Do you want to manage your software environment effectively over the entire lifecycle and would like functional as well as intelligent support for your IT infrastructure? Then SAP Solution Manager (SolMan) is a free platform that can help you administer your SAP enterprise applications. Here you will learn what the SolMan does, what features it offers, but also what challenges come with using the SolMan.
SAP Solution Manager, also called SAP SolMan or just SolMan, is an intelligent platform for application lifecycle management software (ALM) . ALM, in turn, consists of tools and processes that help manage the lifecycle of a software product – from development to product design to product retirement.
Basically, SolMan is a collection of tools and services that help manage and monitor SAP environments. Solution Manager is already integrated as a toolset in all SAP systems and is free of charge for license holders.
The platform is used as a central management tool that supports companies in the digitization and automation of business processes.
SAP Solution Manager is an important tool, especially when it comes to automating processes. But that’s not all: As a “single source of the truth,” Solution Manager helps to create transparency and reduce administrative effort by mapping the applications in an SAP infrastructure in a centralized manner.
This possibility always exists, regardless of whether the IT solution is in the data center, hybrid or in the cloud.
The latest version of SAP Solution Manager is version 7.2, which can be used to implement, maintain, operate and take over all, even non-SAP, IT solutions of a company. Version 7.2 provides functions to extend and improve system landscape management, such as the following:
From 2020, SAP additionally introduced SAP Cloud ALM as SaaS. It has been completely redeveloped with a focus on cloud products and implementation methods. Whether it makes sense to switch to SAP Cloud ALM depends on your system landscape. It is not absolutely necessary.
SAP Solution Manager can be deployed in the cloud and with the cloud. SAP Cloud ALM relies much more on standardization than on individuality like SAP Solution Manager. However, this makes SAP Solution Manager more complex and time-consuming to administer.
REALTECH is a reliable and experienced partner for the secure operation and continuous optimization of your SAP landscape.
Solution Manager is modular, so you can flexibly adapt it to the individual needs of your company. In this way, the Solution Manager has access to all important technical information in order to to ensure smooth operation of the systems and guarantee agile lifecycle management.
SAP Solution Manager thus provides everything needed to ensure efficient management of the system. In the following we list the most important modules and their function:
Application Operations includes functions that simplify system, integration and user monitoring for the control, analysis and management of SAP solutions.
With the help of the Business Process Operations module, companies can always keep track of all aspects of the core business process, such as costs In addition, this allows you to ensure that all processes are in line with internal priorities.
Data Volume Management checks and controls the data volume of the entire SAP system landscape.
Custom Code Management provides a central component for all functions to monitor and manage the entire development cycle of code generation.
SAP Solution Manager enables companies to customize changes in their SAP landscape using “Change and Request Management”.
IT service management (ITSM for short) is the provision of IT as a service – for employees and customers. This includes all processes and activities related to the planning, compilation, delivery and support of IT services.
Landscape Management describes processes in the IT landscape that run across multiple tools and enables efficient planning of all changes within an SAP system landscape that are necessary for smooth operations.
Process Management” centrally maps all business processes and their documentation.
Solution Manager is integrated with the project management functions of SAP Portfolio and Project Management (SAP PPM). This allows you, for example, to easily manage project times, resources and the status of processes and developments .
The “Test Management” module supports you in performing tests of new developments and checks their environments and conditions. The function covers all test phases, from planning and execution to the creation of test reports.
Here you will find information on overarching topics in Solution Manager such as Content Activation, SAP Solution Manager Setup, SAP Engagement and Service Delivery, Analytics and more.
SAP Solution Manager Diagnostics is part of SAP’s own “Standards for Solution Operations” and is the central analysis and monitoring tool for identifying problems and performing cross-system analyses in the SAP landscape.
Due to its extensive range of functions, the SolMan is very complex and not so easy to administer. The introduction alone is time-consuming and cost-intensive. Moreover, Operation requires high staffing levels and corresponding expertise, which is hard to come by in the current times.
Due to the proprietary architecture and the lack of standardized interfaces, complete integration is difficult and involves additional effort.
The upcoming end of maintenance is another considerable challenge. Companies need to find alternative solutions to compensate for the loss of the current solution. The SolMan alternative SAP Cloud ALM is not an adequate solution, as it does not offer the same range of functions as Solution Manager.
If you do not want to use SAP Solution Manager in the future due to the high effort, costs incurred and the upcoming end of maintenance, we have a solution. With our extraction tool, we offer you the possibility to extract predefined data and store it in a format that allows it to be imported into other systems. Contact us promptly to discuss your use case directly.
The functions and application areas of SAP Solution Manager are diverse, but also very complex. The complexity requires thorough training and knowledge of the tool to use it effectively. However, many companies do not need all the functions included in SolMan. To keep efforts low, they use specialized third-party tools that focus on single disciplines.
REALTECH also offers solutions that replace individual Solution Manager features. In our product portfolio you will find a lean and easy-to-administer software for change management, as well as the ITSM solution SmartITSM, which serves all your needs around IT service management, including SAP integration.
If you use the Change and Request Management of the Solution Manager (SAP ChaRM) and are looking for a standardized, flexible, integrative and cost-effective solution to reliably manage your changes in the SAP landscape, our SmartChange solution is a very good alternative. Simultaneous use of SAP Solution Manager as a project and documentation tool and SmartChange-SolMan integration is also possible.
Solution Manager is a central software for the administration of SAP enterprise applications. As an application management solution, SolMan provides functional support to the IT infrastructure and helps optimize the effective management of the software environment throughout the application lifecycle.
SAP Solution Manager ensures that the system landscape is continuously monitored and its smooth functioning is guaranteed. It provides all the necessary content, tools and services that are used within the framework of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) to maintain system functionalities and the optimal use of applications.
