SAP Certification - Preparing for HANA - How to Achieve SAP Certified Technology Associate...

Generated by Jive on 2012-11-12+01:001

SAP Certification: Preparing for #HANA:How to Achieve #SAP Certified TechnologyAssociate #Certification

Tom Cenens 2012/10/29

This certification track is geared towards verification of technical knowledge on SAP HANA. Role wise

the certification is suitable for SAP basis administrators, SAP security administrators and SAP technical

consultants who are involved in the implementation of SAP HANA.

Passing the certification

How do you prepare yourself for the actual certification? I invite you to read on and I hope thatyour questions get answered by this blog post. If you still have questions, feel free to commenton the blog post but note that I will certainly not provide exam questions / answers so pleasedon’t ask here and please don’t mail me to ask because I’m not handing them out. The aim ofthe blog post is to create awareness around the certification and provide additional informationwhich can increase the chances to pass the certification and hopefully also help you to betterunderstand the positioning of the certification.

Educational content

A first challenge rises when the topic educational content comes to mind.

E-training

All SAP HANA core courses are available as e-training. One example of e-training is HA100R, the online

equivalent to HA100 (introduction to SAP HANA). You can follow a part of HA100R as a sample through one of

the respective SAP demo centers web pages: https://training.sap.com/be/en/demo-center

picture 1.0

First, let’s take a look at the relevant course content from SAP:

HA100

The newer courses on SAP HANA start with HA. The introduction course is HA100 and it’s aprerequisite for HA200 (installation administration for SAP HANA SPS04). I followed TZH200 whichis the older course (installation administration for SAP HANA SPS03).

http://scn.sap.com/people/tom.cenens3

SAP Certification: Preparing for #HANA: How to Achieve #SAP Certified Technology Associate #Certification


HA100 is the introduction course to SAP HANA and features theoretical know-how on SAP HANA.

HA100 provides an overview of SAP HANA, discusses the architecture and takes a look at the data

provisioning for SAP HANA as well as the interfaces to the available front-ends.

HA200

Course content based on SAP HANA SPS04

SAP course HA200 is the successor to TZH200 and should tackle a number of issues that existed in SAP

course TZH200. You can see that an additional day of training is foreseen as HA200 takes three days versus

TZH200 which takes two days. I cannot comment much on the course content since I followed TZH200. I would

recommend you to follow HA200 if possible because the SAP HANA version of the course is newer and the

course content has been updated.

SAP Certification

C_HANATEC_1

The C_HANATEC_1 certification has been reworked recently to be more work related and it showsin the certification questions. I strongly recommend that you get hands-on experience with SAPHANA before attempting to pass the certification. Why? Because you should know where you canfind what and which details are located where in the SAP HANA studio for example and thosetypes of questions become much easier after having sufficient hands-on training. As such, inmy opinion, it’s not a good idea to do the certification right after following SAP course HA200.Instead, take some time to play around in SAP HANA and study the relevant course content.

Too easy?

There have been claims from the SAP community that the SAP HANA certification would be tooeasy but that’s not the case in my opinion. On the contrary, it seems many are failing the examso those who claim it’s too easy either have studied to a sufficient extent and don’t want to stateit (not cool, right?) or they have been reading up on SAP HANA a lot or perhaps they have beenusing SAP HANA for a sufficient amount of time. For an associate level certification, the exam isdefinitely not too easy.

Topic areas

picture 1.1

source: https://training3.sap.com/be/en/certification/c_hanatec_1-sap-certified-technology-associate-sap-hana-10-g/#topics

Tips



When reading the following information take into account that it represents my own experience with the SAP

HANA certification. In general you should study everything but I hope the additional information can give you a

heads-up / warning not to underestimate certain parts and have a better idea what is important for the exam.

The areas to look out for are the Data Provisioning and Security and Authorization topic areas.

Data provisioning

It’s important to have good understanding how the different data provisioning scenario’s workfrom a technological point of view (architecture, connections etc) and which replication scenariois used in which situations (what suits best according to the information at hand). For example: ifa customer wants to do X or Y, which is the best solutions are the type of questions to which youshould know the answer.

Security and Authorization

Don’t underestimate the questions on security because they are pretty profound and deepcompared to the relevant content of the SAP course (HA200). In the course HA200 little time isspent on the security. You will probably need to use additional content outside of HA200 to getthe hang of the security authorizations bit.

I would recommend you to check out the guide(s) on security for SAP HANA on http://help.sap.com/

hana_appliance#section3 and to really practice on providing users with specific authorizations because you

need a good understanding of which authorization (privileges, roles) gives access to which content or which

action(s) and so on.

Details

Don’t forget to pay attention to details. Some questions really dig into details such as differencesin file names or commands.

Setting up your own SAP HANA training environment

You can get a free 30 day trail of SAP HANA or you can set up your own SAP HANA box onAmazon AWS (free developer license). This is a great initiative by SAP, for the SAP HANA onAmazon it means you only have to pay for the Amazon usage which is very affordable if youmaintain it properly. Last month’s Amazon AWS bill was 18 dollars (this month it’s about 60dollar) but then again, I didn’t have much time to practice last month. There is a calculatoravailable which can give you an idea of what the cost is if you spent a certain numbers of hours(per day or per month) on the SAP HANA box.

See http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-28294 for more information.



Sample questions

It's always a good idea to check out the sample questions for a certification. They can give you an indication to

what extent you are prepared but don't rely on them too much either because if you redo them multiple times

you are bound to know the answer: https://training.sap.com/uploads/C_HANATEC_1_sample_items.pdf

Expert networking session at SAP TechED Madrid

picture 1.2

I will be hosting an expert networking session on SAP HANA technology certification at SAP TechED Madrid.

Feel free to come to the networking session and ask questions / discuss the topic with me and SAP.

There will also be additional information available at SAP TechED Madrid on the professional level for

functional SAP HANA.

Commonly asked questions and misunderstandings

Some of the questions might make you wonder to what extent some think about the questions they are asking,

but rest assured these questions are being asked. Below I will try to provide honest answers from what I have

seen / heard / experienced.

Can you pass the SAP HANA certification without following a single SAP course?

Yes, it is possible. There is proof on SCN since some community members passed the certification without

following a single SAP course.

In my opinion, this is related to the fact that there is a lot of SAP HANA content available on http://

help.sap.com , http://www.experiencesaphana.com , http://scn.sap.com and other sources.

That, combined with the fact that you can easily set up your own SAP HANA box on Amazon AWS means that

you can self-educate yourself on the topic of SAP HANA to a certain extent.

If it makes sense or not to do this, is something you have to figure out for yourself. Some people prefer to self

educate themselves; others prefer to go to the local SAP Education center to listen to a teacher, ask questions

and practice hands-on while they are there.

It can also be a matter of making the time available to really do it. Following an SAP course at SAP can be a

way to force yourself to spent time on the topic. It can also be an opportunity to meet other participants and

collaborate, socialize and connect.



The SAP courses feature an environment that is larger than what the Amazon developer license offers as

BusinessObjects and SAP ERP are part of the system landscape environment that is used during the training

at SAP.

In the end there is no right or wrong here, my recommendation is go for the education form that you feel

matches your needs best.

What can you expect from someone who holds an associate level certification?

Recently, a number of certifications have been overhauled; those certifications now focus more on questions

that are geared towards on actual use of the SAP product in question, hands-on, in a work environment.

This brings added value to the certificate compared to what was in place previously but it also means it can be

more challenging to pass the certification without having the actual work experience or hands-on experience

which is targeted in the questions.

As such, it might not always be a good idea to do the certification right after following the SAP course.

Associate level

The associate level certification can show that you are knowledgeable on a topic and therenewed exams can even proof you have some hands-on experience. What it doesn’t proveis that you would perform well in an implementation project but it is a good start point to getinvolved in an implementation project.

What can you expect?

• Willingness to learn• Willingness to verify knowledge

Knowledgeable on the topic• At minimum theoretically (conceptual etc)• Overhauled exams proof some hands-on experience (can still be little)

Professional level

The professional level certification show that you are not only knowledgeable but that you have a deeper

understanding of the topic and that you have been working in the topic area to some extent. SAP has plans for

the professional level certification and is working on the professional level certification for SAP HANA but only

for the application track (C_HANAIMP_x). There will not be a SAP HANA technology professional certification

in the near future. There are too many arguments not to have that certification in place yet; one of them is the

need for hands-on verification (or a way to test hands-on knowledge in a sufficient way) for the technical part.

What can you expect?



• Willingness to learn• Willingness to verify knowledge

Knowledgeable on the topic• Beyond theoretical (understanding of related business processes etc)• Overhauled exams proof some hands-on experience (can still be little)

I’ve done the professional level certification for SAP Solution Manager – Technology Professional.The professional level certification is definitely more difficult and the exam I did was anoverhauled exam which has questions that require you to have used the product hands-on. Nothaving that experience will certainly lower your score and possibly make you fail.

SAP has plans to change the professional certifications (I expect SAP HANA application professional level

to already include these changes) to include additional elements to ensure the certification becomes more

valuable and proves that the certificate holder is even more knowledgeable. You can expect to hear more

about this at SAP TechEd and through the SAP Community Network in the near future.

Will SAP HANA certification deliver you a job on a SAP HANA project or implementation?

Not by default. Many persons are already certified in SAP HANA and competition is fierce on the SAP

consultant market.

Other factors can be that the customer has certain preferences when it comes to experience of a candidate.

Some customers might prefer actual implementation experience or they might prefer someone who has

previous experience in other areas of SAP for example.

Warning: Be careful investing your own money into education & certification. Do it wisely. There is no such

thing as job guarantee.

Will this certification ensure your success?

No, a certification is not a guarantee for success. There are many pointers that make a person or project

successful.

Will you be rich if you educate yourself in SAP HANA?

Not by default. Don’t buy into marketing lines which state you will earn X or Y. I always say “dowhat you love and love what you do”. Don’t start because it’s a hype, figure out what it’s aboutand check if you are into it.

Do you think certifications hold added value?

Yes, I do believe certifications hold added value. It’s not just the certification that matters. Thejourney that gets you to that point is also important and it shows you have willingness to learn



which is important. It’s also a check for yourself to see to what extent you have absorbed theknowledge on the topic.

How much time do you need to prepare for the certification?

I’ve seen this question pass by often and there is no good answer to the question. I can onlyrecommend for this specific certification that you take some time to practice hands-on and thatyou don’t rush into the certification the evening of the end of SAP course HA200.

It's probably wise to spend a (some) week(s) on it but it's hard to tell right because it depends on how much

time you have. There is also no good median value, person X might not need much time and person Y might

need a lot of time so take your time and go for the certification when you feel you have sufficient knowledge on

the topic.

As a reference: I took the exam about two weeks after following the SAP course but I didn'thave sufficient time to really learn it very well (I felt underprepared going into the exam). Ialso did not have much experience with SAP HANA up front.

What is the passing score?

The passing score for the exam that I took (C_HANATEC_1) was 65%. Please note that this can be subject to

change when the exam versioning changes.

Closing comment

I’m very happy with the recent collaboration of SAP Education &Certification department withthe SAP community at large and the SAP Mentors. You can expect to hear more from all parties inthe near future and we invite everyone to use the Training & Education space and its certificationsub-space on SCN to discuss SAP educational and SAP certification related topics.

2302 sapteched, sapmentor, hana, sap_education, madrid, certification, sap_certification,expert_networking_session, @tomcenens, sap_hana, c_hanatec_1

2012/10/29 2:33 Kumar Mayuresh

Thanks for sharing. Awesome document for SAP Technology Associate certification.



Thanks a lot.

Tom Cenens

2012/10/29 6:36 Andy Silvey

Great job Tom

All the best

Andy.

2012/10/29 7:18 Kevin Grove

Tom

Another great blog. You have provided some very valuable advice for those looking topursue certification. Now "if only" I can get my hands on a 26 hour day, I will be ready topursue the training myself.

Kevin Grove

2012/10/30 6:05 Tom Cenens Kumar Mayuresh

Hi Kumar

Thanks for the nice comment.

Best regards



Tom

2012/10/30 6:05 Tom Cenens Andy Silvey

Hi Andy

Thank you for your nice comment.

Best regards

Tom

2012/10/30 6:10 Tom Cenens Kevin Grove

Hi Kevin

Thanks for your nice comment. I understand what you mean time wise.

It has been very hectic lately. After switching companies, I embarged on a HANA quest tobecome SAP HANA certified and I also followed the OpenHPI In-Memory Data Managementcourse which I can seriously recommend to any administrator who wants to know moreabout the inner workings of SAP HANA (compression techniquest, why certain choices weremade etc), the course provided a lot of insight to what extent SAP HANA can really changethings around.

Best regards

Tom



2012/10/30 9:00 Jansi Rani Murugesan

Hi Tom.

Congratulations... and thanks a lot for sharing such a deep...

Indeed very help ful.

Regards,

Jansi

2012/10/30 3:59 Tim Breitwieser

Tom -

congratulation to this comprehensive walk-through on the HANA certification, the exampreparation and the certification program as such. Overall this blog should be very helpful forpotential test takers so that they know how to prepare and what to expect from the exam.

I would love to see similar blogs on the HANA modeling exam and later on for the HANAProfessional exam (which you can expect being announced not far from now).

Let me add one helpful resource for exam preparation, a set of sample questions.

Tim

2012/10/31 6:36 Tom Cenens Jansi Rani Murugesan

Hi Jansi

Thanks for your comment.

Feel free to ask questions if any arise.



Best regards

Tom

2012/10/31 6:40 Tom Cenens Tim Breitwieser

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your comment. This blog contains information that I would have wanted beforegoing into the exam so I hope many can use this to their advantage.

It's probably worth mentioning that a lot of points are valid for the HANA modeling exam (thefact that the exam is reworked, hands-on experience is more or less a prerequisite, don'trush into it too fast, Amazon AWS dev license edition can be used to some extent to selftrain).

Thanks for the sample questions link, I will update the blog post to have it incorporated.

Best regards

Tom

2012/10/31 7:00 Doug Martino

Tom -



Excellent overview of the certification process. In addition to the above mentioned excellentcontent, there is also a set of technical infromation available which can be used as adjunctmaterial for people that need to know HANA.

Thank You,

Doug

2012/11/2 11:55 Tim Breitwieser

Hi Tom -

adding to the difference between HA200 and TH200 ...

The new HA200 as successor of TZH200 is now fully aligned with the SPS04 release. Theextension by one day allows students getting more engaged in terms of covered contentsand hands-on experience. Nearly all contents have been reworked, some to a smallerdegree like the SAP HANA studio unit. Other units have gone through a major rework suchas back-up & recovery or monitoring. And there are also new sections such as SAP HANApre- & post-installation or Solution Manager in the context of SAP HANA. With that thecourse teaches you all relevant technical aspects of SAP HANA from planning stage downto day-to-day operations. Aside from the content rework the new HA200 comes with animproved appearance providing a new look & feel.

Tim

2012/11/5 2:15 S Rudra

Hi,

I am writing in from India. Does anyone know if e-academy exists for consultants in India todo HANA course and get certified. I have been trying to reach SAP Education without anysucess for doing courses of my choice. SAP Education, India requests for your resume andthen have recommend me for doing SAP HANA installation and administration course attheir academy. Myself being from developer background with six years of SAP NetweaverPortal experience, I am keenly interested in doing the modelling course for which I am notallowed. Is this same situation in other parts of the world? Seeking some guidance.

http://www.experiencesaphana.com/docs/DOC-2171



S Rudra

2012/11/5 2:54 Tim Breitwieser S Rudra

Hi S Rudra -

there is no eAcademy available for HANA training. Alternatively you might check theavailable online training courses:

• HA100R (https://training.sap.com/course/HA100R-097-g-en/)• HA200R (https://training.sap.com/course/HA200R-097-g-en/) - release in Dec 2012• HA300R https://training.sap.com/course/HA300R-097-g-en/)• HA901R (https://training.sap.com/course/ha901r-097-g-en/• OHA10 (https://training.sap.com/course/oha10-095-g-en/)

Of these, HA100R and HA200R are the most relevant courses to prepare for the HANAtechnology certification. More info on preparation see blog above.

Tim

2012/11/6 6:40 Tom Cenens Doug Martino

Hi Doug

Thanks for your comment and adding useful / valuable information to the blog post!

Best regards

Tom

2012/11/6 6:41 Tom Cenens Tim Breitwieser

Hi Tim

https://training.sap.com/course/HA100R-097-g-en/



https://training.sap.com/course/ha901r-097-g-en/

https://training.sap.com/course/oha10-095-g-en/



Thanks for adding this information, I'm sure it will be useful / valuable information for many.

Best regards

Tom

2012/11/6 4:43 Benedict Vasanth

Great blog Tom....Thanks for the guidance

Will you be rich if you educate yourself in SAP HANA?

Not by default. Don’t buy into marketing lines which state you will earn X or Y. I always say “dowhat you love and love what you do”. like....like...like

2012/11/6 4:50 Andy Silvey Benedict Vasanth

Benedict,

if you share your knowledge, thoughts, experience, following Tom's example, you will alwaysbe rich.

All the best,

Andy.

http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/Community/Andy+Silvey%27s.......SAP+NetWeaver+Basis+Administrator%27s+Toolbox...

2012/11/7 11:04 Mageshwari Ramaiah S Rudra

Hi Rudra,

http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/Community/Andy+Silvey%27s.......SAP+NetWeaver+Basis+Administrator%27s+Toolbox

http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/Community/Andy+Silvey%27s.......SAP+NetWeaver+Basis+Administrator%27s+Toolbox



As mentioned by Tim, there is no eAcademy available for HANA training. Please send meyour email id so that I can have my team get in touch with you for the HANA training andcertification.

Regards,

Maggie

2012/11/7 3:59 Njungeb Geoffrey

Hello Tom,

Thanks for all the wonderful efforts you are sharing and for all the participants.It's reallyhelpful.

Please, where can one study HANATEC1 online as a beginner?

Thank you.

2012/11/8 8:37 Andy Silvey Njungeb Geoffrey

Hi,

here are some online official SAP Hana courses:

https://training.sap.com/bundles/product/sap-hana

There is also a mountain of SAP Hana and Business Objects documentation in the SCNWiki, the SAP Netweaver Basis Administrator's Toolbox, here:

https://training.sap.com/bundles/product/sap-hana



http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=309461179&bc=true

All the best,

Andy.

http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=309461179&bc=true

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