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  Asked: Mar 19 2006   6:40 AM GMT
  Asked by: ABAPer92

Mainframe to SAP


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Hi,

I'm a cobol programmer working on Mainframes with a work exp. of 2 yrs. I've worked in technologies like JCL, COBOL, VSAM, DB2, IMS DB/DC, IDMS, FOCUS etc. I have an opportunity to get into SAP technical(ABAP/4) as a programmer in my organisation. Looking at the future prospects of the Industry, do you think i should switch from Mainframes to SAP?? If yes what are the benefits from it??

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Last Answered: Mar 20 2006  8:18 AM GMT  by charipvvs




SAP ABAP is in high demand. SAP as such is very good integrated ERP system. Highly sofistcated for business application. It takes good care of transactions in business. But repporting requirements are not so adequte. Therefore there is high demand for ABAP prohrammer. It has many concepts from COBOL, C and latest debugging tools. You will enjoy working professionally and also you are paid adeuate.

Wish you good luck
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TwoMetreBill  |   Mar 20 2006  8:51AM GMT

As a recently retired employee of one of the world’s largest consultancies (over 100,000 employees), our demand for SAP exceeded our demand for your skills by at least a factor of 100. (That is NOT an exaggeration.) But to be really valuable, you should expand beyond pure SAP technical skills to develop your industry and business skills. Use a SAP technical job to open the door but learn as much as you can about the industry to which the SAP application is being applied.

 

craigmullins  |   Mar 20 2006  11:41AM GMT

Working with SAP and ABAP is a fantastic opportunity for you. SAP is the number one ERP vendor and it is running at many companies. Furthermore, SAP is a client/server application and one of the server platforms it supports is the mainframe. So, the combination of SAP along with your mainframe skills can make you quite employable. If I were you, I’d jump at the chance.

 

Allie  |   Mar 26 2006  5:20PM GMT

Harriett responds:

I can’t believe this question is even being asked. Do you want to stay with a legacy system and probably have to find a new line of work when COBOL is no longer used (and this could be in the next minute or two) or do you want to have a skill that will pay big bucks and put you on a short list of highly desired programmers? A lot of people would kill for SAP training, including me.

 

bss123  |   Mar 27 2006  2:12PM GMT

I fully agree with everyone else. Take this opportunity to expand your skill base, particularly outside of the mainframe environment. Use every chance you can get to learn about all areas of SAP (functional areas as well as ABAP and Basis). The more you know and have experience with, the more valuable you will be. The mainframe background is also a plus - gives you a good programming foundation, and there may be opportunities for interfaces to/from mainframe. Our company was actually looking for someone with both Cobol experience and ABAP background because we are a small shop and need people to cover many technical areas, and interface to/from the two platforms.