SAP User ID

As I’ve mentioned in previous postings, a SAP User ID is now required if you want to take a SAP Business Objects exam.

I regularly receive emails asking how you go about getting one of these ID’s, especially if you are not a partner/customer.

Note that this blog is not connected with SAP so I can’t tell you for sure. However, two options seem to work:

1. Register at the following link. This will take you to the SAP site where you can register your details.
or
2. Call the SAP education department in your country

It takes a couple of weeks to get the User ID through, so be patient.

New Certification Exams – Data Integrator now added

Further information regarding the new Business Objects exams. Data Integrator is going to be added to the list of available exams.

More info can be found here.

Note that existing BOCP holders do not need to recertify:

“…individuals holding a current valid BusinessObjects certification will not need to recertify.”

Also nice to see that existing holders of the BOCP certifcation can use the new titles:

‘…those holding the valid BusinessObjects certification in the latest release are entitled to use the SAP Associate certification logo and title but no new certificates will be issued.”

One thing to point out though, if you are BOCP-BOE certified to XIR2 and haven’t yet taken the XI3 upgrade SABE501, you may want to do it before the exam is removed:

“If a test taker is certified on BusinessObjects Certified Professional – Business Objects Enterprise XI R2 and requires only the XI 3.0 upgrade exam (SABE 501) to qualify for the XI 3.0 certificate what should he/she do?

To avoid taking the full certification exam after the retirement of the XI 3.0 upgrade exam the final exam should be taken prior to its retirement at the end of April.”

Get your skates on! There may be limited places in your chosen test centre.

New Certification Exams – Part 2

Following on from my recent post about the new SAP Business Objects exams, I spotted a link to a FAQ.

Some interesting items to bring to your attention:

1. It would appear that you no longer need to take 3 papers/tests to earn the SAP Certified Application Associate – SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.x certification. Those that have the BOCP-BOE certification will be aware that we had to sit 3 exams, or 4 if you have brought your skills up to XI3 level.

2. Those with an existing BOCP certification do not need to re-qualify. Phew!

3. If you have BOCP-BOE at XIR2 level and haven’t sat SABE501 to take you up to XI3 level, you need to hurry. To quote
“To avoid taking the full certification exam after the retirement of the XI 3-1 upgrade exam the final exam should be taken prior to its retirement at the end of April.”

4. Those holding BOCP can use the title SAP Associate. Again, to quote:
“…those holding the existing certification BusinessObjects certification are entitled to use the SAP Associate certification logo and title.” (Personally I prefer BOCP-BOE – Certified Professional. Sounds better than Associate don’t you think?)

5. You still need a SAP S-User ID to take the exams.

6. For those that are looking to find out where their certificate is, and I know that there are many of you..
“On successfully passing the exam, the certificate will be sent to the test taker within 4-6 weeks. For queries please contact kps.businessobjects.kt@sap.com.”

7. It looks like the exams will become more expensive.

So basically, if you are working through your BOCP exams, get them done by April 2010.

If you haven’t upgraded your BOCP to XI3, get the SABE501 exam out of the way by April 2010.

If you are considering taking the exams and haven’t started BOCP yet, you might want to consider the SAP Associate exam instead of the four exams needed for BOCP.

More details can be found in this FAQ.

Update on BOCP-BOE certifications

Some readers of my blog have asked whether there is a specific certification route for XI 3.1.

Well, not that I’m aware of. But remember, I am not an official BusinessObjects source!

To gain your BOCP-BOE, the exams to take are:

• SABE201
• SABE301
• SABE401

This will get your basic BOCP-BOE up to XIR2 level.

To get up to XI3 level, you will need to take:

• SABE501V3.0

I’m not aware of an additional exam for XI3.1.

People also ask whether the third party providers such as Pass4Sure, etc. are worth the investment (Are you serious?).

In one word – NO.

You will get everything you need to know for these exams with the following:

• Taking an official classroom/elearning course
• Becoming familiar with the relevant BOBJ PDF content
• Experience

That’s all you’ll need.

And finally, readers have asked about the certificate. For what it’s worth, mine took about 6 weeks to arrive. I’ve heard reports that they do take longer than that.

However, if you do need to show your employer something, why not show them your exam result printouts?

Business Objects Certification – May 2008 Update

For all those that are looking to gain the BusinessObjects certification, BusinessObjects have prepared a short webinar consisting of 16 slides and lasting just over eight minutes. (Note that the webinar does take a while to download).

This should give you plenty of information on how to prepare for the certification.

Many members of the Business Objects community have been contributing useful information and tips on certification via the Business Objects Forum. Track through the following post to read all comments relating to certification.

As mentioned in one of my previous posts, it appears that the SABE501 exam is finally available via the Pearson Vue site. It has a prerequisite – you must have passed the SABE201, SABE301 and SABE401 exams and have attained the BOCP – BOE certification. As this exam relates to XI 3.0, I am not sure that there will be many takers for this exam at this stage. I may consider taking this exam 6-12 months from now.

A few people have asked if it is possible to pass these exams without having taken the classroom or e-learning based training. I believe it is possible to do this. I’ve previously highlighted three or fourPDF documents which are available from the Business Objects website which will help you gain certification. Note however, that the self study method will require a great deal of commitment and practical experience.

Good luck!

SABE501V3.0 – XI 3.0 update exam?

I spotted the following while booking my SABE310 exam on the Pearson Vue website today:

“Business Objects Certified Professional – BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.0 – Update”

As suspected, it looks like there will be an XI3.0 update to the BOCP certification. I can’t find any details on the Business Objects website, and as it hasn’t been officially release yet, it might be a while before we get further details.