SUSTAINING BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN VOLATILE TIMES Learn how SAP customers are raising IT productivity with application life-cycle management – even in the current economically challenging times. Learn more (PDF).

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a blueprint for an adaptable, flexible, and open IT architecture for developing services-based, modular business solutions. SAP makes it easy to adopt SOA – enabling companies in diverse industries to quickly differentiate their businesses and optimize processes in their business networks. SAP enables businesses to adopt SOA at their own pace as part of their SAP solutions.

SAP's open-standards approach to SOA improves IT productivity and business value at the same time. At the heart of our approach to SOA is the concept of enterprise services – highly integrated Web services, combined with business logic and harmonized semantics, that can be accessed and used repeatedly to enable end-to-end business processes.

Using enterprise services, you can leverage SAP solutions in conjunction with partner solutions and homegrown solution landscapes to build new, flexible, and innovative solutions based on a consistent integration concept.

SAP and our partners can help your IT organization adopt SOA in a low-risk manner by delivering SOA-based technology, service-enabled applications, and prepackaged enterprise services grouped as business scenarios. SAP delivers SOA seamlessly via the service-enabled software (SAP Business Suite) and SOA-based, open technology platform (SAP NetWeaver). SAP consultants deliver services that complement SAP applications and accelerate SOA adoption.

We offer comprehensive methodology for design and development as well as operational SOA governance. This helps ensure high service reuse, reliable execution, efficient IT operations – and a reduction in cost. Modeling and implementation guidelines for service developers increase development efficiency. Moreover, SAP's enterprise services follow the enhancement package concept, so you can add new functionality continuously, without extended upgrade cycles.

To get started with SAP SOA download your starter kit today.

Community Support

SAP has significant community support of SOA from customers, partners, and industry leaders to continuously improve the value of SOA.

• Enterprise Services Workplace – View consolidated information about all available enterprise services. Browse and test newly productized enterprise services.
• Enterprise Services Wiki – Collaborate on a comprehensive portfolio of business scenarios that are SOA-enabled by solutions and enterprise services shipped by SAP today.
• Enterprise Services Community – Learn from over 100 member companies and thought leaders and provide feedback on SAP-developed enterprise services.
• Industry Value Network – Collaborate on a development of innovative, high-impact business solutions
• Business Process Expert community – Bridge the gap between business and IT.