I am working towards my master degree thesis about SAP systems integration and at some point I needed to learn the easiest way to explain what is SAP NetWeaver and what is the systems integration. While looking for some boring PDFs I have found this video, which is much more fun to learn from, and wanted to share it with you. Enjoy !

I am working on a project about systems integration and I needed to evaluate two vendors, Microsoft and SAP, within a market.  SOA (service oriented architecture) continue to catalyze interest in IT market. But, development of SOA applications requires a new style of development environment that extends beyond design-time and into runtime usage. Products built on such technology are emerging as key foundation. I think in the market, there are two powerful SOA middle-ware products available now, which are MS BizTalk and SAP PI (then I think the IBM comes). I need to make a selection between two products and to do this; I use several methods and tools to evaluate the vendor and product. One of the methods that I use is called Gartner’s Magic Quadrant.

My evaluation criterias are;

• SOA and Web services support
• Vendor’s product strategy
• Vendor locked-in effect
• Licenses fees
• Technology Uniqueness
• Manageability from a development perspective
• Degree of product integration

While the items included here are not the only criterias for me (because I also have lots of company strategies and regulations), they will still be the primary determinants for me. So, the result can be seen from the graph. Talking about the characteristics; MS BizTalk is located in the challengers category. General characteristics of this group are that; “Executes well today or may dominate a large segment, but does not understand market direction clearly”. Then I positioned SAP PI in to the visionaries group because I believe; “SAP understand where the market is going and has a vision for changing market rules, but does not yet execute well”. But from my point of view, they will both end-up in leaders segment sooner or later. But the question that i need to answer is that; wich one is better to use righ now?

Reasons why I placed them in that groups are that;

For Microsoft;  company delivers multiple products that contribute to its OSA strategy, including Oslo, Dublin and BizTalk. The company has long produced productive development environments and a process orchestration environment for all enterprise sizes. Microsoft continues to evolve its team development capabilities and unify its compositing capabilities. Through the Windows Communication Foundation, the company is driving away from a code-first mentality and toward a composition mentality. In addition, a clear focus on Web services fosters an integrated approach to creation of simple service-based systems that combine with others to encompass morecomplex solutions.

For SAP; SAP’s SOA capabilities provide visual modelling, code-free application creation and automatic code generation capabilities that enable business analysts and process experts to work together on business applications. In addition, SAP delivers SAP PI as centre of their SOA mentality and struggle to improve the product. I think it needs to be developed a bit more before being well accepted in the marke
Challengers (MS BizTalk): Challengers have a strong ability to execute but may not have a plan that will maintain a strong value proposition for new customers. Larger vendors in mature markets may often be positioned as challengers because they choose to minimize risk or avoid disrupting their customers or their own activities. Although challengers typically have significant size and financial resources, they may lack a strong vision, innovation or overall understanding of market needs. In some cases, challengers may offer products nearing the end of their lives that dominate a large but shrinking segment. Challengers can become leaders if their vision develops. Large companies may fluctuate between the Challengers and Leaders quadrants as their product cycles and market needs shift.
Visionaries (SAP PI): Visionaries align with Gartner’s view of how a market will evolve, but they have less-proven capabilities to deliver against that vision. In early markets, this status is normal. In more-mature markets, it may reflect a competitive strategy for a smaller vendor — such as selling an innovation ahead of mainstream demand — or a larger vendor trying to break out of a rut or differentiate. For vendors and customers, visionaries fall in the higher-risk/higher-reward category. They often introduce new technology, services or business models, and they may need to build financial strength, service and support, and sales and distribution channels. Whether visionaries become challengers or leaders may depend on if companies accept the new technology or if the vendors can develop partnerships that complement their strengths. Visionaries sometimes are attractive acquisition targets for leaders or challengers.

Currently I am working on my master thesis on a large-scale ERP systems integration project (a SAP Integration Process project for a large energy company in Sweden). I am still in the early phases of my research but I started to match some terms with the practical things in the real world. It is perhaps a well know truth that the role and impact of IT on today’s organizations has dramatically changed over the last decade. Across a wide spectrum of markets and countries, IT is changing it’s role from “back office” to “strategic”.

That’s why, IT understanding is becoming more and more crucial for firms and business people. Cloud computing is one of such important terms and it incorporates software as a service (SaaS), Web 2.0 and other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. An often-quoted example is Google Apps, which provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on Google servers. Cloud Computing, the long-held dream of computing as a utility, has the potential to transform a large part of the IT industry, making software even more attractive as a service and shaping the way IT hardware is designed and purchased. Cloud Computing refers to both the applications delivered as services over the Internet and the hardware and systems software in the datacenters that provide those services.

Anyone else wondered about the “cloud” hype? I found this paper, which explains things deeply and wanted to share it with you. You should note that the researchers although based at Berkeley are partially funded by the cloud providers themselves.

References: http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2009/EECS-2009-28.pdf

There’s still a huge amount of disagreement about just what Web 2.0 means, with some people decrying it as a meaningless marketing buzzword, and others accepting it as the new conventional wisdom.

Clearly, on the consumer side of things, Web 2.0 refers to blogs, Wikis, social networks, mashups. In other words, people using lightweight applications to publish their own content on the Internet and to connect with and collaborate with others using Web-based applications.

So, where’s the enterprise angle?

First, enterprises have been trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to impose top-down knowledge management, content management and collaboration systems. And employees have been resistant to those complex, rigid systems that add extra work to their busy lives.

Web. 2.0 technologies like blogs and Wikis are different. The technology doesn’t seem “corporate.” It doesn’t require training. The software is so easy-to-use that individuals or small workgroups can start a blog or a Wiki in no time, rather than having to go through the bureaucracy of getting a new application deployed through traditional IT channels. And Web 2.0 technologies represent the kind of bottom-up community that has more of a chance to take root, grow and continue to be used over time.

Web 1.0 Web 2.0
DoubleClick –> Google AdSense
Ofoto –> Flickr
Akamai –> BitTorrent
mp3.com –> Napster
Britannica Online –> Wikipedia
personal websites –> blogging
evite –> upcoming.org and EVDB
domain name speculation –> search engine optimization
page views –> cost per click
screen scraping –> web services
publishing –> participation
content management systems –> wikis
directories (taxonomy) –> tagging (“folksonomy”)
stickiness –> syndication

*Reference: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

For example, Serena Software is now using Facebook as its corporate intranet. Every week on “Facebook Fridays,” the company’s 800 employees are given time to spend on their Facebook profiles and to connect with co-workers, family and friends.

Where does IT fit in? When it comes to Web 2.0, IT needs to enable the technology and then step out of the way and let communities spring up on their own.

The second point of intersection between consumer-driven Web 2.0 technologies and enterprise business needs occurs when companies tap into the so-called wisdom of crowds. The most well-publicized example is Procter & Gamble which is using collaborative Web sites such as InnoCentive to soliciting new product ideas from consumers, rather than completely relying on internal product development teams.

Whether you believe Web 2.0 is a fad, whether you think it’s not applicable to serious enterprise IT or whether you’re inclined to embrace it, it’s clear that Web 2.0 is something IT execs need to address.

Some of the IT professionals recommend that IT organizations start looking for specific ways that Web 2.0 technologies can help advance the business. Start small. Use low-cost, lightweight applications. Give employees the opportunity to pick up the ball and run with it.

Download Podcast 

REFERENCES:

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

http://www.networkworld.com/research/2008/011408-8-techs-web20.html?page=2

http://arcagility.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/the-50-most-popular-web-design-blog-posts-resources-cheat-sheets-of-2007/