TRANSPORT EXPRESS

[former_member1190121]

Hi,

Is third party transport tool Transport exptress is supported by SAP?

What are pro & cons of implementing this third party tool?

Thanks & Regards,

Nagarjun.

[rossmclanachan]

Hi Nagarjun

Just to confirm that Transport Express is indeed certified by SAP, and has been for many years.

In a nutshell, the pros of implementing TE are that you will remove most of the human error often associated with the deployment of SAP change, by automating most steps of the end-to-end process. As a result, the quality of SAP change being delivered increases, with less import errors, less need for rework and most importantly of all, far less risk of SAP change causing issues in Production that have a negative impact on your business.

Another of the key benefits of Transport Express (other than several key pieces of functionality that other tools on the marketplace do not offer, and which you can read about on the Basis Technologies website) is that it can be implemented very quickly and is also very easily maintained without any specialist skills. Obviously there is a learning curve in implementing any new tool, however our customers tell us that TE’s Web and Windows based GUIs make it very easy to use. Similarly, our customers tell us that the cost of purchasing Transport Express is quickly recouped in the increased efficiencies within their IT and business organisations.

A number of TE customers have switched over to Transport Express from alternative products over the last few years, if you are interested in looking at TE further, we can put you in contact with one of them so they can tell you about their experiences with Transport Express and also why they made the decision to move over to TE from the tool they were using previously.

Thanks

Ross McLanachan

http://www.basistechnologies.com/

For transparency, I should state that I work with Basis Technologies, the software vendor behind Transport Express and other SAP-certified products. Prior to this, I spent almost a decade working in various SAP Change & Release and other delivery roles for a large global SAP consultancy, and so know first-hand the many faced by many SAP customers still delivering their SAP Change using largely manual processes

[Former Member]

Hi Nagarjun,

You asked:

Question: Is third party transport tool Transport exptress is supported by SAP?

Answer: I had heard TE was about to be SAP certified, probably as an ABAP addon, however there is no indication either on the basis technologies web site or pdf documentation that this has occured.

It may be best to contact the vendor.

Question: What are pro & cons of implementing this third party tool?

Pros

There are are range of pros to not just implementing this tool, but any third party change control technology.

As mentioned, these products are developed to manage all those activities performed between the design of a change and the final promotion to a productive system.

However, the selectionof the most appropriate technology can ensure adherance to best practice.

For example, Rev-Trac, an SAP Certified change control technology, fully automates and enforces a complete range of Change Request Management activities and processes including those specific to SAP complex system, multi-stack technology and multiple solution landscapes.

These include:

u2022 Full process enforcement

u2022 Automation for consistency and cost savings

u2022 Advanced conflict management and accident prevention

u2022 Auto-migration including non-ABAP packages e.g. Java (with or without CTS+)

u2022 Extensive dependency management

u2022 Highly-flexible configuration

u2022 Full audit trail

u2022 CFR Part 11 compliant signatures

For the most part, ChaRM although "Free" of license fees is not able to manage the compl;exities of the modern SAP infratsructure just yet.

Learn more at the ecohub http://ecohub.sdn.sap.com/irj/ecohub/solutions/revtrac

The cons

There are license fees and so unless you are running an extensive infrastructure the native tools (CTS, CTS+ ) maybe enough.

Conclusion: you should investigate TE, but also others - including ChaRM.

Regards, Rick

http://www.xrsc.com

[Former Member]

Hello,

This tool is supported by SAP.

The tool uses your current TMS setup and uses some TMS RFC functions to execute transports.

In the beginning the tool had some advantages compared with standard TMS.

It already had retrofitting (to synchronize 2 development lines) and a functionality to undo transports.

Both functions are now integrated in Solution Manager, therefore we have implemented CHARM and the Solution Manager integration with TMS in stead of buying Transport Express.

Wim

[former_member1190121]

Hi,

Thanks alot.

Could you please tell me what is CHARM and how to implement it?

Thanks & Regards,

Nagarjun.

[Former Member]

Hi Nagarjun,

Change Request Management (ChaRM) is an SAP tool to manage all those activities performed between the design of a change and the final promotion to a productive system.

ChaRM can:

• Improve efficiency and transparency of change management processes

• Minimize business disruptions

• Store documentation of implemented changes

• Track and monitor changes

• Improve audit process

• Reduce risk of correction and project failures

ChaRM benefits include:

• Allow the Organization to control and manage changes in the SAP system effectively

• Guarantee that any change to the SAP system follows the standard process flow and procedures with mandatory controls and documented steps

• Effectively adheres to requirements for SOX compliance

To implement Charm and to get more info about its functionalities, please check:

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_sm40/helpdata/en/43/70bea480136fcbe10000000a1553f6/frameset.htm

Regards,

Jazz

[Former Member]

Hello,

This tool is supported by SAP.

The tool uses your current TMS setup and uses some TMS RFC functions to execute transports.

In the beginning the tool had some advantages compared with standard TMS.

It already had retrofitting (to synchronize 2 development lines) and a functionality to undo transports.

Both functions are now integrated in Solution Manager, therefore we have implemented CHARM and the Solution Manager integration with TMS in stead of buying Transport Express.

Wim