Return-Path: Received: from MIT.EDU by po12.mit.edu (8.9.2/4.7) id SAA12035; Tue, 5 Dec 2000 18:30:04 -0500 (EST) Received: from MITVMA.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA20404; Tue, 5 Dec 00 18:31:14 EST Received: by mitvma.mit.edu (IBM VM SMTP Level 320) via spool with SMTP id 9695 ; Tue, 05 Dec 2000 18:18:59 EST Received: from MITVMA.MIT.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@MITVMA) by MITVMA.MIT.EDU (LMail V1.2c/1.8c) with BSMTP id 2349; Tue, 5 Dec 2000 18:17:36 -0500 Received: from MITVMA.MIT.EDU by MITVMA.MIT.EDU (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8d) with spool id 3276 for SAP-MIT@MITVMA.MIT.EDU; Tue, 5 Dec 2000 18:17:22 -0500 Received: from MITVMA (NJE origin SMTP@MITVMA) by MITVMA.MIT.EDU (LMail V1.2c/1.8c) with BSMTP id 2311; Tue, 5 Dec 2000 18:17:04 -0500 Received: from SOUTH-STATION-ANNEX.MIT.EDU [18.72.1.2] by mitvma.mit.edu (IBM VM SMTP Level 320) via TCP with SMTP ; Tue, 05 Dec 2000 18:17:03 EST X-Warning: mitvma.mit.edu: Host SOUTH-STATION-ANNEX.MIT.EDU claimed to be MIT.EDU Received: from GRAND-CENTRAL-STATION.MIT.EDU by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA06910; Tue, 5 Dec 00 18:17:57 EST Received: from melbourne-city-street.MIT.EDU (MELBOURNE-CITY-STREET.MIT.EDU [18.69.0.45]) by grand-central-station.MIT.EDU (8.9.2/8.9.2) with ESMTP id SAA19808; Tue, 5 Dec 2000 18:16:17 -0500 (EST) Received: from fss-278 (FSS-278.MIT.EDU [18.18.0.170]) by melbourne-city-street.MIT.EDU (8.9.3/8.9.2) with SMTP id QAA04650; Tue, 5 Dec 2000 16:52:01 -0500 (EST) X-Sender: cashaw@PO14.mit.edu X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.0.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Message-Id: <200012052152.QAA04650@melbourne-city-street.MIT.EDU> Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2000 16:51:54 -0500 Reply-To: Chuck Shaw Sender: SAP-MIT From: Chuck Shaw Subject: SAP Upgrade Planning X-Cc: sap-prd-notice@MIT.EDU To: SAP-MIT@MITVMA.MIT.EDU Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 11 X-Evolution: 0000000b-0000 Dear SAP users,

As you probably have heard, we are planning to upgrade to the most recent version of SAP on January 29, 2001.  The upgrade is a necessary step to accommodate both the Human Resources/Payroll and Lincoln Laboratory SAP projects.

The final decision about the timing will be made later this month after additional testing has been completed.  I am writing today because I want to give you some background information to help you in planning for the upgrade.

The new version of SAP is different in look and feel than the current version, and therefore we expect that many of you will elect to prepare by doing training exercises in your office or with an instructor present at Learning Center.

As with the last upgrade, FSS will offer platform-specific delta demonstrations to show you the major differences between the current and new versions so you can determine your training needs. It is important to point out that people doing their work in SAPweb will not see any differences.

The one-hour delta demonstrations will begin next week following the schedule below:
December 12 at 10am  - Mac platform, Wong Auditorium, E51December 13 at 10am  - PC platform, Wong Auditorium, E51January 9 at 10am        - PC platform, Room 1-190January 17 at 10am      - Mac platform, Room 1-190January 23 at 10am      - Mac platform, Room 1-190January 25 at 10am      - PC platform, Room 1-190

The self-study exercises and proctored lab sessions will be available beginning the week of January 8.

The December SAP User Group meeting will be dedicated to discussion of the version 4.6 upgrade.  The meeting will be held this Thursday, December 7, from 2 pm to 3:30 pm in E25-111, and you are invited to attend.

An article about the upgrade will be published in tomorrow s issue of Tech Talk. I also will be sending email to supervisors informing them of the importance of the delta demo sessions and training for those who use the SAP graphical user interface (GUI).

As was the case with the last SAP upgrade, many members of the community are volunteering some of their time to assist us in the upgrade effort. More than 40 SAP GUI users from departments, labs, centers, and administrative areas are participating in the upgrade process by previewing the new release, evaluating our training plans, and assisting with integration and other testing.

I also want to give you plenty of advance notice that if the upgrade is approved for late January, then the Production environment (including SAPweb) will be unavailable to users all day Friday, January 26 through noon on Monday, January 29.

The new 4.6 GUI will work with MIT s current version of SAP, so users can download it at their convenience, even before the large server computers are upgraded. The SAP GUI installer for Windows 4.6 is available now via <http://web.mit.edu/sapr3>. The installer for Mac users will be available in the near future.  The desktop system requirements for the upgrade are posted on the web page.  If you require any assistance, please send mail to <business-help@mit.edu>.


I know that system changes can be unsettling, but we will do everything we can to minimize the difficulties caused by this necessary upgrade. The school and area Business Consultants (formerly known as School and Area Coordinators) in FSS and the Business Liaison Team in Information Systems will assist you throughout the upgrade process and as you begin to use the new GUI in your work. These people are there to help you, so please call on them.


Sincerely,
Chuck Shaw
Director, Financial Systems Services





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