP Certification in this particular example fails to achieve a competitive advantage it is meant to create (amongst other things). Moreover, it even appears to promote consultants that might have only just started a SAP career, therefore reducing transparency. To the untrained eye, the logo suggests superiority, while the reality in your example could look quite different.

So how to resolve this? You're pointing at the Master Level certification and I think in your case this could be a possible solution. But it's important that this kind of certification level is meaningful, desirable and becomes something to aspire to. IN order to get there, I think we more than MCQ tests. That's what the Certification 5 are trying achieve.

Kind regards,
M

[former_member182313]

Could someone explain why the certificate says "Expert" but the level is Associate? I see more than one under Technology. In my opinion, this would mislead customers to think they are hiring someone at an expert level but would eventually find out that person is not an expert. This would compromise the crediblity of SAP certification. Am I wrong?

Source: http://www.sap.com/services/education/certification/certroles/certificationrole.epx?context=%5b%5bRO...

Thanks,
Bala

[Former Member]

You make some good points as we have discussed before.

The point about newbie SAP consultants getting the SAP badge is a good thing. It will help employees see that the individual has passed their certification, but has no experience and measure the candidate on that basis.

A consultancy will look at the true experience of the individual.

One point I have read on the subject is CV cloning. People pretending they have done more work than they actually have to get a job. This should be stopped.

If there were DIFFERENT logos for the different levels of ceritifcation, this would provide the consultants some form of badge of honour and provide clients and consultancies a way to measure the true skills of an individual.

[jon_reed]

Jarret, thanks for raising these important points. I see the value in profiling certification in that many online do claim credentials they don't have, but as Michael points out, this will also lead to odd (and you could argue, unfair) situations where a truly senior consultant like yourself might logo-less in a way that does not fairly represent what you've accomplished.

Hopefully we can make some progress along those lines as I think we all want certification to mean more, especially to validate those who have worked the hardest.

Thanks for your support of the C5 work, we couldn't do it without the community and in fact derive our direction from your comments and feedback. We hope to have more updates in the TechEd timeframe and remain hopeful the dialogue with SAP will help to move this to the point where consultants like you are becoming "Certified Masters" rather than raising necessary flags.

- Jon

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Just curious how you propose the CV cloning to be address as I have had it personally happen to me where someone else got ahold of my resume and changed their name. They ended up getting caught but only because I happen to know some individuals at SAP America where they were interviewing.

I am all for different logos with one of them being for individuals who have been certified at any offical SAP training facility.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Thanks for the comment and I will be curious to hear the answer to this as I had not noticed that.

[Former Member]

I've been working with SAP HR since 1993 and consulting since 1996. I've never considered going through a certification process, and have done fairly well without it.

Now, once my clients and prospects start asking me if I have a certification, then I might look at getting one. I don't believe that day will come until clients start really caring about the quality of their consultants. As it stands now, most believe the resume they see and hardly ever do any reference checks - so we have a long way to go.

Certification is a great idea, along with more leg room and ubiquitous WiFi. Without client demand and industry support, it will remain only a great idea.

[Former Member]

Hi Jarret,

i'm a certfied consultant (Technology, Migration, ASAP) since 1997. (Release 2.x; 3.x; 4.x; 6.x; NW 04)
and i think it is useful for a consultant to get proved in an official examination.
(The Certification-part is a nice part in the CV as well)

You wrote:
>> SAP recently started promoting ..
... Your first sentence in your blog let my pulse go quicker.
  
Is it really true that the announcement of SAP from 2008(!) is getting reality?

It booked a certifaction examination in end of 2008 because SAP Education announced
- CertifactionLogo
- a "personalized Website" for certified persons

I made the examination-test and was successful,
     I didn't got the logo afterwards, asked for it twice, but it the availaibilty of this logo was postponed each time.
=> I paid for it, but i didn't got it.
     
This is the problem i see since the beginning of the SAP-certifation program. A lot of expactation is generated, "advantages" are promised and all that you get is an ID (one letter and ten digits) that is functionaly not different to all other 3 million IDs) from SAP.   (I got a new ID each time i did a certification, but that seems to be a problem of the master data managment for independent consultants)

The second part of the statement you quoted is 100% true
  >> "I'll be damned if I’m going to spend $ for any kind of certification if SAP can't first honor the ones I already have"
The customers do (maybe) honor, but SAP does not.
And as far as i see they do not promise that anymore like they did in the past. So i can't blame them for that.

Even the "CertifactionLogo" and the "personalized website" is not mentioned on the website anymore.

Some years ago it was something that sounds similar to: "you get access to information that others don't"


Summary:
   I do like the certification procedure, i'm a bit nervous in the beginning, they are asking things about a wide range of topics and you can survive it with practical experience from daily business (when you are not working in "only" a very specialized area of the SAP basis-technology.)

But i don't like marketing-that don't come true.

So please .... (and i don't mean you, Jarret)
     don't announce anything like this ,
          please just do it!


Jarret, Thank you for your blog.
It was my chance to talk (write) about something i was frustrated about for two years now.  🙂

... and now i'm going to fill out the C5-survey.
     http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22B2CY8SHJL
   Great work, guys! Thank you for taking care of this issue.

Best regards
Christian

[#13]

I've written on this subject several times (http://www.r3now.com), and even though I've been in SAP since 1994 I've never bothered with the Certification.  I never saw the value because SAP has never provided any method to verify it.  SAP has never offered any kind of "transcript" option or other verification option to prevent the widespread misuse and abuse of "certification."

When they do I might actually go through the process and get a certification.

Bill Wood

[TammyPowlas]

and still do, even though my latest was 2008, but the date SAP sent me was 2007.

I am not in consulting like you and Nathan are so the logo itself doesn't mean as much to me.  For me, certification is more of a personal thing; as a customer, where would I show my certification logo anyway?

I do appreciate the C5 efforts in certification and I agree with the points you and Nathan made.

Tammy

[Former Member]

Hi Tammy,
yes you're right, the card is what you get. 
(sorry i missed to mention this, but i was never able to show it to someone.)

The logo was intended be used for your email-signature, web-page, business-card or office stationary.

Best regards
Christian

[Former Member]

Since I was the person who sent you the message about the logos, let me clarify my response so everyone understands the context and reasoning.

1. I began posting similar messages about supplying logos back in 2009 so this is not a “recent promotion.”   Various communication channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and SAP Community Network have been used to spread the word to those who have earned logos.  SAP’s need to send logos is solely to provide those recently certified with the same external credential that you received at the time of your certification back in 1998.  Since this process started, I have lost count of the logo requests from customers, partners, and consultants as well as the number of logos I have personally sent.
 
2. Prior to 2009, everyone achieving certification received an ID card that could be proudly used to display your certification credentials.  Based on feedback received from our certified community, the ID cards were eliminated at the end of 2008 and replaced with associate and professional logos designed to correspond to the multiple levels available within the new SAP Global Certification program.  The logos are not meant to signify SAP experience or prior SAP certifications rather they denote the type of certification exam passed (associate or professional) as part of the new SAP Global Certification Program.   In effect, the logos serve the same purpose as the ID cards but only for people who have passed an associate or professional exam that is considered part of the new global certification program.

3. SAP believes holding a current certification is an expectation, and while prior certifications do not expire, they are not considered current.  As a result, we strongly encourage the community to become certified in a current release that would demonstrate increased knowledge, whether acquired on the job or through formal training.   We owe this to those customers who view certification as a necessity.  Your comment regarding entry level knowledge accurately depicts our view of the associate certification.  As a matter of course, the exam registration link is provided in most of my email replies in the event the person decides to update their current credentials or pursue the professional certification.

4. And one last point…it is also worth reiterating that logos are part of the new certification program, and have been awarded to those individuals that have passed an associate or professional level exam in this program.  Credentials earned in the prior SAP certification program were demonstrated through the ID card.  SAP is currently working on integration to the SCN business card which will show the certifications achieved, regardless of when or under which certification program received.

Thanks for the dialog and opportunity to respond.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

It sounds like at one time "certification" was important to either you (or the firm you worked for) since you have 2 of them so it would be interesting to hear what it proved back when you did it.

In my case when I joined my first consulting company they sent you to the Partner Academy as in 1998 SAP HR was fairly new in the US and with a certification and nothing else you could be a billable resource. Times have changed and obviously this is not currently an option.

I do agree that SAP experience is by far the most important thing but I look at certification somewhat like a university degree in the fact that is show you can study, learn and stick through something to completion all skills that will help you in a SAP implementation.

This say a happy guy with two old certification and will be joining you logo-less (although I do have a certification watch) 🙂

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Thanks for the comment and I was suprised to see the number of people that were similar to me with out of date certifications and that may be at the core of the issue. People who at one point valued certification dont value or see the benefits in keeping it current.

I think the Certification 5 are on the right path to try to improve the value of certification in the marketplace.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

I think everyone will agree that experience is more valuable than certification and in a perfect world you would have both.

In order for people to want to have both there has to be perceived value within the SAP Marketplace. I know there was value when I got my SAP HR certification in 1998 and even the watch I got was in high demand (I think they only gave in North America)

It is a bit of the chicken and egg in that in some cases certification with help you get a job in which you can get experience and there needs to be the next round where you want to go back and get more certification (or update what you have). I dont know many people that have done that last part of the cycle.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Thanks for your comments Jon as I have a lot of respect for the work the Certification 5 is doing in this area.

I couldnt agree more with " I think we all want certification to mean more, especially to validate those who have worked the hardest" as that will benefit everyone.

The certified Masters is interesting as it would seem to be a long road to promote that effectively in the marketplace so that the qualified people would be willing to spend the time and effort on getting it. 

Keep up the great work.

[martin_E]

Hi Jarret,
I'm in a similar boat to you and Nathan.  I wouldn't expect SAP to recognise any of my certifications any more, as the last one was around 2006 (XI 3.0 - before the name got changed to PI !!).  Many years ago the organisation I worked for wanted some formal recognition as being a SAP certified SI.  Anyone without a current SAP certification was put through a half day ASAP training, then sat a test that gave them ASAP Certification.  As far as SAP was concerned, at the time anyway, they were happy that this qualified us as '100% SAP Certified'.

This gets to the guts of the whole certification problem; the only purpose it serves is for those practitioners who feel they want some validation of their skills (by passing a test).  It doesn't measure or guarantee skill, quality of work, or experience.  No one selects staff based on SAP certification; to say you may use it to separate two otherwise identical candidates is to describe an extremely rare situation.

BTW, I posted some data on the 'new' certification model back in 2008 at http://www.basissap.com/2008/07/sap-certification-changes-and-sap-careers/ with the (as of June 2008) logos.  Apart from knowing what the logos ;look like, have a look at the quotes I took from Jon Reed - they're no less applicable now than they were then ..

"   How many SAP jobs require certification? The answer is: only a small percentage. Project references are so much more important,

    I think knowing how to make your current skills appealing to SAP customers and their IT departments may be more important."

BTW, (this isn't Jon any more), given the amount of interest SAP shows in managing and tracking Certification (as alluded to below in the reference to 'CV Cloning'), I'm tempted to suggest you copy the logo you feel is most appropriate for your resume or website (but that would be wrong, so forget I suggested it).

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Thanks for the comment and I have lot of respect for the time and effort you and the others in the Certification 5 group have spent over the past year on this topic.

I agree that we need more than MCQ tests as well especially for the more advanced certifications but also I think a good start would be recognizing individuals that already have a certification as a good faith gesture.

Why would I personally for example want to spend anytime getting a masters certification (if it ever comes) and have to be in a loop where I have to keep it current especially if there is limited understanding about it in the marketplace.

If you ask SAP customers about certification today my guess is less than 10% know there are is an associate and professional designation for example.

Keep up the great work.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Thanks for comment Steve as I always enjoy hearing your viewpoint on various topics.

You bring up a great point about client demand and industry support are the keys especially to get senior consultant to get certified or update their certification. I have brought up the fact that I am certified in my career (in passing) probably 50-1 vs being asked by a customer.

I could write another blog about how clients should do reference checks as having interviewed hundreds of people accross various roles I am always shocked by the amount of fabrication and outright lies that occur in our industry.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Hi Christian

I would reach out to Kenneth Schieffer who has commented above and I am sure he can get you your overdue logo.

I like your idea regarding an SAP Marketplace ID which additional access similar to what an internal SAP employee has based on your certification level as this adds value especially for the independent consultants that have to pay for this on their own dime. This would allow those with certification to become more knowledgable (the cookbook for RKT etc are very valubale) and it return clients would get a more knowledgable certified consultant and start to grow the stature of a "Certified Consultant" in the marketplace.

Hopefully Michael and Jon read this if it isnt an idea already being proposed to SAP.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Thanks for the comment Bill as I really enjoy all the great orginal content you provide and would highly recommend that SAP folks follow the R3now website.

It appears from reading above that SAP is going to start to putting it on the SDN business cards which is a good first step.  I do agree with the fact that consultants claiming experience and certification is a major problem in our industry and one of the reason for many of the failed implementations.

Would you see additional value if SAP were to provide you an internal marketplace ID where you had access to all the internal docs and cookbooks assuming you got to the certian level of certification?  Have you ever had a client ask you if you were certified?

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

I got the certification as well as fossil watch so looks like I made out like a bandit 🙂

The thing I never quite understood if memory serves was that my certification had some ties with the company that you worked for.

I have reviewed the recent fine print but hopefully this is not still the case.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

The sad thing is the logo doesnt really mean anything unfortunately as there is not any demand in the marketplace for having a certified consultant as I have never been asked and the sad thing is for many engagements I am not even asked for my resume or references.

I was on a call today where two SI claimed they did an EIC project at a US based Fortune 500 company and in reality it was a partner in our firm who did all the work and subcontracted through them.  Some quick reference calls would have straightened that up ASAP but I have gotten off topic 🙂

I as well appreciate the C5 efforts in this space as there is a lot of room for improvement.

Just curious Tammy when you are involved in bringing a consultant on board would you hold a consultant with certification over one that didnt assuming their experience were the same?

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Thanks for the response as I hadnt realized the certification logos had been in the marketplace since 2009. The interesting thing is that I dont ever remember seeing one although I typical deal with more senior SAP individuals that wouldnt have qualified (unless they kept their certification current).

In general I think the logo's are a great idea (assuming they cant be duplicated) and I am very happy to hear about the integration with SCN business card. I think there could be some real value and sending that accross to Linkedin with the existing integration as that is where a lot of people go to find individuals.

In a perfect world SAP would start by recognizing individuals that are certified (past or current) with a special designation (ie logo) if it was current and this would at least ensure the individuals that are lying about their certification would have a more difficult time doing so.

On a side note I got a Fossil Watch with certification logo back in 1998 as well as the certificate.

Can you clarify if the certification have any tie back to the company you worked for as I know in the past they did.

Thanks again for your input.

[martin_E]

I believe SOME components of this already exist for SAP mentors, such as their own discussion forum, earlier access to some software (for familiarisation purposes) etc ? 

Could a 'technically minded' Mentor let us know ?

BTW, I do know that things like the Monday Mentor webinars and their recordings are open to anyone, but I'm sure there's plenty of public SAP stuff about that I don't know about .. Just knowing about all the areas I can access is a struggle !! (yes, this is a seperate issue to the one Jarret has raised, but still something that needs addressing... let me stew on it for a while !!))

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Thanks for your comments as I have a lot of respect for your views and experience in SAP.

You bring up a great point that in their current form they can be easily copied and if it is that important to send them out they should be in a format that if very difficult to duplicate.

On a side note it is interesting to find out Linkedin that there are already people who are SAP Master Certified as if I am not mistaken that doesnt even exist yet.

It is interesting that a simple google search (http://tinyurl.com/2dg2joz) allows you easy access to the logos which the folks that "clone CV's I am sure know all about. Shouldnt there be a process that makes this more specific to the individual?

What would it take for you to be interested and willing to spend the time to do the Master Certification?

[Former Member]

Hi Jarret,

great to see so many comments in a short time (Kenneth, Bill, Martin, yours ...).
They all bring the focus to one of the problems.
=> It was announced to honor the certified people in the past,
but several announcements didn't come true.

2008/2009:
* Logo (personalized, whatever that means):  Nothing offical process so far

* Website (personalized):  Nothing official so far

2002 (approx.)
* Access to more information:  Nothing

(@Jarret: The "more and deeper information isn't my idea. That's what was announced in the late 90's.  I expected something like a newsletter for certified people or an extended ID for the service-marketplace. Never saw anything like this. The ID itself is very restricted when it is not already related to a SAP-customer.  You can't even download the current SAPGUI from the service-marketplace.)

Dear SAP, please improve the honoring.
As soon the value of what yout get is getting clearer, the certification automatically will get more acceptance and attention.

Christian

[martin_E]

First off, thanks for the nice words 🙂 but to your question...
> What would it take for you to be interested and
> willing to spend the time to do the Master
> Certification?

Simplistically, it needs to provide me benefits commensurate with the effort; These benefits would vary from person to person, but in my case the key benefit would be whether Master Certification got me more interesting work.  Job satisfaction and extra pay (if any) would flow on from that.

At the moment, I see it being a long way from that.  In fact, one of the takeaways from the Certification 5 white paper and the ensuing discussion was that NO ONE in the initial SAP mentor intake was SAP certified.

As for the availability of the Master's Certification, according to our local SAP Education site....
Technical Focus
http://www.sap.com/australia/services/education/certification/certroles/technology.epx

Application Focus
http://www36.sap.com/australia/services/education/certification/certroles/applications.epx

Development Focus
http://www.sap.com/australia/services/education/certification/certroles/development.epx

There's ZERO Master Certifications listed as being available.  Some curiosities, though;
* Where does the Application  'Solution Consultant' certification fit in,
* No DBMS / OS specific courses in the technical area,
* Do we really need separate Professional Certifications for Talent Management ERP6 and Talent Management ERP6 EHP4 ?

BTW, the local Certification homepage  http://www.sap.com/australia/services/education/certification/levels/index.epx ALSO has copies of the Personal Certification Logos (at the bottom).  It appears that SAP don't seem to regard these highly at all, as they seem to be available anywhere and everywhere 🙂

[Former Member]

Jarret

A CV is a door opener in my world.

If someone is looking for a role they will get a pile of CV's.

They will then review the CV's and pick out the ones they want to interview.

There wil normally be a few interviews which will include a technical interview.

We normally check out guys as the SAP market place is a small place, and there is always someone who knows someone.

If a guy has no experience, you judge him on his technical skills and personal skills.

Anyone found to have lied or cloned a CV would be reported back to the agency, and action taken.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

I cant imagine how the Masters certification out of the box would allow anyone to get more interesting work as that would involve customers being very aware of it and I have yet to see that "marketing" push regarding any of the certifications.

Many of the mentors are certified but my guess is that like us a majority of them have older outdated certifications like you and I.

Interesting that is there is no Masters certification yet but on Linkedin several people (including SAP employees) have reference to the exact wording. Guess the easiest way to get it is just a few minute change 🙂

I found this interesting "It appears that SAP don't seem to regard these highly at all" as based on the email exchanges it seems like it was very controled.  Without tight controls the logo process is very open to fraud.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Some great points Christian and thanks for sharing.

I am fortunate to have client S id that has quite a bit of extra access as they are also a ramp up customer. In addition I have subcontracted through SAP America and gotten a C id which also had access to quite a bit of information.

It would seem that could be a "carrot" that SAP could dangle for certain certifications as having access to information is very valuable.

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

I would be curious as to what "action" is taken on cloned resume without a central body managing the process.

A perfect example is that there are profiles on Linkedin already claim to be Master Certified yet it doesnt exist yet.

I do agree 100% that the SAP ecosystem can be very small especially in specialize areas and it is not hard to find someone who has worked with a prospective candidate if you are a consulting company. I would think your average client would not have this ability and that is why I would highly recommend checking references and experience as it is well worth the time and effort.

[TammyPowlas]

I suppose I personally would weigh other customer references over certification; I probably weigh certification higher than most because I know they are difficult tests!

But if everything is the same between 2 companies, I would definitely favor the certified consultant over the non-certified.  I realize I may be in the minority, but like I said, I've take 5 exams, and I know the difficulty.  It's an easy way to weed out the bad ones.

I can't tell you in my past jobs how many people come on board saying they know something (e.g. BW) but really don't.  This is where certification would/should help.

Thanks for a great post.
Tammy

[Former Member]

OK, lets presume that this certification regime is good, and that is where we are headed.
Some questions that I have, or maybe concerns if you will....
Why is the exam $500US, but $950AUD?  We are almost at parity here....it is just a CBT exam, and in my mind it is hard to justify the cost differential.
And that is for associate level by the way; professional level goes up another $100.  Why?  It isn’t longer, isn’t delivered in another fashion, and isn’t harder to mark (it is all CBT) so why is it more expensive?
Now, any other exam seems to have certain criteria that we just don’t find with SAP certification exams (and it has always been this way, since my 3.1 certification, my 4.0 delta, and my ASAP certification); there is no practice exams, no real details as to how it is marked (for example, I was under the impression the pass mark was 70% going into the exam, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was only 55% when starting the exam), no preparation material (bar sitting 4 weeks of SAP academy training)...  The cynic in me would see this as a good way of getting some training dollars from consultants who, for whatever need, have to get certification.
What is with the logo? Can I get it tattooed on my forehead now I have passed?  Can I put it on my business cards/e-mails/car?   I have also sent Kenneth Schieffer an e-mail asking for my logo, but no reply.  This isn’t that surprising; I am sure he gets 100’s of requests per day, and I am also not in North America...but confusion seems to reign around this logo malarkey.  Can I just get it off the various websites that have it?  Is there another, special version that I need, that shows up differently under black light?
Back in the day I got my little credit card ID: straight into the cupboard that went (never got a watch but; would have loved that).  Now, as it was then, customers generally aren’t aware of certification, nor are they demanding it.   Granted that SAP want to do something about the levels of quality around consultants, but is this really the best way?  Cynics say no.....

[Former Member]

Jarret,
in the systems we have you as an individual are tied to the company you are currently working with (your employer)so that we can work together with our partners to track certification. Obviously though the certification status is personal and moves from company to company with the individual - if you do change companies it is important to contact your local SAP Education office and inform them of the change so that your results get merged or switched

Sue

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Hi Sue

Thanks for the clarity as I was unaware that SAP had active records from 1998 on certification and you were able to move your certification as you moved companies. I thought that once you left a SI or company your certification was no longer valid (although I never understood why).

Thanks for the clarity as I am sure several others will find this information helpful.

Regards,

Jarret

[Pazahanick_Jarr]

Hi Paul

Thanks for the comments as you bring up some valid points especially related to the costs though my guess is the costs are set on a periodic basis though it appears time for an adjustment given the strength in AUD and CDN.

Ken is pretty good on responding to email so I would send again but the logo is nothing that you couldnt get yourself without a quick logo search.  My recommendation would be for SAP to put your certification number or name within the logo so it was hard to copy as it would kill two birds with 1 stone.

[Former Member]

Paul - all logo requests are normally completed within a couple of days.  I have no open logo request from you.

[Former Member]

Thanks for that Kenneth; I have re-sent an e-mail this morning.
This wasn't any form of attack on yourself by the way; I would imagine that you get quite a few requests each day to process.  Seems like an unusual, ad hoc way of getting the logo however (sit the certification, browse the forums, send an e-mail to an individual....).
Cheers
Paul

[krishnannarayanan_nampoot]

For me, certification means that the person has completed all aspects of the subject the person is being certified for. At least he is aware of those aspects and knows that such things exists.

Experience on the other hand depends on what areas you got a chance to work upon. A simple example, there can be an SAP Sales and Distribution Consultant who has worked extensively on Order Config and pricing. But customer never had a requirement / scenario for rebate, so never explored that area. A certification tells me that at least he knows the basics of rebate even if he has not worked on it. He will not try to implement a custom solution for a rebate scenario as he knows standard offers it. That is all.

And that is what a certification exam precisely measures - do you know what is offered and do you know when and where to apply - and that will give the hiring person a confidence that the person has covered the basics.

Sharing this personal view - as I have had the same questions when I started off - but after these many years, I see how it helps. Hope it helps someone who is trying to decide if to invest in certification or not.