In the endless hunt for accuracy, data quality, and system integrity, doing a quality assurance instance refresh can save you time, find unexpected issues, and drive ongoing organisational flexibility. It also allows for you to test specific scenarios or views, to assess specific materials and data, and to ensure that systems remain compliant with regulatory requirements. It’s also the right environment in which to assess specific performance and development parameters – isolation allowing for you to test and develop in the right conditions without risking the business.
Why do you need the instance refresh?
You don’t want to test in a live environment. There’s too much risk across security, performance and downtime to make this even remotely viable. What you want is an instance that allows you to do comprehensive testing of any customisation and changes you’ve made and that’s as close to the live system as possible. It’s the space you need to consistently and continuously test ongoing developments.
What are some of the best practice methodologies?
When it comes to working with SAP and ensuring ongoing SAP performance, you need to ensure that your quality assurance instance refresh process is tight and aligned with best practice. While the methodologies may vary from industry to company, ultimately you want a quality assurance instance that will ensure isolation, reduce risk and closely mimic main business operations. It also has to tick several technical boxes that include anything from object naming to strategic assessment and transport creation. To ensure that the test data is accurate, you have to create a QA system that’s a copy of the production system so that the results more accurately mimic the real world.
Working with a qualified expert in this field can ensure that your quality assurance instance refresh process is seamless – work with the right expert, and they will collaborate with your IT teams instead of against them.
What are the business benefits?
This process will help you to reduce bugs and errors, catching many of them in the preliminary stages rather than during business rollout. It also irons out the hidden wrinkles and finds the problems that may impact on the system’s ability to accomplish specific technical requirements. While it can be time consuming, it’s nowhere near as time consuming as running the code live while the business flounders. There’s also a lot to be said for launching an application or fine tuning a system to minimise, if not completely remove, errors and bugs that could affect customer perceptions and business capabilities.
What are the technical benefits?
Well, other than the fact that you can consistently streamline and improve on the quality of the system, one of the primary benefits is access to more accurate test data for developers that allows for improved testing of ongoing developments and roll-outs. Essentially, if you run a SAP system then you need a quality assurance and development system to ensure that any changes made in customisation and development are tested before they’re moved to the production system.
Should you bother with partners?
Yes. You want to work with experts. People who know and love SAP. And teams that understand the value of collaboration. Ultimately, this process is designed to make development and application more efficient and risk-free. You want to work with a partner that will support your IT department throughout the process, have the understanding of SAP and quality assurance instance refreshes that’s needed to bypass risk, and that will give you the support you want. ETZ Global has a global reputation for working with customers to provide the support, tools and expertise that they need across SAP and multiple leading vendors. Contact us today to find out how we can change your instance refresh from tedious to experience.
