SAP SuccessFactors – goodbye flash

SAP SuccessFactors is updating Flash elements in their admin area in November 2020.

Flash is being decommissioned from browsers such as Chrome and IE/Edge sometime in 2020, and SAP is working hard to replace any Flash elements with ones compatible with the newer HTML5 technology.

The dashboard, menu, navigation, core entities (i.e. most things in the admin area) are built using the outdated Flash format, and will no longer be available in that format. Instead, the dashboard and elements will be in the modern HTML5 format.

Although SAP haven’t outlined exactly what the new elements will look like, we look forward to a more intuitive and streamlined interface. In their FAQ, SAP explain that the functionality will remain mostly the same, with mostly the same workflows and options. We say ‘mostly’ because there are exceptions.

The new interface will be available in production in May 2020, and users will be able to select either the old Flash or new HTML5 interface up until November 2020, when the old Flash interface will be depreciated.

If your contract with SAP doesn’t include Premium Content Management (PCM) services then eLearning modules developed in Flash need to be manually converted. If not, they will simply cease to be displayed by the browsers, rendering them useless, and leaving learners with nothing.

SAP suggests beginning the process as early as possible. The thing is, where do you start? The first thing to do would be to identify courses that are made in Flash. But how do you do this? Once identified, how will you convert them from Flash to HTML5?

Consulting an external eLearning vendor like Paperbark Innovative takes the headache out of this process. We have easy-to-follow steps for you to follow, and will guide you on the best way forward.