The current version of SAP Business One available is 8.82. SAP Business One 9.0 is the next major release due in early 2013 and is currently in Ramp-up. SAP is investing heavily in research and development and we have seen many new functions and features released in SAP Business One 9.0. If you are using an older version of SAP Business One and you want to upgrade then here are some suggestions through which you can upgrade to SAP Business One 9.0:
- Make sure that you have a current maintenance and support plan with SAP through an accredited SAP Business One partner. To achieve it you need to pay the 17% AMC charges on your SAP Business One licenses’ base price to SAP regularly. This gives you access to the latest version of SAP Business One.
- The current version of SAP Business One that you are using will determine the appropriate upgrade plan to the latest version of SAP Business One.
You can check your current SAP Business One version by going to the Help Menu and clicking on “About SAP Business One”
A typical (once a year) major release upgrade should be planned as follows:
a.) Planning – activities that need to be completed prior to beginning the upgrade process. Decisions on the important factors, listed below, should be taken carefully –
- What is the best time to perform the upgrade for your environment? It’s generally the weekends for most of the businesses.
- Where and when can a test environment be set up? The test environment should be a replica of your existing environment with the copy of your production / live SAP B1 company databases.
- What kind of support is required on the upgrade from your partner? Your partner should provide you the installation files of SAP B1 9 in minimum and it is included in a valid AMC contract. Etc.
Planning will ensure a smooth transition. Make sure that any development and third-party integration is included in your upgrade planning.
b.) Test upgrade – SAP Business One – conduct a test upgrade of SAP Business One. Test key scenarios with users and conduct user training on new functions and features to get the most out of the new version. User acceptance testing is vital to any upgrade of software. This stage will also involve the test upgrade of any development, integration, and third-party applications.
c.) Production system upgrade and test – upgrade the live SAP Business One system, development, and third-party applications – test the upgrade.
d.) Hand over and support – ensure that users have been trained and hand over the system to the users. Provide support and maintenance as required.
Follow these basic steps together with information and documentation available in the SAP Business One Accelerated Upgrade Program and your upgrades will run smoothly – giving your users access to the latest technology from SAP and many more.
Pre Packaged Reports for SAP Business One- Take a Tour
