Bang Your Drum Part 6: Intelligent Business with BI/HANA

Posted on August 2017 By Speller International
Bang Your Drum Part 6: Intelligent Business with BI/HANA

This month in our ongoing blog series Bang Your Drum, we investigate the top attributes employers are looking for in BI/HANA Consultants, those generally responsible for rolling out the technical and functional aspects of SAP BI/HANA solutions by taking lead on all things from integrated planning and design through to implementation and support.

WHAT TO KNOW

Where to begin? Perhaps unsurprisingly, more and more is being expected of BI/HANA Consultants, a trend we don’t expect to change anytime soon. Companies will expect candidates to be across a number of supporting skills and related technologies, so without further ado let’s gather the intelligence on what will make you the business when a BI/HANA role becomes available.

1. Be broad to get across the board

Where once upon a time it was enough just to have an SAP Business Warehouse (BW) background, clients are now seeking consultants with broad technical backgrounds including BW, HANA, BO, Reporting, Data Modelling and ABAP programming skills, particularly with respect to BW. That means the more experience you have under your belt with any of the above, the better placed you’re going to be within the market.

2. Soften up a little

Although new technologies can always be learned, core soft skills such as communication take a little bit more intuition and development. The ability to simplify and explain complex ideas in order to train key business users in their new systems is key to ensuring the ultimate success of any implementation. Doing so in an understanding and friendly manner? That’s where the magic comes in. If you feel your communications skills are a little ‘edgy’, consider what classes you might take to soften your approach to others.

3. The devil is in the data

Simply put, there is no point delivering a solution if no one can interpret the results. That means you need to ensure your understanding of the requirements is on-point, and your data analysis skills sharp. Otherwise, it’s not intelligence – it’s simply information.

4. Don’t take a pass on passion

You know what’s going to impress a potential hirer? A clear indication of the passion you can bring to their project. Showing that you have an inspired handle on what you do, and an understanding of how it influences and benefits the business, is one of the surest ways to capture the attention of someone whose company is about to invest in something so substantial.

5. Integral knowledge

The Enterprise integration landscape is a complex beast. A good Business Intelligence consultant is required to show a broad understanding of system integration generally, and in particular the accelerating trend towards the latest S4/HANA. The ability to connect disparate systems via BODS and a thorough understanding of best practices in HANA memory management will also be sure to make you stand out. You want your solution to be memory efficient, after all!

As ever with SAP, the more you know, the more you grow… and the more you can get the attention of hiring managers. It really is a matter of making yourself an authority on the subject, while being flexible enough to take on the responsibilities of interpersonal leadership. If that sounds like you, perhaps it’s time to see where you can apply your smarts next