The University is doing a technical upgrade of the SAP R/3 system over Thanksgiving weekend. The upgraded version of the software will position us to take advantage of new functionality being developed and implemented by SAP. This is the transactional portion of the system; BW/Reporting and portal functions are not being upgraded at this time.

Our core SAP software is being upgraded from version 6.0 Enhancement Pack 3 to 6.0 Enhancement Pack 4, but new functionality is not automatically activated. A great deal of work is being done by IT and the functional teams of the Enterprise Applications Group (EAG) to insure that the system continues to support the administrative processes of the University with minimal impact on end users.

The underlying architecture changes, but the end-user will see minimal differences in “look and feel” or functionality. All UK custom applications (including interfaces and reports) will be tested and verified to function with the new software. Any significant changes will be documented and communicated. If any additional training is necessary, classes or appropriate materials will be made available. The focus of all EAG staff is on testing and preparing the new system to be fully functional and, more importantly, minimally disruptive for UK staff.

SAP functionality accessed through the portal will look the same. Even the SAP transactions that are accessed through the SAP GUI do not appear significantly different. However, all of these changes are being carefully reviewed.

The system will be upgraded Thanksgiving weekend 2009. A detailed schedule of downtime will be provided at a later date, but work is expected to begin Thursday November 26 and be completed by early Monday morning, November 30.