SAP BASIS

SAP BASIS stands for Business Application Software Integrated Solution. It is a set of tools that will work as a bridge between your operating system, communication protocols, the various business applications and database. SAP BASIS also includes different administration activities.

These are load balancing, installation, and also maintaining the performance of the SAP systems that are being executed on SAP ABAP or Java stack. You can say that BASIS is an operating system for ABAP and SAP applications.

The BASIS administrators have the responsibility of handling the system errors. They also keep a check on the SAP enterprise and cloud applications. In this article, we will delve deeper into the details of the technology.

What is BASIS?

SAP BASIS is required for handling all the technical layers of the SAP stack. It is a system administration platform that is required for handling SAP environments such as SAP HANA. Its main aim is to smoothly execute all the SAP systems in this environment.

The different functionalities of the SAP BASIS software are mentioned below:

• Configuration and installation of SAP applications and systems
• Determining bugs, errors and tweaking the SAP systems for maximum performance
• Overseeing that the different users of the SAP systems have the correct authorization rights. They must be able to use the functions they need
• Executing and maintaining the background jobs
• Restoring the essential data and keeping backups
• It is used for configuring the SAP TMS. This is used for managing the transports between one or more SAP systems
• Installation, configuration and maintenance of devices such as printers
• It provides you with other services such as communication between databases, memory management, exchange of business data, collection of web requests and application data etc.

You can consider SAP BASIS as the backbone of your entire SAP landscape.

The layers of the SAP BASIS system are:

• Presentation layer
• Application layer
• Database layer

What is Basis Administration?

BASIS administration refers to all the different activities performed by an administrator. The aim is to keep the SAP environment stable.

This means analyzing the system logs and determining errors. Administration helps in preventing major system issues. For example, some business objects in a SAP system may be modified. In this case, SAP will initiate the locks that might temporarily restrict access. An SAP administrator has the ability to release this lock.

BASIS administration is also important for the following:

Maintenance
This includes reviewing system logs and records, identifying errors and fixing them. All this is done to make sure that your system is stable.

System tasks
BASIS administrators have the responsibility of planning and maintaining your system upgrades. Migrations are also handled. The admins take care of the transport management and test the software updates. This is done to ensure compatibility with the SAP systems. They also check whether the updates are installed in the correct sequence.

Planning and scheduling
BASIS administration deals with scheduling the various system jobs. This is because many jobs run in your system background and consume resources. So, these resources need to be properly scheduled. It is important for keeping the system performance unaffected.

Moreover, the BASIS admins have to make the necessary adjustments to the SAP system to meet user’s needs.

SAP Basis consultant's responsibilities

A SAP BASIS consultant runs a SAP landscape. He or she must have a strong technical background. Knowledge in subjects such as UNIX, LINUX, Windows, MySQL, Oracle and Java is desirable. Strong hardware and networking skills are also required. A consultant must have the ability to analyse problems. He or she must have communication skills to act according to customer demands.

The different roles and responsibilities of a SAP BASIS consultant are as follows:

• Monitoring system tasks and performance
• Installation, configuration and maintenance of SAP systems
• Database operations such as backup, schedule, maintenance and restoration
• Handling and maintaining SAP licenses
• Monitoring servers, background jobs scheduling and job deletions
• Creation of user profiles, providing them roles, locking/ unlocking these roles
• Maintenance of operation and profile modes
• Installation of R/3, Solution manager, Netweaver and Netweaver components
• Installing system upgrades, add-ons and support patches
• Initiating and halting the R/ 3 system
• Spooling and printing
• SAP R/ 3 router installation
• Operating, implementing and removing errors from SNOTE

Requirements for SAP BASIS

The primary objective or requirement of SAP BASIS is to keep the SAP systems running smoothly, securely and to ensure their stability. Both production and non-production environments are covered by Requirements for SAP BASIS. Performance analysis, installation of patches, upgrades and modifying parameters are all covered. Requirements also focus on troubleshooting and monitoring the systems regularly.

For all these day-to-day activities, a dedicated SAP Basis team is required.

Here are some reasons why such a team will be beneficial for any business:

Cost and time efficiency

Suppose you are facing problems while SAP Basis administration. The first reasonable step is to call the IT staff to handle these issues. But they might have other tasks and handling SAP Basis might be problematic.

This will be time-consuming and the operational costs will also be high. As these SAP systems need attention all day, a dedicated team will be very useful.
Alternatively, you can also outsource the SAP Basis work to a professional team. A dedicated team or an outsourced team will be economical.

Dealing with complex problems easily

Your company may have inexperienced IT staff or junior SAP Basis employees. They will not be able to handle complicated SAP Basis complications. Even if they do, it takes a lot of time to fix. A dedicated team has certified and experienced professionals can handle SAP errors.

This way you can avoid mistakes that might affect system performance. The ecosystem of your enterprise may be complicated. In that case, a professional team will be beneficial for your company.

Meeting customer requirements

A dedicated and professional team of SAP Basis admins are better equipped at understanding the business requirements. They are able to communicate with other members of the IT team, managers and customers. So, all the intended customer services and support are delivered efficiently.

SAP Basis and Upgrades

When a SAP system in undergoing migration and upgrades, the SAP Basis professionals take the lead. This is because while migrating the business data, the former system also needs to be running. During the installation and configuration, the old system will continue generating business data. This data has to be migrated too. So, SAP Basis professionals will set up the entire SAP landscape with ease.

Before going for an upgrade, you have to plan it carefully. This is because the upgrade process may get complex and time-taking. Your aim must be to reduce the downtime and make it as effective as possible.

Some of the important concepts that you must be familiar with for SAP Basis upgrades are:

Software Update Manager (SUM)
This is a tool that is used for system maintenance, releasing upgrades and database migration. You can install SAP enhancement packages and convert the system to SAP S/4HANA. It comes with a Software Logistics Toolset 1.0. Patches are released for providing the latest features and bug fixes.

Upgrade guides
The Master Upgrade Guide is another important document. It has all the required specifications for upgrading your SAP system. You must read it for starting the upgrade as per your product version.

SAP Notes
The update of your system will require additional information. This might not be present in the upgrade guides. You will find this information within a range of SAP Notes. It is present in the SAP Support Portal. Before starting the process of upgrading the system, access the following documentation:

• The SAP Note for your database
• Software Logistics Toolset
• SAP Notes for DMO, if you are using the option of Database Migration
• To get the best results, use the latest SAP Notes. They are updated frequently.

We now have a basic understanding of SAP Basis. Let us compare it with another important software - SAP HANA.

SAP BASIS vs. SAP HANA

SAP Basis is used for holding the SAP landscape and system together. SAP HANA is a relational database management system used developed by SAP. Administration of SAP Hana will require a specific skill set. This can be acquired from SAP Basis administration. However, both are entirely different technologies.
The main difference lies in their administration.

Role of SAP Basis administrator

A SAP Basis admin makes sure that all the SAP applications and components are able to interact properly with each other. The admin ensures that the enterprise cloud, SAS applications and databases. They monitor the system constantly and prevent system errors. They install upgrades and patches. A SAP Basis admin ensures that the backend processing or end-user performance are not affected.

Role of SAP HANA administrator

The SAP HANA admin performs all the administrative tasks of HANA. These include implementation, licensing, system migration and hosting. These admins also have data modelling skills and can also handle nearline storage.

Conclusion

If you want to use SAP technology to enhance the quality of your business, you have to form a team comprising of skilled SAP employees. The SAP Basis admins and the SAP Hana admins need to work together for the betterment of your business. As per your business requirements and goals, you have to take the steps.
Besides having a dedicated team for BASIS and HANA, you can also use SAP Solution Manager. The SAP Solution Manager is a product offered by SAP that helps to increase your team’s efficiency.