2015 SAP MARKET & SALARY UPDATE

Market commentary

SAP Reduced greenfield implementation activity in the past twelve months has shifted the SAP skills demand to transformation programs to remediate and improve existing and outdated SAP landscapes. Discrete cloud solutions, EP upgrades and agile solution delivery have also dominated the market.

As a number of SAP initiatives are still in the delivery phase, there is increased competition amongst these projects for experienced SAP resources, which is keeping contract rates buoyant.

The industries we are seeing most demand is in the FMCG, Manufacturing, Utilities and Government sectors. The mining sector has remained subdued as commodity prices have remained soft and projects have reached maturation stage.

Major projects still in the delivery phase include; MMG (global transformation), Toll (greenfield), Orica (brownfield), Murray Goulburn (transformation), Transport NSW (greenfield), 7-11 (upgrade). Projects in post implementation periods include API, CSL, Ausnet Services, Telstra and Latrobe University.

The SAP roles currently most in demand include;

  • Senior functional consultants and solution architects (enterprise and modular)
  • Business analysts
  • Data analytics consultants
  • Integration/PI consultants
  • Data migration

The most valuable skill areas for SAP professionals include;

  • PI/PO
  • BW/BPC/BO
  • HANA
  • Success Factors

Consultants with strong communication and customer engagement skills that can understand, articulate and build business focused solutions and sell the benefits of those and not simply just execute the technology solution are in high demand.

From a technical side, the skills of many traditional SAP professionals will increasingly need to evolve into the cloud, integration, digital and mobile world.

We are still seeing a softening demand for the ‘commodity’ based SAP technical skills such as Basis and ABAP, as these skills can be easily outsourced or offshored.

The emerging skill areas for SAP professionals which we anticipate strong future demand are;

  • HANA
  • Ariba, Success factors, Hybris
  • Mobility/digital
  • Integration (cloud to cloud, cloud to on-premise of both SAP and competitor products)
  • Simple finance and logistics cloud solutions

We are seeing permanent vacancies mainly as a result of attrition, not new headcount. Many companies are trending towards fixed-term hire (permanent with an end date) instead of permanent engagement. Companies are increasingly implementing more flexible workforce solutions, with a blend of onshore/offshore delivery, sourced from internal, direct, partner and agency resources so that they can readily scale up and down as business needs dictate.

Salary Data – SAP Professionals

The Systems and People SAP Salary Update is based upon SAP employment activity across SAP projects nationally over the preceding twelve months.

SAP Project DeliveryContract (daily rate)Permanent (annual salary)
Junior Business Analyst$500 – $600$60k – $75k
Business Analyst$600 – $800$80k – $100k
Senior Business Analyst$800 – $900$110k – $120k
Project Manager (Projects <$5m)$1,000 – $1,200$120k – $140k
Senior Project Manager (Projects > $10m)$1,200 – $1,300$140k – $180k
Programme Manager (Projects < $20m)$1,200 – $1,400$160k – $200k
Senior Programme Manager (Projects > $20m)$1,400 – $1,800$200k – $300k
SAP TechnicalContract (daily rate)Permanent (annual salary)
Junior ABAP developer$500-700$60k – $75k
ABAP developer$700-850$80k – $100k
Senior ABAP developer$850-1000$110k – $130k
Junior Security/GRC Consultant$500-700$60k – $75k
Security GRC Consultant$700-850$80k – $110k
Senior Security/GRC Consultant$850-1000$120k – $140k
Junior Basis Consultant$500-700$60k – $75k
Basis Consultant$700-850$80k – $100k
Senior Basis Consultant$850-1000$110k – $130k
Junior PO/PI Consultant$600-750$60k – $75k
Intermediate PO/PI Consultant$750-900$80k – $100k
Senior PO/PI Consultant$900-1000$110k – $140k
Data Migration Consultant$700-900$100k – $120k
SAP FunctionalContract (daily rate)Permanent (annual salary)
Junior Functional Consultant$400 – $550$65k – $80k
Functional Consultant$500 – $750$90k – $110k
Senior Functional Consultant$850 – $1,200$120k – $140k
Senior Solution Architect$1,100 – $1,300$180k – 200k
Master data consultant$650 – $800$90k-110k
Master data Manager$900 – $1,100$130k – 140k
SAP AnalyticsContract (daily rate)Permanent (annual salary)
Junior BW Consultant$500 – $600$70k – $85k
BW Consultant$700 – $850$90k – $110k
Senior BW Consultant$900 – $1,100$120k – $140k
Junior BPC Consultant$600 – $800$70k – $95k
BPC Consultant$900 – $1,100$100k – $125k
Senior BPC Consultant$1,100- $1,400$130k – $150k
Junior BO Consultant$550 – $650$70k – $85k
BO Consultant$700 – $850$90k – $110k
Senior BO Consultant$900 – $1,000$110k – $130k
SAP DeploymentContract (daily rate)Fixed Term (annual salary)
Change Analyst$700 – $800$100k – $120k
Change Manager$900 – $1,200$120k – $140k
Training Analyst$700 – $900$110k – $120k
Training Manager$900 – $1,200$120k – $130k
Test Analyst$600 – $800$100k – $120k
Test Manager$900 – $1,100$120k – $130k
Technical Writer$650 – $800$90k – $110k

Premiums of over 10% can be added to these roles for SAP emerging skills such as HANA, Success factors, Ariba, Fiori, Hybris

  • Junior: < 4 years’ experience in the role
  • Intermediate: 5 – 8 years’ experience in the role
  • Senior: > 8 years’ experience in the role

Permanent Salaries

All permanent salaries listed are annual base salaries only and do not include bonuses, superannuation, commissions or other benefits.

Contract Rates

All rates listed are the daily ‘Rate to the Contractor’ only (this includes superannuation, but excludes recruitment and statutory on-costs)

Assumptions

Contract rates are determined by the skills and experience of the individual contractor, combined with the market demand for those particular skills at the time the contractor was engaged.

Rates are indicative of the end-user market and a premium may be added for consulting salaries.

Salary and daily rate variations can occur due to:

  • the nature of each assignment (i.e. implementation vs support)
  • location (i.e Sydney vs Adelaide)
  • contract duration (i.e. generally higher rates for shorter term contracts)
  • industry and client (i.e. mining vs retail, consultancy vs end-user)