Are you seeking a lucrative career that bridges the gap between business and tech? If, so SAP could be the perfect fit! Read our guide to learn more about how to become a SAP Consultant in 2022.
Table of Contents
- What is SAP?
- 5 Need-to-Know Stats about SAP in 2022
- What is A SAP Consultant?
- What are the Different Kinds of SAP Consultants?
- Typical Responsibilities
- What Qualifications Do You Need to Become A SAP Consultant?
- How Much Do SAP Consultants Earn in Ireland?
- What are the “Hot Topics” in SAP Today?
- What Are the Benefits of Becoming A SAP Consultant?
- Contact Berkley Today to Advance Your SAP Career
What is SAP?
SAP’s cloud business software offers a suite of products to meet the needs of different organisations and business functions. This software allows organisations to easily manage information through the creation of a single, centralised system. As such, this software helps enterprises to enhance productivity, streamline processes, improve connectivity, and enhance organisational visibility.
An industry-leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, SAP provides a diverse range of programmes designed for many core business areas. Currently, there are approximately 25 SAP “modules”, some of the most widely used of these include:
- SAP Financial Accounting (FI)
- SAP Controlling (CO)
- SAP Human Capital Management (HCM)
- SAP Materials Management (MM)
- SAP Sales and Distribution (SD)
- SAP Production Planning (PP)
- SAP Quality Management (QM)
- SAP Supply Chain Management (SCM)
5 Need-to-Know Stats about SAP in 2022
- SAP is the number one publicly-traded software company in Europe.
- Today, SAP has more than 230 million cloud users.
- It is the third-largest publicly-traded software company in the world.
- By 2026, the global market size of SAP Application Service is projected to reach $50,940m (Source: MarketWatch).
- 77% of the world’s transaction revenue touches a SAP System.
What is A SAP Consultant?
SAP Consultants are highly-skilled professionals who specialise in the design, implementation, maintenance and management of SAP software systems for an organisation. SAP Consultants may choose to work on an in-house basis as permanent employees or they may contract their services to multiple clients.
What are the Different Kinds of SAP Consultants?
1. Developer Consultant: This is a type of technical SAP consultant who is responsible for coding ABAP programs (the primary programming language used by SAP) and Java. Typical responsibilities for this role would include configuring the software, developing new features, testing, and fixing bugs. Roles of this type are best-suited to individuals with experience in technical areas such as software engineering and development.
2. Functional Consultant: Functional Consultants work to understand their client’s business needs and then work to design a SAP solution in line with their unique requirements. They then collaborate with a technical team to implement the system as per agreed-upon specifications. To be successful in this role, the consultant needs to have proven business acumen as well as a high level of technical knowledge.
3. SAP Basis Consultant: SAP Basis is “the technical foundation that enables SAP applications to function. It consists of middleware programs and tools that support the interoperability and portability of SAP applications across systems and databases” (Source: TechTarget). SAP Basis Consultants are responsible for installing, maintaining and optimising an organisation’s SAP system.
Typical Responsibilities
- Understanding clients’ business needs and using this information to design a customised SAP solution
- Proposing SAP solutions to clients in a way that highlights how these solutions can add value to the organisation
- Building a custom SAP solution and integrating it into any existing IT programs
- Providing technical support and troubleshooting issues
- Developing documentation for end-users
- Maintaining the SAP system and keeping it up-to-date
What Qualifications Do You Need to Become A SAP Consultant?
Generally speaking, you will need a Bachelor’s Degree in order to become a SAP Consultant. In our experience, many candidates who go straight from university into SAP Consulting study courses that bring together IT, computer science and business studies, such as Business Information Systems (BIS).
However, we also see many candidates from a non-technical background who discover SAP through exposure in the workplace. These candidates come from a diverse variety of professional backgrounds such as Accountancy, Software Engineering, Supply Chain or Finance.
In addition, you will need to complete training in SAP. Some employers offer this SAP training internally. However, in many cases, you will need to undertake some self-directed learning. You may choose to do this through SAP’s own online training hub, third-party courses through online MOOCs, or in-person training. In terms of learning goals, you will need to develop expertise in your chosen niche, manage projects and program the software in accordance with the needs of your clients.
How Much Do SAP Consultants Earn in Ireland?
| Salary | Day Rate | |
| SAP Solutions Architect | 60 – 100K | 600 – 700 |
| SAP GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance) Consultant | 100 – 110K | 450 – 600 |
| SAP Implementation Consultant | 60 – 80K | 450 – 600 |
| SAP ABAP Developer | 30 – 65K | 375 – 500 |
| SAP S/4Hana Consultant | 85 – 90K | 650 – 800 |
| SAP Security Architect | 80 – 115K | – |
| SAP Applications Analyst | 70 – 100K | – |
| SAP C4C Business Analyst | 60 – 75K | – |
| SAP Treasury Specialist | 70 – 85K | – |
What are the “Hot Topics” in SAP Today?
“S/4HANA is the successor of ECC, but it’s not just an upgrade. SAP rebuilt its applications from the ground up to take advantage of the power and innovative design of HANA. SAP ECC users need to pass through Suite on HANA, and then undergo further transformations to reach S/4HANA. It’s worth the work. S/4 users get all the benefits of Suite, along with others, like flexible data modeling, real-time reporting, and numerous application-specific benefits.” ~ NTT
By 2027, SAP will be ending support for ECC6. As such, many companies are currently migrating from ECC6 to SAP S/4Hana. Our consultants have noticed an increased employer demand for SAP Consultants who have experience working through previous SAP migration projects.
What Are the Benefits of Becoming A SAP Consultant?
The career outlook for SAP Consultants in Ireland is very positive. With more and more organisations embracing digital transformation, the need for talented SAP professionals will only continue to grow. What’s more, skills shortages and limited talent pools in this area mean that employers are willing to pay top dollar for the right match.
Contact Berkley Today to Advance Your SAP Career
If you are a business or technology professional who is looking to make a change in your career, why not contact Berkley’s dedicated team? Our consultants can talk you through current opportunities on the market and advise you on how to advance your career. To learn more, reach out to us today by phone or email.









