SAP Consulting

[Former Member]

Dear All,

A slightly odd question. I'm currently trying to write a dissertation about the role of smaller SAP firms in the market compared to the consulting giants such as Accenture/IBM etc. I'm struggling to find any firms of around 15-50 people in the UK that are worth studying, does anyone know of any?

Thank you,

Andrew

[Former Member]

OK so you're not going to help. For what it's worth I'm not a recruiter, but I'm also not going to waste my time here anymore with these strange comments.

Out of interest though, why would this information actually be useful to a recruiter?

[matt]

>

> Out of interest though, why would this information actually be useful to a recruiter?

Ah, the naivety of youth!

Recruiters are salesmen and women. They are always hunting for leads. One way is to find the names of potential clients, perhaps by asking on a technology forum such as this, and then cold-calling each one. It's the same reason that if you apply for a job through an agency, especially a UK one, they'll ask for references up front. They'll tell you they legally must have them, or their clients insist, or their own procedures require it. The want the references so they can phone up those people and try to get them to become clients.

On one project, a freelancer was rolling off, and asked me to be a reference. I agreed and he gave my name and number to the recruiter. The recruiter promised it would only be used to take up references. The next day, I got a call from the recruiter, asking me if I had any need for staff. I told him to go forth and multiply.

I've been working in industry for over 20 years. As have many others on these forums. The Coffee Corner is populated by people with a fairly robust approach to life. Forgive us if we seem rather cynical. After 20 years in industry, you'll be the same.

I think the issue would be easily resolved if you published your .ac.uk email address in your business card.

[Former Member]

A famous trick from them is that they call up consultants with fake projects on offer and want your rate, next availability and experience, with recent references and current project details.

Loh and behold! Your customer gets a pestering phone call the next day and is offered people with a 1/4 of the skills at 3/4 of the rate.

Of course when you pull a joint like that, then you use a fake name, with a g-mail ID and if you are smart enough then you do it from a public hotspot and not your own office.

Of course I could be wrong here, and you are actually just a student on a bootstrap budget who was enjoying some of Yo!'s sushi for the past 4 days while hacking into a nearby wireless LAN network to surf the internet for free - and that network happened to belong to a recruiter.

Maybe, maybe not.... !

> I'm also not going to waste my time here anymore

Exactly my own thoughts as well, and glad to have been helpfull in warning others against the same.

Julius

[Former Member]

oh no, Julius, SDNer caught you too?

warning others against the *same*.

[Former Member]

Yep, I realized it too late and was hoping that no one would revert back..

[Former Member]

revert for the same?

[former_member184657]

And once you revert back for the same, plzzz dont forget to do the needful.

pk

[Former Member]

Or: You answer the same and your customer reverts back with the dreadfull...

[Former Member]

I feel like I'm being interrogated.

I'm studying at the University of Exeter in England, my degree is BA Business and Management, that enough information? I don't understand the technical side of SAP so much I'm more examining how SAP consulting/implementation companies work and how they are being used well/badly. I'm sure you saw Leo Apotheker's comments last week talking about this issue? I've spoken to people at Accenture, IBM, Deloitte and KPMG (these companies are easier to get hold of as the University has a network of alumni) but I want to examine how smaller companies can contribute to the market. With the comments of Leo in mind I think I'm going to argue that specialist consultancies (the right ones) can be more productive since they're SAP experts as opposed to consultants covering broad areas. It's only the partners at the big companies that really understand SAP and they're unlikely to get involved in implementation. Unfortunately I don't know what many of these companies are so I was just looking for help on identifying them.

Is that enough information to believe I'm not a fraud?

Andrew

[Former Member]

I feel like I'm being interrogated.

Is that enough information to believe I'm not a fraud?

Guess, the word SORRY from Julius made you respond like that. Otherwise you would have just given your explanation without using those two statements. When you are in a new place, it is your responsibility to introduce yourself before asking for some help. In addition to that, your name and your id are not matching. I don't find any thing wrong in suspecting your identity. Please don't think too much about that. You are in a right place and you can expect good help from this community, provided you clearly mention your requirements with reasons.

Regards,

Ravi

[Former Member]

Actually, I am not only paranoid... but even clairvoyant!

- Asking for consultants (and their market and customer) information is typical recruiter behaviour.

- Using a name which is not known to google for anything related to the topic is typical recruiter behaviour.

- Using a g-mail ID which is new (even people123.com has not found it yet) to ask the question is typical recruiter behaviour.

- A routertrace on your post points to a location in Soho, London, and is either a Sushi-bar or a recruiter's offices - both are typical recruiter behaviour....

Previous researchers have sometimes created online-surveys hosted by their academic institutions and anyone who wants to can take the survey, also with the belief that they are invisible in the internet if they choose to...

They introduce themselves and what they are writing their thesis on and post a link to the survey. In return, they ideally make the results available to us to read. This also encourages people to participate.

I felt it appropriate to warn people that the approach was unusual (except for a recruiter) and suspect for those who are unsuspecting.

So... don't you have a linkedin or facebook or twitter account etc which is older than last Friday?

Shouldn't be too difficult...

Cheers,

Julius

[matt]

>

> I feel like I'm being interrogated. ...

That's because Julius accidentally joined these forums. He works for S.A.P. - the South African Police. But as he was doing such a good job in the security forum, we decided to allow his mistaken assumption to continue.

But it's about time he learned the truth. Sorry if it is a shock, Julius.

[OttoGold]

Well, maybe the guy is not who he tells he is, but I have written a master thesis on a SAP topic and have a friend who writes one on XML integration and was intersted in SAP XI/ PI and nobody gave him a hand. Why is the SAP world like this?

[Former Member]

It's not always like that.

One of my customers has a student on site writing his thesis on modern identity management systems and chose the SAP IdM for his research.

He is implementing a prototype system to convert a sandbox administrated by an ABAP CUA into a state-of-the-art managed system full provisioned by business events in HR.

He is supported by a project manager, a basis team at his disposal and an external consultant.

Lucky guy..

Cheers,

Julius

[Former Member]

Yes, slightly odd that I have to confirm this?!

Was that a bluff then Julius?! If so I suppose I understand (didn't realise recruiters were such a nightmare!) but it caught me a little by surprise! My name really is Andrew and I really am a student.

For further information here is the list of companies I've gathered so far, any additions would be gratefully received.

Su53

Absoft

Edenhouse

ROC

Turnkey

Browline

Hexarus

AgilityWorks

Frontline

BlueFin

BizAps

Column 5

Comprise IT

Epi-Use

Experior

Grey Monarch

Keane

Lodestone

Birchman Group

Vantage

Thank you

Andrew

[Former Member]

> Yes, slightly odd that I have to confirm this?!

Yes, this forum is slightly odd sometimes.

I cannot find any college where you are registered. Which one is it?

Do you have a LinkedIn account or something else older than... lets say... last Friday?

Sorry to be so paranoid...

Cheers,

Julius

[matt]

You should join moderators anonymous. "Hi, my name's Julius and I'm a suspicious b....."

[Former Member]

I don't really understand what you mean Julius? What do you mean by a recruitment agent looking for desserts? And if I was in recruitment wouldn't I already know the companies/ wouldn't I know better people to ask than going onto a forum? I'm not sure how recruitment works in this area but it seems strange to me.

I hope anyone else who might be able to help won't be put off by this post.

Andrew

[Former Member]

Sorry, that was a bit blunt of me! Thanks for still responding.

So your name is really Andrew and you are a student?

Cheers,

Julius

[Former Member]

You are a recruitement agent looking for dessert, and not a student wanting to write a dissertation...

Anything to say for yourself? Also feel free to use your real name before I do.

Cheers,

Julius

[Former Member]

Hi Andrew

Maybe you shoudl ask some recruitment agencies of the same.

http://www.agencycentral.co.uk/agencysearch/IT/skills/businesssystems/sap.htm

http://www.octopus.net.uk/contact.php

http://www.utechnology.com/Universe_SAP_consultants_contact.aspx

Goodluck!

Rgds

Zub