An R/3 upgrade requires that changes be made to the new system, and it requires support for ongoing changes to the production system as well, so the underlying system landscape must make it easy to manage change. Most upgrade projects use a variation on one of two landscape strategies: rehearsal of the upgrade process on a separate, standalone R/3 sandbox system, with the intent of rolling out the upgrade to the production landscape at a later time, or upgrade of the production landscape's development system right away, followed after a time by the upgrade of the QAS system, with the maintenance of additional, temporary development and QAS systems to support the production system at the old release. Understanding the principles, benefits, and limitations of each of these strategies will help you decide which approach best suits your upgrade project.
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller has been employed at SAP America for over six years. He is the manager of the Upgrade Competence Center, an internal SAP support team that has the mission of supporting SAP consultants and customers by providing direct support and information about available services, tools, and accelerators through all phases of the release upgrade process. Formerly, he was a technical consultant and member of SAP’s Platinum Consulting Organization specializing in R/3 release upgrades, the Transport Management System, and system landscape management in general. Prior to joining SAP, he was a consultant with Andersen Consulting in Chicago, Illinois. Arthur, his wife, and two daughters live in suburban Chicago. He has a Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Northwestern University.
You may contact the author at
arthur.miller@sap.com.
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