The SAP training paradox

SAP trainers don’t make as much money as implementation consultants, as resident SearchSAP Expert Jon Reed has pointed out. For this reason, there isn’t as much interest in the field of SAP training as there is in implementation consulting and functional deployment positions. But is this a logical state of affairs?

In reading some of the academic literature on ERP implementation, I found two studies (Somers and Nelson, 2004, and Peslak, Subramanian, and Clayton, 2007) that isolated training as either the most important or one of the two most important (along with preparation) factors in the success of an ERP implementation. If so, it stands to reason that at least some ERP failures are due to companies’ failures to dedicate the necessary resources to training. It also stands to reason that more people — whether employees inside SAP-adopting companies or professional services providers — could stand to hone their training skills in order to mitigate the risk of ERP failure.

If training is as pivotal to a successful ERP implementation as the academic studies say it is, it may only be a matter of time before SAP trainers get more respect…and more money.

Demir Barlas, Site Editor