This information-packed session puts you squarely on the path to the right data archiving plan for your organization. Develop a comprehensive understanding of SAP archiving tools and issues, and take home a variety of planning guides, including a start to finish roadmap of the SAP data archiving process. Watch this session to learn the key concepts, decisions, and terminology involved with SAP data archiving. You will:
 

• Delve into the business and technical motivations and justifications for archiving data;
• Explore each phase of a typical archiving project;
• Hear how today’s business, legal, and auditing requirements — including Sarbanes-Oxley, COBIT, and more — affect your archiving decisions;
• Gain criteria to help you navigate 4 options for managing burgeoning system data-prevention, aggregation, deletion, and archiving;
• Sell upper management on your archiving plan — a how-to approach;
• Calculate your archiving ROI — a take-home model; and
• Dispel end-user misconceptions about data being gone forever after archiving.

To plan and execute a successful archiving project, there are many questions to answer. Who should be included on my project team and what should their specific roles be? What motivations for archiving SAP data do I need to consider? How can I create an archiving strategy that addresses different motivations? How long do archiving projects typically take to implement? Are there special budget considerations for archiving? How can I choose the right archiving objects to start with? These questions, and more, will be answered in this session. Watch this session to:

• Build a winning archiving team with people who will champion the project and get the job done;
• Learn how to identify the archiving objects that will give you the highest success rate, along with the order you should implement them;
• Determine the critical success factors for archiving projects and how to build a comprehensive project plan;
• Uncover the reasons why many archiving projects are put off, and get advice on how to avoid the “start-stop” cycle; and
• Decide if and when your archiving project would benefit from a third-party storage or advanced data access solution.

SAP provides its customers with a myriad of data archiving tools and utilities. This session takes you on a guided tour of these tools and helps you answer the questions: Which tools are required and which are optional? What tools are available to me with the SAP release I’m currently running? Watch this session to get your hands around the specific criteria that dictate when and how to use each tool. You will:

• Get detailed explanations of ADK, AS, DRB, and ArchiveLink interface — the foundations of data archiving and retrieval;
• Identify the top archiving objects you need to target first — and why;
• Understand critical transactions and analysis capabilities — DB02, DB15, and TAANA — that alert you to the fastest growing tables;
• Learn how to extend table analysis using new TAANA virtual fields;
• Link inbound and outbound documents, print lists, and archived data stored offline with your live SAP system using the ArchiveLink interface;
• Put archiving job logs, spools, and standard management programs to work to find out how much space you’ve regained in your database as a result of archiving;
• Learn when and how you’ll need to reorganize a table or rebuild an index; and
• Get a sneak peek into new and expanded archiving functionality, such as SAP XML DAS for data archiving in J2EE environments, and Archive File routing.

There’s only one tool you can use to get data off an SAP R/3 or SAP NetWeaver BI (formerly SAP BW) system for the purposes of archiving — and that’s the Archive Development Kit (ADK). This tool is central to creating, opening, writing, reading, and closing archive files, plus all administrative issues, from scheduling jobs to communicating with external storage systems. A thorough understanding of ADK functionality, operation, and implementation factors is a must! Watch this session for expert advice on ADK best practices, tips, and pitfalls. You will:

• Take an in-depth look at the archiving runtime environment and the factors that affect it;
• Understand ADK performance and system availability issues;
• Review guidelines for effectively scheduling your archiving jobs;
• Learn what every administrator needs to know about archive file management;
• Delve into essential ADK customizing transactions: AOBJ, ACLA and DB15;
• Get setup recommendations from the experts;
• Pinpoint common performance and scheduling pitfalls, and how to avoid them;
• Identify the requirements to integrate the ADK with SAP NetWeaver BI; and
• Explore new ADK functionality now available with SAP ERP.

Figuring out which data to archive is your first challenge. The next is to determine how that data should later be retrieved and displayed based on user, legal, and regulatory requirements. Learn what SAP technologies are in place to help you do this, how these solutions operate, and how to choose from among them to ensure archived data is in easy reach by users, business process owners, and auditors. Watch this session to:

• Formulate a solid, documented, and modifiable retrieval strategy based on the frequency and format in which users need access to data;
• Pinpoint 5 ways to retrieve archived data and know when to use each;
• Determine which SAP technology, such as AS or DRB, is the right choice to retrieve archived data, and when to use it;
• Get advice for when to consider a third-party retrieval solution when your standard business requirements go beyond what SAP can provide;
• Drive your retrieval strategy based on how frequently users need to see data; and
• Find out which archiving objects allow you to see data in its original context and which require alternative access methods.

SAP’s Archive Information System (AS) and the Document Relationship Browser (DRB) both play a major role in your data retrieval strategy. AS enables users to search for and view individual archived documents. But that’s often not sufficient. Users, auditors, or lawyers may need to see related data objects, such as a bill or shipping document, in order to re-create the complete business process. Displaying the original business context for archived data is possible with DRB. This session drills down into the end-user and administrative issues of both tools. Watch this session to:

• Learn how to set up infostructures for easy, effective data retrieval;
• Understand integration and interaction of the archiving runtime system with AS and DRB;
• Review configuration guidelines to optimize AS and DRB setup and operation;
• Learn the different read access formats that exist for archived data;
• Understand the Archive Retrieval Configurator and Archive Explorer;
• Enable the proper process context for DRB;
• Customize your own read programs — where to start, sample code, key function modules;
• Security Alert: Critical security considerations for AS and DRB; and
• Leverage DRB configurable browser settings now available with SAP R/3 Enterprise.

The addition of SAP NetWeaver BI (formerly SAP BW) into your IT landscape has profound implications for your SAP data archiving strategy. Because large volumes of data are loaded into SAP NetWeaver BI on a regular basis, a data management strategy is paramount to optimizing your BI system performance, among other advantages. At the same time, before you can archive SAP R/3 data, you’ll need to consider whether it is already loaded and stable in your BI environment. This session considers both of these important implications and provides hard-hitting advice for how to incorporate them into your overall SAP data archiving approach. Watch this session to:

• Understand your 3 standard options for managing data in SAP NetWeaver BI, and learn which option is most appropriate for your needs;
• Become familiar with key elements of both the SAP BI ADK archiving architecture, and the new SAP NLS (Near Line Storage) interface;
• Explore the near-line storage options and how this new interface differs from SAP’s traditional ADK-based solutions;
• Step through the standard SAP ADK-based process for SAP NetWeaver BI options in detail;
• Weigh alternative options to extract SAP R/3 data that has already been archived for use in SAP NetWeaver BI; and
• Understand ADK and near-line storage infrastructure requirements for SAP NetWeaver BI and how to leverage storage solutions that may already exist in your landscape.

SAP offers a free tool called DART (Data Retention Tool). This is an invaluable IRS audit preparation tool for U.S. companies. It includes all sorts of predefined extraction structures and programs and standard reports for viewing extracted information. But DART is not an archiving tool. It is a complementary product designed expressly to meet the data formatting requirements of the IRS. Watch this session to:

• Gain detailed understanding of DART functionality;
• Learn how to configure DART;
• Plan ahead for key performance and administrative considerations;
• Take home a step-by-step guide for setting up DART in just one day!;
• Get surefire tips for how to create DART extract files to quickly and easily retrieve data; and
• Understand how to align a DART project with your data archiving project

In order to get the business to support data archiving, SAP teams must demonstrate accountability for important business data. Proving that archived data is retrievable is not enough; archiving teams must further demonstrate that data will not be lost at any time during the archiving process. This session shows you how to gain the support and ensure the high comfort level of users, managers, and business process owners with a tightly controlled, well-documented archiving plan. Watch this session to:

• Learn how to create prototype scenarios that demonstrate your archiving plan for the business team;
• Uncover tips for how to prototype and test your archiving plan in a pre-production SAP R/3 environment;
• Understand how to uncover and correct pitfalls and identify functional gaps before the project goes live;
• Establish key metrics that help you determine with certainty what data will and will not be subject to archiving;
• Implement steps to maintain tight control over targeted and non-targeted data throughout the archiving process;
• Build an accountability trail for all archived data;
• Delve into methods to validate the results of your archiving processes; and
• Review a sample matrix for building an audit trail of what happens to data throughout the archiving phases of its lifecycle.

Despite an organization's best-laid plans, data archiving projects can falter due to a variety of causes, whether they be business, technical, or end-user driven. This practical session, based on real-world archiving projects, will uncover common causes of project breakdown and provide advice on how you can prevent them. Watch this session to:

• Learn how to balance your organization's motivations for archiving to meet legal requirements, improve performance, reduce storage costs, and other common drivers 
• Ensure your archived data is safe, secure and recoverable in the event of a disaster
• Uncover data dependencies in advance
• Explore common archiving object pitfalls before they present a hazard to the success of your project  
• Understand why it is critical to plan for the final retention of data before you begin to archive 
• Explore the different options available within SAP solutions to plan for the expiration of data 
• Gain tips on how to decide whether your data retrieval strategy requires investment in a third-party tool