SAP NetWeaver provides an open integration and application platform. Its openness reflects SAP's commitment to industry standards and interoperability that enables you to implement, integrate, and maintain your infrastructure through a Web services-oriented architecture.

SAP is involved in development and support of open standards such as:

• Java standards, such as the J2EE APIs
• Web services standards, such as WSDL, SOAP, UDDL, and WS-I Basic Profile
• XML standards, such as XML Schema and XSLT
• Reliable messaging standards, such as WS Reliable Exchange
• Process definition standards, such as WS BPEL
• Security standards, such as XML Encryption and Digital Signatures, SAML, and WS Security
• Service management standards, such as the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Common Information Model (CIM)

SAP actively participates in numerous standards activities and serves on many standards boards, including the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), OASIS, Web Service Interoperability Organization (WS-I), The Java Community Process (JCP), the Eclipse Foundation, and the Object Management Group (OMG).

By participating in these groups, SAP shares extensive expertise obtained through decades of providing enterprise solutions to the world's leading companies. It also ensures a leadership role in driving standards that enable SAP to deliver products that meet your current and future business challenges.

Meeting Industry-Specific Needs

SAP is leveraging the integration strengths of SAP NetWeaver to deepen its commitment to meeting industry-specific needs. SAP NetWeaver delivers support for technical and business standards for various industries through preconfigured, industry-specific business content and out-of-the-box support for XML-based data exchange standards. This includes offerings for the high tech and chemicals industries, providing native support for RosettaNet and CIDX, as well as preconfigured mappings for the most common EDI standards. This prepackaged business content allows you to avoid costly, time-consuming integration projects.

What's more, SAP supports industry data exchange standards such as HL7 (healthcare), papiNet (mill products), PIDX (oil and gas), and UCCnet (retail and consumer products). SAP is also helping to drive enhanced compatibility of applications and business processes through standards initiatives such as ACORD (insurance), AIAG (automotive), CWM (business intelligence), GCI (retail and consumer products), HR-XML (human resources), OPC (process industries), SPEC2000, (aerospace and defense), S.W.I.F.T. (banking), TWIST (treasury), VICS (supply chain management), and XBRL (accounting).

SAP is also a major contributor to United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) Core Components and Universal Business Language (UBL). Broad adoption of these specifications promises to improve interoperability of IT systems and software applications, especially across industries. These specifications will pave the way for next-generation, XML-based technology standards.