Enterprise Services Architecture



SAP xAPPS

In 2002, SAP announced a new breed of applications called cross-applications (SAP xApps). The SAP xApps portfolio delivers advanced business practices in applications that are easy to implement and extend an organization’s existing information technology assets.

SAP xApps spearhead the application of Enterprise Services Architecture to SAP’s portfolio of solutions. Built as flexible composite applications, SAP xApps bring together people, information, and business processes from both the enterprise and its business partners to improve business responsiveness.

The first SAP xApps introduced was SAP xApp Resource and Program Management (SAP xRPM), a comprehensive project portfolio management application that synchronizes information and processes from project, human resources, financial, and time-tracking systems – both SAP and non-SAP.

SAP NETWEAVER

In January 2003, SAP announced that, going forward, it would develop all of its business solutions along the lines of an Enterprise Services Architecture blueprint. Enterprise Services Architecture combines SAP’s enterprise applications expertise with the flexibility of Web services and other open technologies into a blueprint for complete and services-based business solutions.

The technical foundation of Enterprise Services Architecture is SAP NetWeaver, an open integration and application platform that constitutes SAP’s next generation technology platform.

SAP NetWeaver allows organizations to drive more business value from existing IT investments, nurtures a services-oriented architecture across the IT landscape, and reduces total cost of ownership and complexity. SAP NetWeaver embraces open standards and is designed to be fully interoperable with two of the leading development standards, Microsoft .NET and IBM WebSphere (J2EE).

From a business perspective, SAP NetWeaver allows organizations to better embrace change by closely aligning business objectives and information technology investments. Applications based on SAP NetWeaver are built for change, with openness and interoperability as a prerequisite. With SAP NetWeaver, companies enjoy the short-term benefits of “business ready” integration while preparing for the longterm benefits of services-oriented architectures.

In other words, SAP NetWeaver provides the ability to implement changing business strategies by providing flexibility, speed, and sustainability.

SAP NetWeaver provides the following components:

• SAP Enterprise Portal (SAP EP) is a Web-based gateway solution that brings together collaboration, knowledge management, and relevant content by integrating diverse information, applications, and services. The solution allows a user to access from one location all types of company-wide information.
• SAP Business Intelligence (SAP BI) enables organizations to aggregate, analyze, and disseminate relevant and timely information. Key features of SAP BI include data warehousing, online analytical processing of information, report design and creation, and performance management.
• SAP Master Data Management (SAP MDM) is a standardized offering that helps achieve information integrity across a network of suppliers and customers by allowing companies with different IT systems to consolidate, harmonize, and centrally master data.
• SAP Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI) provides open integration technologies that support collaboration among SAP and non-SAP components, both within and beyond enterprise boundaries. It includes integration broker and leading business process management capabilities.
• SAP Mobile Infrastructure (SAP MI) is the foundation for all mobile business solutions. It provides a universal, secure platform that enables true enterprise mobility while supporting a wide range of mobile scenarios.
• SAP Web Application Server (SAP Web AS) allows organizations to leverage existing technology assets – while building and deploying the dynamic business applications and Webservices- oriented solutions that drive today’s collaborative business. SAP Web AS supports both the J2EE and the ABAP programming languages.
• SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure (SAP AII) adds a layer of intelligence between the reader and the application. By collecting, analyzing, and managing high volumes of real-time information from tagged items, environmental sensors, and realtime location systems, data can be routed to an inventory management or warehouse management application or to a data warehouse through this underlying network messaging layer.