Optimize Asset Management with ECM for SAP Landscapes
Q&A on Process Collaboration, Effective Document Control and Governance, and More
During this live Q&A session, industry experts Nicholas Mauldin (AMER) and Claudia Traving (EMEA) of OpenText gave an international look at how leading organizations are leveraging Enterprise Content Management (ECM) in their SAP landscapes to digitize key assets and processes, thereby providing fast access to documentation.
If you missed the chat or need a refresher, we welcome you to view the online chat replay or read the edited transcript below.
Meet the panelists:
Nicholas Mauldin, Program Manager, SAP Solutions Portfolio, OpenText
Nick is responsible for the go-to-market of the SAP Solution Portfolio of OpenText in North America. In this role, he works closely with SAP in order to support the successful reseller partnership. Nick also works closely with customers in supporting in their journey to maximize the value of the SAP portfolio.
Claudia Traving, Director Program Management, SAP Solutions Group, OpenText
Claudia is responsible for product strategy, go-to-market aspects, and sales readiness of specific solutions within the SAP Solutions Group, especially in the EMEA region. The solutions include data archiving, archiving and document access, extended ECM, archive center, and cloud edition for SAP Solutions at OpenText.
Transcript:
Melanie Obeid: Hello! Welcome to today’s live Q&A on optimizing asset management with ECM. I’m Melanie Obeid, Editorial Director of SAPinsider and insiderPROFILES, and I’m excited to introduce our panelists, Nicholas Mauldin, Program Manager of the SAP Solutions Portfolio at OpenText, and Claudia Traving, Director of Program Management for the SAP Solutions Group at OpenText.
Nick is responsible for the go-to-market of the SAP Solutions Portfolio of OpenText in North America. He works closely with SAP to support the successful reseller partnership, and he also works closely with customers.
Claudia is responsible for product strategy, go-to-market aspects, and sales readiness of specific solutions within the SAP Solutions Group, especially in EMEA. The solutions include data archiving, archiving and document access, extended ECM, archive center, and cloud edition for SAP Solutions at OpenText.
Hi, Nick and Claudia. Thank you so much for being here to answer readers’ questions.
Claudia Traving: Welcome everybody to our Q&A session!
Nick Mauldin: Thanks Melanie, I’m happy to be here. And thanks everyone for your participation. I look forward to the discussion.
Comment From Alexander Beyder: Could you cover compliance with the ISO 55000 group of standards?
Claudia Traving: Documents play an important role in plant maintenance, as they document what has been done using which information. With that, documents that are integrated into the plant maintenance processes play an important role and are one element, and best practices are to implement a 55000 strategy.
Comment From Pranay: Is this solution S/4HANA-enabled?
Claudia Traving: SAP-related OpenText solutions are all qualified to run on S/4HANA on-premise edition. Also, the new Fiori UI is supported.
Comment From We have many data …: We have many data links to objects stored on Windows servers, which were made via the ‘Services for Objects’ function. Does this tool provide a replacement to this function in ECC?
Nick Mauldin: Great question. Yes, in this situation the OpenText solution would function in a similar way from an end-user standpoint when it comes to accessing documents and drawings via GOS. In addition, there is the ability to access the same content from other user interfaces, such as the web UI, Windows Explorer, Mobile Devices and even Fiori. In addition, this content and access to it is managed by the SAP authorization model.
Comment From Klaus Loehnert: Is there an integrated demo system from SAP and OpenText available?
Claudia Traving: OpenText runs a demo system where we can show how OpenText integrates with various SAP applications and scenarios. In the area of asset management, we can demo live the integration of documents with processes in Plant Maintenance and Portfolio & Project Management as well as with Environment, Health, and Safety scenarios like Incident Management or Waste Management.
Comment From Guest: We are using SAP MDG for our management of change. Is it possible to also include the related documentation in this process?
Nick Mauldin: Absolutely! As customers are looking to place governance around the creation and management of data, they are also seeing the need for content related to the MoC process to be captured and managed.
By combining MDG and Content Management, customers can achieve a higher level of Asset Information Management and ensure both master data and critical content are correct and up to date.
Comment From Rick R: Do any of the OpenText products run under SAP Business ByDesign and Business All-in-One?
Claudia Traving: OpenText SAP-related products typically require an SAP NetWeaver ABAP stack to run out of the box. So they do integrate with Business All-in-One.
Business ByDesign is not based on ABAP but can be integrated based on the API provided with OpenText Extended ECM, including UI integration based on UI widgets.
Comment From Karl Schmitz: Can you give further details regarding the authorization model for managing?
Claudia Traving: When integrating document management with SAP, it is important to observe the authorizations of the SAP system, specifically because OpenText allows access to the content outside the SAP UIs. We are mapping SAP authorizations based on various mechanisms to the OpenText content management to make sure that if you are not allowed to see content in SAP, you are also not allowed to see it outside.
SAP meta data and additional mechanisms like security clearance can be used to further specify access policies.
Comment From Guest: How can we enable in-process collaboration, effective document control, and governance?
Nick Mauldin: Another great question, and one that I am asked quite a bit when meeting with maintenance technicians and other folks who are charged with ensuring content related to their assets is correct and up to date.
By embedding content within the relevant business process/object, be it a work order, FLOC, or Equipment, users have the ability to collaborate, share, and interact with the content within the right context, all while ensuring the information is governed in accordance with industry standards.
Comment From toni: Do we need to be using SAP Process Integration to benefit from ECM?
Claudia Traving: OpenText Extended ECM integrates with SAP based on its own interface, called ECM Link. SAP Process Integration is not needed for this.
Comment From Tanya: Is there any documentation on SAP SuccessFactors?
Claudia Traving: OpenText Extended ECM integrates with SAP SuccessFactors and can be used to enable an electronic employee file. OpenText has showcased this integration at the recent SAPPHIRE event and announced that we will release a product called “Extended ECM for SAP SuccessFactors” this summer.
Comment From CG: My question is about data archiving – I hope that’s ok. Our company’s data is strictly regulated. What do we need to consider before starting a data archiving project in terms of legal requirements?
Claudia Traving: In general as a best practice, but especially important in a highly regulated environment, it is recommended to store the data files from SAP data archiving on a secure storage platform. “Secure” means long-term retention and protection from deletion, even on hardware level. OpenText ECM products for SAP provide such a compliant platform with the OpenText Archive Server.
In addition, you should also consider SAP Information Lifecycle Management, which allows you to put retention on archived data as an additional security. OpenText Archive Server also supports the SAP ILM interface for that purpose.
Comment From Goodwin: Could you give me any access to case studies, one or two professional contacts within the consulting service team that could help, or a demo version of the underlying software itself (VIM7.5 (latest SP) / ICC and OCR) and all the necessary sub-components? I need aid in developing a quick prototype to present and demonstrate to our key stakeholders / business leads / owner and higher in other to secure approval.
Claudia Traving: For information about VIM and ICC, please visit our web page https://www.opentext.com/what-we-do/products/opentext-suite-for-sap/opentext-vendor-invoice-management-for-sap-solutions.
You will find collateral there and also links to customer success stories.
Comment From GB: Can you explain the benefits of using ECM for internal and external collaboration processes?
Nick Mauldin: Another great question GB! Simply put, when it comes to managing as well as collaborating on content related to your enterprise assets, having a single source of the truth is critical.
By linking the content being collaborated on with the appropriate SAP process, it ensures that people are always accessing the most up to date version. When silos of information begin to emerge, the chances of someone accessing an out of date document increases significantly, which can have a disastrous impact, especially during Shutdown Turnarounds.
Here is an example of a collaborative workspace for an equipment record:
Comment From Brian: How does it work?
Claudia Traving: The content-enabling of SAP business objects is provided by the capabilities of OpenText Extended ECM.
It attaches content, together with document management and collaboration capabilities, to an SAP business object so that this content is visible in SAP. In addition, it provides the same content and relevant information about the SAP business object outside SAP, for example in its own rich Web UI or in Outlook or Windows Explorer. For this, it re-uses the information from SAP and, by capturing the change events from SAP, it makes sure that the content is always in sync with SAP.
The following picture shows the concept:
Comment From Guest: Can you provide some examples of situations where effective management of content, or lack thereof, has impacted a customer’s operations, or better yet, of situations that put workforce health and safety at risk?
Nick Mauldin: While this question spans a variety of topics in terms of operations, I have come across situations where issues with documentation or lack thereof have negatively impacted their process, and in some cases, directly impacted their ability to complete their tasks in time.
From an HSE standpoint, this time spent looking for content indicates poor document management practices that could result in critical safety-related documents being inaccessible when they are needed.
Comment From anon.: Can you share best practices or advise on migrating data out of legacy ECM systems without disrupting daily business operations?
Nick Mauldin: This is something that requires careful consideration, but in the end, it is certainly achievable through a variety of tools that can be deployed. In many cases the content is copied and validated prior to decommissioning the legacy ECM systems.
For some legacy systems this is quite straightforward, but for others it can be a bit more complex, depending on how the respective systems store and manage their content.
Comment From H.S.: Can ECM be integrated with SAP Asset Accounting?
Claudia Traving: Extended ECM runs with all SAP modules that are based on SAP NetWeaver ABAP stack. There are some preconditions to be fulfilled by the respective business object regarding where the content should be attached.
The first step is always to decide, which are the relevant objects and where is content most relevant. Then we provide documentation about which capabilities of the business object are necessary for the integration.
Comment From Goodwin: I will setup a quick demo (within our Sandbox environment) on the virtues of SAP OpenText solution for our vendor invoice management challenge and how it will satisfy the core business objectives as set out and sold to the steering committee.
Nick Mauldin: While the focus of this session is Asset Management, I’d be happy to help you with these questions following this event. Would you please send me an email with your questions to nmauldin@opentext.com?
Comment From Nathan Giles: Hello. I am trying to allocate general task lists with associated maintenance strategies to similar equipment at our power plant. The problem I’m facing is that although the operations in the task list are identical for the equipment, the resource allocation can vary (for example, an identical valve may need a bigger scaffold and thus take twice as long to erect). Is there a way I can still use my task list but have equipment specific resource durations?
Nick Mauldin: Hi Nathan. While I understand what you are getting at here, I think this is more of a question around standard SAP configuration and is not really related to the role that unstructured information plays.
Comment From Guest: What new and emerging technologies do you see as being the most disruptive in the industry, and which ones should we take seriously versus treat as merely a trend?
Claudia Traving: We see new technologies emerging that will be very important. Predictive maintenance will play an important role. There are also new products that SAP is launching, like the Asset Intelligence Network, that will change the way suppliers and operators of a plant exchange information.
Comment From Scott: What are the pros and cons of using ECM solutions on premise vs in the cloud?
Claudia Traving: OpenText solutions can run on premise or in the cloud, be it OpenText cloud, SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, or also on Azure as IaaS.
The benefits of cloud-based solution is the rapid onboarding and the fact that you have OPEX instead of CAPEX.
Regional legislation may prevent cloud as an option and demand that content not leave the country. We also see that some of our customers still prefer to keep the content on-premise, specifically in some countries and verticals.
Comment From Rick R: What are the differences between integrating with cloud versions of SAP vs. on-prem versions?
Nick Mauldin: This will depend on which Cloud SAP solution you are referring to – HANA Cloud Platform, HANA Enterprise Cloud, Cloud 4 Customer, or S/4HANA? As they are all different, how we integrate will differ as well. Please email me at nmauldin@opentext.com and I can provide you with more information.
Nick Mauldin: Since we are about to wrap up, I wanted to make a point to thank the participants for the great questions. Also, if you like to, please refer to a solution brief we published related to optimizing asset value. Click Here to download the Solution Brief.
In addition, I’d like to leave you with a link to a recent E-Book that we have published, which outlines how SAP and OpenText together are helping customers Run Digital. Click Here to download your copy.
In addition, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My email is nmauldin@opentext.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Claudia Traving: If you want to learn more about how OpenText ECM supports processes in Enterprise Asset Management, you will find information and collateral on this web page:
https://www.opentext.com/campaigns/rundigital/digitize-business/sap-asset-management
More information about OpenText Extended ECM is provided on this web page, including customer success stories:
If there are any further questions, feel free to contact me directly via mail at claudia.traving@opentext.com.
Melanie Obeid: Thank you all again for joining us. And a special thank you to Nick Mauldin and Claudia Traving for all of your informative answers!
During this live Q&A session, industry experts Nicholas Mauldin (AMER) and Claudia Traving (EMEA) of OpenText gave an international look at how leading organizations are leveraging Enterprise Content Management (ECM) in their SAP landscapes to digitize key assets and processes, thereby providing fast access to documentation.
If you missed the chat or need a refresher, we welcome you to view the online chat replay or read the edited transcript below.
Meet the panelists:
Nicholas Mauldin, Program Manager, SAP Solutions Portfolio, OpenText
Nick is responsible for the go-to-market of the SAP Solution Portfolio of OpenText in North America. In this role, he works closely with SAP in order to support the successful reseller partnership. Nick also works closely with customers in supporting in their journey to maximize the value of the SAP portfolio.
Claudia Traving, Director Program Management, SAP Solutions Group, OpenText
Claudia is responsible for product strategy, go-to-market aspects, and sales readiness of specific solutions within the SAP Solutions Group, especially in the EMEA region. The solutions include data archiving, archiving and document access, extended ECM, archive center, and cloud edition for SAP Solutions at OpenText.
Transcript:
Melanie Obeid: Hello! Welcome to today’s live Q&A on optimizing asset management with ECM. I’m Melanie Obeid, Editorial Director of SAPinsider and insiderPROFILES, and I’m excited to introduce our panelists, Nicholas Mauldin, Program Manager of the SAP Solutions Portfolio at OpenText, and Claudia Traving, Director of Program Management for the SAP Solutions Group at OpenText.
Nick is responsible for the go-to-market of the SAP Solutions Portfolio of OpenText in North America. He works closely with SAP to support the successful reseller partnership, and he also works closely with customers.
Claudia is responsible for product strategy, go-to-market aspects, and sales readiness of specific solutions within the SAP Solutions Group, especially in EMEA. The solutions include data archiving, archiving and document access, extended ECM, archive center, and cloud edition for SAP Solutions at OpenText.
Hi, Nick and Claudia. Thank you so much for being here to answer readers’ questions.
Claudia Traving: Welcome everybody to our Q&A session!
Nick Mauldin: Thanks Melanie, I’m happy to be here. And thanks everyone for your participation. I look forward to the discussion.
Comment From Alexander Beyder: Could you cover compliance with the ISO 55000 group of standards?
Claudia Traving: Documents play an important role in plant maintenance, as they document what has been done using which information. With that, documents that are integrated into the plant maintenance processes play an important role and are one element, and best practices are to implement a 55000 strategy.
Comment From Pranay: Is this solution S/4HANA-enabled?
Claudia Traving: SAP-related OpenText solutions are all qualified to run on S/4HANA on-premise edition. Also, the new Fiori UI is supported.
Comment From We have many data …: We have many data links to objects stored on Windows servers, which were made via the ‘Services for Objects’ function. Does this tool provide a replacement to this function in ECC?
Nick Mauldin: Great question. Yes, in this situation the OpenText solution would function in a similar way from an end-user standpoint when it comes to accessing documents and drawings via GOS. In addition, there is the ability to access the same content from other user interfaces, such as the web UI, Windows Explorer, Mobile Devices and even Fiori. In addition, this content and access to it is managed by the SAP authorization model.
Comment From Klaus Loehnert: Is there an integrated demo system from SAP and OpenText available?
Claudia Traving: OpenText runs a demo system where we can show how OpenText integrates with various SAP applications and scenarios. In the area of asset management, we can demo live the integration of documents with processes in Plant Maintenance and Portfolio & Project Management as well as with Environment, Health, and Safety scenarios like Incident Management or Waste Management.
Comment From Guest: We are using SAP MDG for our management of change. Is it possible to also include the related documentation in this process?
Nick Mauldin: Absolutely! As customers are looking to place governance around the creation and management of data, they are also seeing the need for content related to the MoC process to be captured and managed.
By combining MDG and Content Management, customers can achieve a higher level of Asset Information Management and ensure both master data and critical content are correct and up to date.
Comment From Rick R: Do any of the OpenText products run under SAP Business ByDesign and Business All-in-One?
Claudia Traving: OpenText SAP-related products typically require an SAP NetWeaver ABAP stack to run out of the box. So they do integrate with Business All-in-One.
Business ByDesign is not based on ABAP but can be integrated based on the API provided with OpenText Extended ECM, including UI integration based on UI widgets.
Comment From Karl Schmitz: Can you give further details regarding the authorization model for managing?
Claudia Traving: When integrating document management with SAP, it is important to observe the authorizations of the SAP system, specifically because OpenText allows access to the content outside the SAP UIs. We are mapping SAP authorizations based on various mechanisms to the OpenText content management to make sure that if you are not allowed to see content in SAP, you are also not allowed to see it outside.
SAP meta data and additional mechanisms like security clearance can be used to further specify access policies.
Comment From Guest: How can we enable in-process collaboration, effective document control, and governance?
Nick Mauldin: Another great question, and one that I am asked quite a bit when meeting with maintenance technicians and other folks who are charged with ensuring content related to their assets is correct and up to date.
By embedding content within the relevant business process/object, be it a work order, FLOC, or Equipment, users have the ability to collaborate, share, and interact with the content within the right context, all while ensuring the information is governed in accordance with industry standards.
Comment From toni: Do we need to be using SAP Process Integration to benefit from ECM?
Claudia Traving: OpenText Extended ECM integrates with SAP based on its own interface, called ECM Link. SAP Process Integration is not needed for this.
Comment From Tanya: Is there any documentation on SAP SuccessFactors?
Claudia Traving: OpenText Extended ECM integrates with SAP SuccessFactors and can be used to enable an electronic employee file. OpenText has showcased this integration at the recent SAPPHIRE event and announced that we will release a product called “Extended ECM for SAP SuccessFactors” this summer.
Comment From CG: My question is about data archiving – I hope that’s ok. Our company’s data is strictly regulated. What do we need to consider before starting a data archiving project in terms of legal requirements?
Claudia Traving: In general as a best practice, but especially important in a highly regulated environment, it is recommended to store the data files from SAP data archiving on a secure storage platform. “Secure” means long-term retention and protection from deletion, even on hardware level. OpenText ECM products for SAP provide such a compliant platform with the OpenText Archive Server.
In addition, you should also consider SAP Information Lifecycle Management, which allows you to put retention on archived data as an additional security. OpenText Archive Server also supports the SAP ILM interface for that purpose.
Comment From Goodwin: Could you give me any access to case studies, one or two professional contacts within the consulting service team that could help, or a demo version of the underlying software itself (VIM7.5 (latest SP) / ICC and OCR) and all the necessary sub-components? I need aid in developing a quick prototype to present and demonstrate to our key stakeholders / business leads / owner and higher in other to secure approval.
Claudia Traving: For information about VIM and ICC, please visit our web page https://www.opentext.com/what-we-do/products/opentext-suite-for-sap/opentext-vendor-invoice-management-for-sap-solutions.
You will find collateral there and also links to customer success stories.
Comment From GB: Can you explain the benefits of using ECM for internal and external collaboration processes?
Nick Mauldin: Another great question GB! Simply put, when it comes to managing as well as collaborating on content related to your enterprise assets, having a single source of the truth is critical.
By linking the content being collaborated on with the appropriate SAP process, it ensures that people are always accessing the most up to date version. When silos of information begin to emerge, the chances of someone accessing an out of date document increases significantly, which can have a disastrous impact, especially during Shutdown Turnarounds.
Here is an example of a collaborative workspace for an equipment record:
Comment From Brian: How does it work?
Claudia Traving: The content-enabling of SAP business objects is provided by the capabilities of OpenText Extended ECM.
It attaches content, together with document management and collaboration capabilities, to an SAP business object so that this content is visible in SAP. In addition, it provides the same content and relevant information about the SAP business object outside SAP, for example in its own rich Web UI or in Outlook or Windows Explorer. For this, it re-uses the information from SAP and, by capturing the change events from SAP, it makes sure that the content is always in sync with SAP.
The following picture shows the concept:
Comment From Guest: Can you provide some examples of situations where effective management of content, or lack thereof, has impacted a customer’s operations, or better yet, of situations that put workforce health and safety at risk?
Nick Mauldin: While this question spans a variety of topics in terms of operations, I have come across situations where issues with documentation or lack thereof have negatively impacted their process, and in some cases, directly impacted their ability to complete their tasks in time.
From an HSE standpoint, this time spent looking for content indicates poor document management practices that could result in critical safety-related documents being inaccessible when they are needed.
Comment From anon.: Can you share best practices or advise on migrating data out of legacy ECM systems without disrupting daily business operations?
Nick Mauldin: This is something that requires careful consideration, but in the end, it is certainly achievable through a variety of tools that can be deployed. In many cases the content is copied and validated prior to decommissioning the legacy ECM systems.
For some legacy systems this is quite straightforward, but for others it can be a bit more complex, depending on how the respective systems store and manage their content.
Comment From H.S.: Can ECM be integrated with SAP Asset Accounting?
Claudia Traving: Extended ECM runs with all SAP modules that are based on SAP NetWeaver ABAP stack. There are some preconditions to be fulfilled by the respective business object regarding where the content should be attached.
The first step is always to decide, which are the relevant objects and where is content most relevant. Then we provide documentation about which capabilities of the business object are necessary for the integration.
Comment From Goodwin: I will setup a quick demo (within our Sandbox environment) on the virtues of SAP OpenText solution for our vendor invoice management challenge and how it will satisfy the core business objectives as set out and sold to the steering committee.
Nick Mauldin: While the focus of this session is Asset Management, I’d be happy to help you with these questions following this event. Would you please send me an email with your questions to nmauldin@opentext.com?
Comment From Nathan Giles: Hello. I am trying to allocate general task lists with associated maintenance strategies to similar equipment at our power plant. The problem I’m facing is that although the operations in the task list are identical for the equipment, the resource allocation can vary (for example, an identical valve may need a bigger scaffold and thus take twice as long to erect). Is there a way I can still use my task list but have equipment specific resource durations?
Nick Mauldin: Hi Nathan. While I understand what you are getting at here, I think this is more of a question around standard SAP configuration and is not really related to the role that unstructured information plays.
Comment From Guest: What new and emerging technologies do you see as being the most disruptive in the industry, and which ones should we take seriously versus treat as merely a trend?
Claudia Traving: We see new technologies emerging that will be very important. Predictive maintenance will play an important role. There are also new products that SAP is launching, like the Asset Intelligence Network, that will change the way suppliers and operators of a plant exchange information.
Comment From Scott: What are the pros and cons of using ECM solutions on premise vs in the cloud?
Claudia Traving: OpenText solutions can run on premise or in the cloud, be it OpenText cloud, SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, or also on Azure as IaaS.
The benefits of cloud-based solution is the rapid onboarding and the fact that you have OPEX instead of CAPEX.
Regional legislation may prevent cloud as an option and demand that content not leave the country. We also see that some of our customers still prefer to keep the content on-premise, specifically in some countries and verticals.
Comment From Rick R: What are the differences between integrating with cloud versions of SAP vs. on-prem versions?
Nick Mauldin: This will depend on which Cloud SAP solution you are referring to – HANA Cloud Platform, HANA Enterprise Cloud, Cloud 4 Customer, or S/4HANA? As they are all different, how we integrate will differ as well. Please email me at nmauldin@opentext.com and I can provide you with more information.
Nick Mauldin: Since we are about to wrap up, I wanted to make a point to thank the participants for the great questions. Also, if you like to, please refer to a solution brief we published related to optimizing asset value. Click Here to download the Solution Brief.
In addition, I’d like to leave you with a link to a recent E-Book that we have published, which outlines how SAP and OpenText together are helping customers Run Digital. Click Here to download your copy.
In addition, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My email is nmauldin@opentext.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Claudia Traving: If you want to learn more about how OpenText ECM supports processes in Enterprise Asset Management, you will find information and collateral on this web page:
https://www.opentext.com/campaigns/rundigital/digitize-business/sap-asset-management
More information about OpenText Extended ECM is provided on this web page, including customer success stories:
If there are any further questions, feel free to contact me directly via mail at claudia.traving@opentext.com.
Melanie Obeid: Thank you all again for joining us. And a special thank you to Nick Mauldin and Claudia Traving for all of your informative answers!
