The difference between an SAP Certified Partner and an SAP Certified Solution?

January 10, 2018
Written by Danielle Larocca

Senior Vice-President of HCM Solutions Danielle Larocca has worked in the SAP HCM space for over 20 years. An SAP Mentor and featured speaker at numerous conferences, Danielle has authored four best-selling books on SAP, is the Technical Editor for the SAP Professional Journal, and often the Voice of the Expert on SAPInsider’s Ask the Expert series for HR.

SAP Certification

You will see the word certification thrown around quite a bit from SAP Partners and it is often a popular question asked in an Request for Proposal (RFP).  A certification from SAP is an important requirement, especially for software that you load into your SAP system. I wrote this blog to share what you need to know about certification, how you can distinguish between different types of certification and how you can check to see if a product or company is SAP certified.

SAP has dozens of certification types that are maintained by a department called the SAP Integration and Certification Center, or ICC. I had an opportunity to visit their Waldorf office this year to meet some of the great folks who work there. 

 

There are different types of certifications for solutions integrators, software providers and services providers, so you want to be sure you specify which ones are important to you when asking a partner about their own certifications.  Below, I’ll share with you the simple questions you can ask to determine if a potential partner has the key certifications needed before you install their software in your SAP system.

SAP Partner Logo

Image Source: SAP.com

Are They a Valid SAP Partner?

You will likely recognize the logo shown above. SAP Certified Partners who are valid members of the SAP Partner Community are allowed to display this on their websites and other media.  This vary may vary based on the type of partner they are Silver, Gold, Global etc.

 

Your first step when doing business with an organization is to make sure, at a minimum, that they are an SAP Certified Partner. To check if any company is an SAP Certified Partner, visit the SAP Partner Finder here: https://partneredge.sap.com/content/partnerfinder/search.html#/  (see sample screenshot below).

Are they a Valid SAP Partner?

Image Source: SAP.com

Per SAP… “The relationship with our partners is one of our most valuable assets. The SAP PartnerEdge program provides partners access to resources, services, and benefits to establish and maintain a successful partnership with SAP. SAP partner logos are a symbol of our commitment to work cooperatively with our partners and deliver solutions that build customer value and drive results.”

 

Is Their Software Certified by SAP?

Being a Certified SAP Partner is important, but if you are considering installing any third-party software into your SAP system, there is a different certification you should require. This additional designation states that the software solution you are purchasing is an SAP Certified Solution. This means that SAP has analyzed the software and provides its “official seal of approval” that the software works as it should in your SAP environment.    

 

To meet this rigorous threshold, third-party Certified Vendor Partners leverage SAP-endorsed integration technologies to develop interface software eligible for SAP integration certification. SAP tests the software for correct implementation of SAP-endorsed technologies and/or stability in an SAP environment, which varies based on the type of certification.

 

Within the Product Certification arena, there are several types of Certification Scenarios and more than 1,000 solutions have been certified to-date. Having Certified SAP Integration means that the software not only meets SAP’s minimum requirements, but that it has also passed rigorous tests performed by the SAP team, including a requirement to continue to fulfill the necessary ongoing requirements. 

 

There are dozens of third-party software vendors out there, so before you install their software on your SAP system, I encourage you to first make sure that the appropriate certifications are in place.  To check if any company offers software whose integration is certified by SAP, simply visit here.

 

 Is their Software Certified by SAP

What is the difference between an SAP Certified Partner and an SAP Certified Solution?

Image Source: SAP.com

 

 

Explore Popular Tags

Query Manager SAP SuccessFactors SAP HCM reporting HCM Reporting SAP HCM SAP Reporting SAP Payroll HCM SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll SAP SuccessFactors Reporting EPI-USE Labs reporting PRISM Payroll Document Builder Payroll reporting Query Manager Analytics Connector SAP Analytics Cloud SAP HCM Data SAP Query Microsoft PowerBI SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics Human Capital Management (HCM) Intelligent HR and Payroll SAP Payroll data Variance Monitor HR and Payroll data Tableau HXM Move Payroll Data SAP HCM Payroll SAP S/4HANA SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition (S/4 PCE) people analytics sap query hr Data Sync Manager Employee Central Payroll Journey to SAP SuccessFactors SAP SAP ERP HCM SAP HCM On-Premise Solutions SAP HCM journey SAP HR Reporting SAP HXM SAP and SuccessFactors HXM Reporting COVID-19 Cloud-based SAP HCM solutions Employee payroll HCM Productivity Suite HR SAP HCM/HXM SuccessConnect reporting solution ABAP DSM for HCM Employee Central Payroll Reporting Employee data GeoClock H4S4 Let's Talk HCM PRISM for HCM (Private Cloud Edition) PRISM free assessment Pay Recon SAP Data Warehouse Cloud SAP HCM Analysis SAP SuccessFactors HCM Journey SAP SuccessFactors Roadmaps SAP data privacy and compliance SuccessFactors Ultimate Guide: SAP HCM & Payroll Options data validation payroll control center Data Sync Manager for HCM Employee Central GDPR HCM, HR OData Query Manager with Document Builder Real-time reporting and document creation SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) SAP HCM On-premise SAP HCM for SAP S/4HANA On-Premise SAP HR SAP On-Premise customers SAP Payroll to the Cloud SAP Road maps SAP customers SAP data SAP data privacy & security Success Factors SuccessConnect 2019 Tax Reporting Transformation without re-implementation accurate payroll data certification custom infotype data source ebook on-premise SAP HCM s/4HANA Analytics solutions Automated reports Automation Cloud migrations DSM Object Sync for SuccessFactors Hybrid Data Secure Data Types Data analysis Digital tranformation EPI-USE Labs’ solutions Employee Letters Employee communication Free HCM Assessment HR Journey HR employee reports Human Resources Human Resources data Hybrid Reporting SAP and SuccessFactors Hybrid SAP and SuccessFactors Hybrid reporting Hybrid reporting solution Integrated reporting SuccessFactors SAP Intelligent Enterprise Microsoft Excel News OData integration OM Object Sync On-Premise Payroll On-Premise Payroll S/HANA Sidecar On-premise reporting Organization of the data PA People Analytics Workforce Planning Personalized documents Protect personal employee data Report Stories Reporting and analysis Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Robotic Process Automation framework S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition (PCE) SAP Data Privacy Suite SAP Data Security SAP ERP Payroll customers SAP HCM 2023 SAP HCM Roadmap SAP HCM and Payroll customers SAP HCM for S/4HANA SAP HXM 2021 SAP Mentors SAP SuccessFactors Hybrid SAP SuccessFactors Next-Gen Payroll SAP SuccessFactors Release updates SAP SuccessFactors Time Management SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking SAP Wage Type Reporter SAP certified solution SAP migration SAPPHIRE 2018 SuccessFactors and the Intelligence Enterprise SuccessFactors' Employee Central Payroll TCO Calculator The Report Center The Road to People Analytics Time management Workforce Planning ad hoc data variances easy reporter high-speed, low-risk on-premise SAP data partner roadmap single reporting solution sq01 stories in SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics technology third party ALE STP report ASUG Accessing COVID-19 data Ad Hoc Query American Payroll Association (APA) Analytics Connector Analytics reports Analytics solution Artificial Intelligence (AI) At-risk employees Australian Payroll Australian Tax Office (ATO) Automated analysis and pay run reconciliations Automatic HR reports Best practice in BI Bots Business Analytics Business Intelligence COVID-19 statistics COVID-19 vaccinations Certified solutions ChatGPT Check for data replication errors Client Sync Cloud hosting SAP PCE Company Branding Compare legacy HR and Payroll data Comparing data Configuration Center Copy and mask test data Coronavirus Created timestamp Custom store Customer-specific infotypes DSAG Data Privacy Data Replication Data Sources Data Sync Manager (DSM) Data access Data privacy regulations Data production support issue solution Democratize data Description Diversity & Inclusion reporting DocuSign Document Building Dynamic data ECC EPI-USE ERP Education sector Electronic Signatures Embedded Analytics Edition Employee Central time Employee Central timesheets Employee NICs Employee Retention Analytics (ERA) Employee payment summaries Employee right to privacy Employer NICs Encrypt data FAQ Index Font Guidelines Gender Pay Gap General Data Protection Regulation Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) Government forms Grid control Grid layout HANA HCM Client Sync™
+ See More

Get Instant Updates


Leave a Comment: