SAP has announced its next-generation integration and application
platform, SAP Netweaver, which is interoperable with Microsoft's
.net and IBM's Websphere environments.
The announcement, which was accompanied by the launch of SAP's
Enterprise Services Architecture, marks the debut of a new backbone
for SAP's business applications.
Philip Carnelly, an analyst with Ovum, gave a conditional welcome
to the announcement. "In theory it will make things easier,
allowing integration of client-server SAP with newer SAP and
applications from other suppliers. In practice the drawbacks of a
heterogeneous environment will remain," he said.
"Matching the business model across applications will still be a
challenge, but communicating between them will be easier," he
added.
The application framework built into Netweaver will allow the
creation of new cross-functional business process applications
using its tools, frameworks, rules and methodologies.
A new master data management feature offers a standardised method
of integrating data from widespread environments.
Additional capabilities include: web and mobile access; enterprise
portal access; real time and asynchronous collaboration; extraction
and analysis of structured information using business intelligence;
unification of unstructured information via knowledge management;
and XML-based integration broking between processes and
applications.
