Message from the Director

Thank you for your interest in SAP and visiting the SAP Users' Group website!

Most large corporations and many small to mid-sized companies are using enterprise resource planning systems such as SAP, Oracle / PeopleSoft, Microsoft, and SSA Global. Of the enterprise systems market, SAP has about 54% market share! Knowledge and hands-on experience with SAP will directly benefit you with over half the companies that use enterprise systems. Having worked with enterprise systems, I can say that hands-on experience with one enterprise system will conceptually help you work with any enterprise system.

As a student, taking courses with an SAP component gives you an edge over students who do not have a working knowledge of an enterprise system. I believe you will find that the knowledge you gain from working with SAP will benefit you in careers in accounting, sales, marketing, business operations, information technology, and/or computer science. Your knowledge of SAP can help you in any position where you must use systems, design systems, support systems and/or evaluate systems within a company! When you think about it, it is hard to think of a position where you wouldn't be exposed to enterprise systems such as SAP!

I am very excited about our new Enterprise Systems concentration at the graduate level that includes several of our SAP courses that hands-on exposure to enterprise systems through the use of SAP. We will also offer a graduate ABAP programming course in the Summer 2006 and Fall 2006 semesters, as well as courses at the undergraduate level.

Being an active member of the SAP Users' Group shows your dedication to keeping up-to-date on information systems, e-Business, enterprise systems, and specifically applying these concepts with hands-on use of SAP. Prospective employers like to see students who are well-rounded and you can demonstrate this by also being an active part of organizations, such as the SAP Users' Group!

I look forward to working with you in the SAP Users' Group. Please contact me or one of the officers if you have any questions and any of us will be happy to answer questions you may have or get you started with learning more about SAP.

Kindest regards,

Professor Lou Thompson
SAP Users' Group Director and Faculty Advisor
University of Texas at Dallas
(972) 883-2558
lou.thompson@utdallas.edu