SAP Links ERP, Integration Offerings

SAP is beginning to put its recently unveiled NetWeaver integration technology to work for customers. At the CeBIT trade show in Hannover, Germany, this week, SAP introduced mySAP ERP, a collection of enterprise resource planning applications enhanced with the NetWeaver integration and application server platform.

MySAP ERP is an upgrade for the more than 19,000 organizations that use the Walldorf, Germany, companys R/3 ERP system. Once upgraded, those users can add functionality for customer relationship management or product lifecycle management found in SAPs mySAP Business Suite of applications.

The goal with this initiative is to make it easier to change the IT infrastructure that automates business processes. Instead of doing a wholesale upgrade of R/3 or one of its components to change or add new functionality, an organization would with mySAP ERP use NetWeaver to build new cross-functional applications.

NetWeaver is an integration and application server technology that is interoperable with IBMs WebSphere and Microsoft Corp.s .Net. It includes a composite application framework that can be used to create new applications that function across already defined business processes, as well as master data management services to ensure data integrity.

NetWeaver also extends SAPs offerings by providing portal-based collaboration capabilities, officials said.

The new mySAP ERP software includes functions for analytics, financials, human resources, corporate services (such as travel and real estate management), and operations (such as purchase order and production management).

Separately at CeBIT, SAP unveiled the following initiatives:

• mySAP Professional Services to help project-based services organizations manage key business processes.
• SAP Business One, a software solution for small and mid-sized businesses, and a cooperative alliance with vocational schools.
• an initiative to work with Hewlett-Packard Co. and Vodafone to build a mobile solution package using mySAP Mobile Business software.
• retail planning and execution software for fashion retailers.

Latest Cebit News:		Latest Stories by John S. McCright: