With Data Sync Manager (DSM), Objecting by EPI-USE, and Symphony by BCS.
It is often overlooked how much data SAP systems collect. Specifically in the retail sector, each stored byte and every moment of slower system performance can mean direct waste. Optimizing your test data strategy is crucial for seamless operations. We delve deeper into how rightsizing, orchestration, and Agile DevOps in test data management can play a key role here.
Rightsizing of SAP systems
SAP systems grow as companies generate more data, leading to high costs for hosting and hardware. This is particularly the case in high-transaction sectors like retail. Rightsizing means optimizing your SAP system by removing unnecessary data. Rightsizing can lead to significant cost savings and efficiency improvements.
Key moments for rightsizing include company acquisitions or sales, where you need to decide which data should go to the new owner. Also, when migrating to S/4HANA, choosing between all historical data or just a necessary subset is essential. For non-production systems, optimizing tests is of great importance. You can limit the test data to recent periods and use relevant data by, for example, slicing based on company code. This leads to more efficient test systems and cost savings. Simac can assist with this, for example with EPI-USE's Data Sync Manager (DSM).
Optimization of SAP processes
In the retail sector, optimizing efficiency is crucial, especially given the limited availability of skilled SAP experts. Simac uses Symphony by BCS for this purpose. This tool not only speeds up and automates the manual steps in, for example, a refresh, but also does them more intelligently. Automation, or rather orchestration, of repetitive tasks within the SAP landscape improves collaboration between departments and significantly reduces human errors. With Symphony, tasks are efficiently organized and executed in parallel, leading to faster project completion, minimal downtime, and improved system management.
In a concrete use case, Symphony is used to flawlessly refresh and scramble 40 systems in just one week with 2 FTE. These are figures that are unthinkable without orchestration. This proves that orchestration is a crucial step towards a streamlined IT environment.
Agile DevOps in test data management
Projects are following each other more quickly, and there are also more of them at the same time. Many companies have switched to an agile way of working for testing, but not always to an agile test data management strategy. This can lead to issues because now more projects are being executed in parallel by the same teams.
An important concept is 'shift left testing', where you want to test as early as possible in the development process. This requires good test data in your development environment (DEV). Poor or non-representative test data can cause problems during acceptance testing. At the same time, you do not want to make expensive full copies of your DEV system. Here's where rightsizing comes into play: selecting a smaller subset of representative data to control costs.
Process Governance is also important. It's not just possible to overwrite a system without considering ongoing activities. A sound process is essential.
Finally, for an agile way of working, teams need to be able to act independently. Testers often spend a lot of time creating and mimicking test data. Objecting by EPI-USE offers a solution. With this tool, functional users and testers can quickly retrieve their own test data from non-productive systems, making them less dependent on manual creation or requesting SAP test data.
Start your SAP optimization with Simac
Contact us for more information or a personal conversation about your SAP needs and start optimizing your test data strategy today. You can email us at info@simac.com or call us at +31 40 258 29 44.
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