Common Questions About Virtual Training

What Is Virtual Training?



Before we get into the benefits and considerations for virtual training, let's define what virtual training is. It is training delivered over the internet, using technology to connect live instructors with live students remotely. The "classroom" is a technology such as Microsoft Office LiveMeeting, GotoMeeting, Adobe Connect, or Webex. The students can see the instructor's desktop and hear the instructor. Students will typically log into a remote environment to work hands-on with the technology and do lab exercises.


Is Virtual Training As Effective As live Classroom Training?


Pro: While I certainly can't speak for everyone, studies, surveys and student feedback indicate that the answer to this question is Yes. Some students report that they are actually forced to interact more in a virtual setting, and some instructors have said that students ask better, more focused questions in virtual classes than in a live classroom. The remote environment that students use to practice and do their lab exercises typically remains available around the clock, allowing students more time to work with the technology.


Con: Students are more directly responsible for the quality of their learning experience, and they must be more self-motivated in their desire to learn. In addition, the instructors cannot see the body language of the students to get a feel for how their message is being delivered.


Should I Expect to Pay More, Less, or the Same for Virtual Training as Opposed to a Live ILT Course?


Short answer: The same. Virtual courses use the same resources to deliver a class as a live setting would. The instructor's time is the same, courseware is the same, and while the vendor delivering the course isn't outfitting a full classroom with 12 or more computers, they are supplying the technology for the virtual lab environment and likely paying for licensing for the webinar software. Keep in mind, however, that you're saving on travel costs in a virtual class.


How Long Should a Virtual Training Class Be?


The course itself will ultimately be the same duration the equivalent ILT class. However, you should expect the virtual class to be broken up into shorter segments delivered over a longer period of time. For example, a five day ILT course might be scheduled from 9am to 12 noon, Mon-Wed-Fri, over 4 weeks. The reason for this is that the virtual setting does not lend itself to the intensive schedule of 5 consecutive 8-hour days.


Final Thoughts


- Keep in mind that the most important aspect of any training course is the quality of the instructor. A bad instructor won't get better in a virtual course.


- Do your homework. When you're shopping for the right training course for your needs, whether it's ILT or virtual, read reviews, review the prerequisites, and make sure that your real-world business issues will be addressed in the course.


- Leverage your volume. If you have multiple employees who need the same course, you may be able to run a private course. A private virtual classroom operates the same as a private live course; you can customize content, mix lessons from other courses, and add in custom content just as you would in a live class. A private virtual class allows students from different physical locations to attend the same event without travel, and you may be able to record the class and archive it on your network for reference.



Comments on this blog are read and responded to, so don't be shy!

The Real Cost of SAP Training

Having implemented SAP training for several large organizations it seemed pretty apparent to me that this training was vastly overpriced. Recently we were asked to roll out about 20 weeks of classes for a major defense contractor and we looked at few different options, of course the first option was to use official SAP. Having experienced that process first hand I knew we could do better. We partnered with a content provider who indeed provided proprietary content without the fancy hard cover books and rolled out the most comprehensive SAP training I’ve seen to date for a fraction of the cost. The client was thrilled and this alone has led to a # of different offerings that have nothing to do with SAP. The first being JD Edwards training which was delivered in the exact same manner and now a large SharePoint portal training is imminent.



It’s always a surprise to find clients out there who insist on using SAP for SAP training.

SAP Plant Maintenance

This is a fantastic course for anyone interested in understanding how the SAP Plant Maintenance module integrates with other modules, as well as understanding the various business processes within SAP!

What will you learn?

Unit 1: Overview of Plant Maintenance



• Corrective Maintenance
• Preventive Maintenance


Unit 2: Plant Maintenance and Enterprise Asset Management


• Plant Maintenance and Reliability
• Plant Maintenance and Regulatory Compliance
• Plant Maintenance and Cost Tracking
• Feeding Back Corrective Data Into "PM's"
• Business Process Integration
• Maintenance Management Best Practice


Unit 3: Plant Maintenance Asset Data (Technical Objects)


• Functional Locations
• Equipment
• Bills of Material (BOMS)
• PM Assemblies
• Materials
• Object Links


Unit 4: Plant Maintenance Organizational Elements


• Plants
• Work Centers
• Planner Groups


Unit 5: Plant Maintenance Transactional Objects


• Notifications
• Work Orders


Unit 6: Plant Maintenance Preventive Maintenance Objects


• Task Lists
• Preventive Maintenance Items
• Preventive Maintenance Plans
• Measuring Points and Measuring Documents


Unit 7: Cross Application Objects


• Classes and Characteristics
• HR Master Data
• Document Management
• Shop Papers


Unit 8: Integration of Plant Maintenance with other Modules


• Finance
• Procurement
• Project Systems


Unit 9: Reporting


• PMIS
• BW Reporting
• Ad Hoc Plant Maintenance Queries


Unit 10: Variants and Defaults

SAP ABAP Web Dynpro Training

For any developer interested in customizing their SAP environment, learning the scope of Web Dynpro, and/or responsible for the development of their programming model, this course is indispensible!

What will you learn?

• The ABAP Web Dynpro Component in detail
• Positioning of ABAP Web Dynpro with Business Server Pages, Java Web Dynpro, and other UI technologies
• ABAP Object Oriented Programming Review – Foundational Elements
• Usage, Definition and Programming aspects of Web Dynpro Controllers within a Web Dynpro Component
• All details for each Controller Type (Component, View, Main, Custom, Interface)
• Context Definition, Binding, and Programming components
• ABAP Web Dynpro Application and corresponding ICF Service
• UI Elements in Detail for each category; Elementary, Complex, Container, and Specialized
• Error handling and message interface with users
• ALV Integration to replace table UI elements and Event integration
• Dynamic User Interface and Context programming
• Pop-up windows and dynamic window creation
• Specialized UI Elements for Adobe form integration
• Performance and Security aspects
• Multi-lingual text handling, data dictionary based and programmed
• Value help handling, data dictionary based and programmed, including Object Value Selector
• Portal integration design considerations
• Configuration and User Personalization
• Web Dynpro Enhancement Framework

visit us at www/trainingintel.com for more info!

Feedback from recent SAP training

Here are some quotes from recent SAP training we've conducted...

- The instructor was outstanding – one of, if not the best I have ever experienced!
          – Senior SAP Analyst



- A very well-organized class; applied to our SAP environment regardless of customization, whereas other courses we have had do not relate to our customized solution
          - ABAP Programmer


- Best SAP class so far! 
          - SAP Security Manager


- Great instructor. Very knowledgeable on subject matter and other technical areas of SAP. Easy to understand and very willing to give personal (one on one) attention for questions.
          – IT Business Consultant


- Best ABAP class ever – should be required for all analysts.
          – Senior SAP Analyst


Remember, "gray market" training allows the provider to be much more responsive and flexible, at a fraction of the cost of going directly to the manufacturer!

Pulling Back the Curtain on Microsoft Training

How Much is Too Much to Pay for Private Microsoft Training?

Whatever the number is, right now you’re probably paying too much. Microsoft training is a commodity. There are, as of this writing, 356 Microsoft Certified Partners for Learning Solutions (CPLS) in the U.S. alone, and the vast majority of them operate in the exact same way, from single location shops, to nationwide chains.

You should be paying no more than about $12,000 - $14,000 for a week of private Microsoft training, onsite at your own company location. The high end of that range INCLUDES extensive customization, by the way.

Here’s the thing to keep in mind if your training provider wants to charge more than this total: Most training companies run a facility with 8-12 classrooms, network, electricity, phones, staff, etc, that they need to cover whether you use their facility of not. However, if you’re conducting the training at your office, these costs are truly irrelevant to you, and you should not pay for them. EVER.

If you require the use of their facility, then by all means, you should expect to pay for it.

Please feel free to comment or respond to this post with questions about your own training need, and I’ll be happy to assist you with a reasonable cost assessment and breakdown for your training need.

JDE & Strategy

JDE & STRATEGY training wrapped up last week at our client site - great reviews, and the client would like to customize future STRATEGY courses based on the audience. This first course had an audience that was all over the board, so different courses for beginners vs. experienced users are definitely in order.

JD Edwards Training - Enterprise One!

Training Intelligence kicked off a four-day training course at a major manufacturer in Connecticut this week. The course consists of three days of administration training on JD Edwards Enterprise One (E1), plus one day of Showcase STRATEGY! The client formerly shared ERP systems with their sister company, but recently split off to their own stand-alone system.

STRATEGY! is a stand-alone software solution for business intelligence reporting, recently certified as the preferred BI interface to JD Edwards E1.

The client will be holding future courses, particularly on STRATEGY!, as a large portion of their population will benefit.

C#.NET for Visual Studio 2008

Training Intelligence just completed a course in Stamford, CT on C#.NET for Visual Studio 2008. The trainer received exceptional marks (9.88 out of 10)!

This course was based on a Microsoft official course for earlier versions of Visual Studio, but was fully updated and customized for Visual Studio 2008. Students brought many of their real-world problems to the course, and the instructor was able to weave them into the course content and enhance the students' experience by making the information immediately relevant.

The lesson - even in a public training course, you should get what you paid for. The training you attend should help you solve the problem you came there to solve; don't be a silent participant - ask your questions, and make sure your issues are addressed!

SAP Training Resources

Most professionals in the SAP community rely heavily on SAP themselves to provide the training you need on the various modules, and/or customizations skills, such as ABAP. The price tag that comes with training directly from SAP America is pretty steep, but most training managers see no alternative. There is. The gray market is producing some top-quality SAP trainers, many of whom formerly worked directly for SAP. In it's infancy, SAP training was tightly controlled by the company, but as the market has matured, many of those trainers have developed the relationships and skills to go independent as contractors and consultants.

I've worked with a number of these trainers to deliver custom training on SAP topics such as ABAP, Procurement, Pricing, Sales & Distribution, Plant Maintenance, and many other modules. This training is done at a fraction of the cost of the same training done through SAP (i.e. 1/2 in some cases).

Go gray market - quality and cost are in your favor!