For
many customers and consultants it has been difficult to get a full
understanding of how the configuration landscape of SuccessFactors
differs from SAP HCM. Many customers have concerns about Provisioning
and the role it plays in setting up the SuccessFactors instance due to
the access being limited only to trained SuccessFactors consultants. Due
to the different designs of the systems they do not share the same
methods of setup and configuration. In this blog I will attempt to
explain the similarities and differences between SAP HCM and
SuccessFactors from a setup and configuration perspective.
What is Provisioning?
Provisioning
is the “backend” of SuccessFactors. However, it is not like the IMG of
SAP – rather it acts more like the Switch Framework and is primarily
used to enable different features within the SuccessFactors system. In
addition, it is where XML configuration files are uploaded and jobs can
be setup. For some modules it is used to setup features in more depth
than in others. Generally once Provisioning of the instance has been
done it should not be required again. However, there are some exceptions
such as quarterly release opt-in features and adding new modules. Many
of the technical limitations of Provisioning are being addressed over
time with each quarterly release. One example is making changes to the
Succession Data Model, which has a Config UI now available for basic to
intermediate configuration changes in OneAdmin instead of via XML that
must be uploaded via Provisioning. Over time more and more changes will
be available via this Config UI.

Why is Provisioning not available to customers?
Provisioning
settings, although simple to activate, often have technical
repercussions that need to be widely understood before features should
be activated or deactivated. Some features also require multiple
activities to be performed to enable them fully or require an additional
license before being activated (some of these features have no
technical restriction to being activated). In the SAP HCM world it is
similar to a Basis consult enabling Enterprise Business Functions in the
Switch Framework or configuring switch table T77S0. These are not
activities generally performed by customers, although it is not unknown
for customers to perform them if they have experienced or qualified
resources. There is nothing to stop a customer from hiring an
experienced or qualified SuccessFactors resource to Provision their
system. The key difference is that SuccessFactors will not provide
Provisioning access unless a consultant has completed the Intro to
Mastery training course. This protects the customer from having an
unqualified resource attempting to make settings within Provisioning
that can destabilize their instance.
What sort of things would be configured in Provisioning?
Provisioning is where a consultant can configure the following types of settings:
- Languages and Language Packs
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Jam integration
- Payroll integration
- Dell Boomi AtomSphere account details
- Session Timeout warning message period
- Document Attachment storage and limits
- Restrict access by IP range
- Applications (e.g. Employee Central, Succession, Recruiting, etc)
- Application-specific features (e.g. Performance Management features such as Writing Assistant, Workflow, and Legal Scan or Workforce Analytics & Planning features such as Ad Hoc Report Builder, Dashboards tab, and Gap Analysis)
- V12 Revolution UI
- Talent Search
- Position Management
- Metadata Framework
- Position Hierarchy
- Web Services and APIs
- Proxy
- XML Data Models
- Competency Libraries
- Skill Libraries
- Goal Libraries
- Templates (e.g. Goal Plan, Job Requisition, or Career Worksheet, etc)
OneAdmin
Within the application both customers and consultants will – depending on their permissions – have access to OneAdmin. Depending on their permissions they will have access to different types of activities. For the purpose of this blog I will discuss OneAdmin as if I had been granted full permissions. OneAdmin is where consultants and customers can configure the following types of features:
- Applications (e.g. Employee Central, Succession, Recruiting, etc)
- Application-specific features (e.g. Performance Management features such as manage Templates, manage Route Maps, or manage Rating Scales or Employee Central features such as Employee Files portlets, Workflow recipients, or data propagation rules)
- Permissions
- User Accounts
- Employee data
- Org Chart
- Picklists (i.e. F4 Helps in SAP)
- Home Page tiles
- Metadata Framework
- Position Management
- Dictionary
- E-mail Notifications
- Themes and Company Logo
- Talent Search
- Proxy
OneAdmin’s features are split by application/process in Company Processes & Cycles. System and employee management activities are within Manage Employees. Both are shown in the screenshot below.

OneAdmin
configuration is GUI based. Let’s look at Foundation Objects – these
are the equivalent of Object Types in SAP, such as Organizational Unit
(O) or Job (C) objects. Creating Foundation Object data is done through a
single screen. In the screenshot below is a Job Classification object,
which is the equivalent of a Job object in SAP.

If we now look at Permissions, these are also configured via a GUI. In the screenshots below, the Manager
Role is being configured to permission which effective-dated data can
be visible, have its history visible, be edited, corrected, or deleted.

Even
through these brief examples it is easy to get an idea of the
simplicity of configuring SuccessFactors and how an administrator user
could do the sort of activities that usually require Basis, ABAP,
technical, and/or Security consultants to maintain. Over time OneAdmin
will become even more powerful for customers.
How Provisioning and OneAdmin compares to the Implementation Guide (IMG)
It’s
hard to compare the IMG, because simply the system is configured
differently. The settings are done differently and there are very few
like-for-like screens. In fact, in preparing this blog I spent a large
amount of time trying to find some like-for-like screens in the IMG and
OneAdmin and had little success. While it is possible to show screens of
different configurations – for example configuring Performance
Management templates – there really is a different design behind
configuration of the two systems.
One
quick example I found to show some difference between the configuration
of each system is within the Performance Management process. The
following two screens demonstrate creating a Performance Management
template in SAP HCM and in SuccessFactors:


As
you can see, there is little similarity between the two configuration
processes and the latter is certainly more customer friendly.
Summary
Hopefully
I have provided some clarity about the purpose of Provisioning and
OneAdmin, as well as how these compare to the Switch Framework and, more
importantly, the IMG. The key here is to remember that these are
different systems. They are designed differently and configured
differently. The concepts behind what can be configured by an
administrator in SuccessFactors versus what needs Basis or consultant
support in SAP HCM differs quite significantly. Both systems have their
pros and cons, but form my perspective SuccessFactors favors the less
technical administrator and thus removes TCO versus SAP HCM.
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