Microsoft Corp. and SAP AG on Wednesday announced a new offering that builds on the companies' plans to more deeply integrate their technology, highlighted last year at SAP's developer conference.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft and Walldorf, Germany-based SAP announced a Portal Development Kit for Microsoft .Net (PDK for .Net) for building content for the SAP Enterprise portal, a component of the SAP NetWeaver platform, said Tim O'Brien, senior product manager at Microsoft.
The PDK for .Net is an add-in for the Microsoft Visual Studio .Net 2003 development platform. The add-in is based on work that SAP initiated as part of its involvement in the Microsoft Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) program, O'Brien said.
"So at the end of the day, developers can deploy portal components in the NetWeaver world," O'Brien said.
O'Brien said there are more than 40,000 SAP installations running applications on the Windows platform.
Microsoft and SAP announced plans to further commit to integrating their development technology at the SAP Sapphire developer conference last May, O'Brien said.
"We're wasting no time delivering on those commitments," he said. "This [announcement] underscores the depth between SAP and .Net, and we want to continue to deepen our relationship with SAP."
Also, in June last year, during Oracle Corp.'s trial with the U.S. Department of Justice, evidence emerged that Microsoft had in fact considered acquiring SAP in late 2003.
Meanwhile, Microsoft and Sybase Inc. last month announced that Sybase had joined the Microsoft VSIP program and was integrating the Sybase DataWindow .Net solution with Visual Studio .Net 2003.
What is SAP? Systeme, Anwendungen, Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung
Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing (in English)
Facts about SAP
Founded by five former IBM employees in 1972 (History) and headquartered in Walldorf, Germany.
Leading global provider of client/server business software solutions.
Number one vendor of standard business application software, with a worldwide market share of 31%.
Fourth-largest independent software supplier in the world.
Available in 14 languages.
34% of SAP's customers worldwide are under $200 million.
10 out of the top 10 US companies with the highest market value use SAP software.
8 of the top 10 largest US corporations use SAP software.
8 of the top 10 highest profit US companies use SAP software.
More than 7500 customers in over 90 countries have chosen SAP.
Reported revenues of DM 6 billion in the most recent fiscal year, a 62-percent increase over 1996 revenues.
SAP is not any longer a one-product-company.
Eight Reasons to Use SAP R/3
Global Basis
Faster Speed
Flexibility for Changes (Business & IT)
Agility
Extended Supply Chain Management
Reach New Opportunity
Knowledge Sharing
Creativity Focus
SAP Glossary
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X
Y Z
Here are a few Terms used in SAP. The detailed list can be had in on-line
help of SAP.
- A -
AAA
Materials Management Automatic Account Assignment (configured with transaction
omwb)
ABAP/4
Advanced Business Application Programming/4, the Fourth generation programming
language developed by SAP to develop application programs. The program
can be executed/tested without saving the same.
Account determination
System function that determines automatically the accounts in financial
accounting to which the amount(s) in question should be posted for the
user during any posting transaction.
AM
Asset Management Module
Application Link Enabling
Application Link Enabling (ALE) supports the creation and operation
of distributed applications and application integration is achieved via
synchronous and asynchronous communication , not via a central database.
Provides business-controlled message exchange with consistent data on loosely
linked SAP applications.
APO
Advanced Planner & Optimizer
ARIS-Toolset
Tool for creating the graphical models that describe the functionality
and integration of the SAP R/3 System.
ATP
Available-to-promise is the quantity of a material or part still available
to MRP which can be used for new sales orders.
Authorization
Allowing a person/system/module to have a specified access limitations.
An authorization specifies one or more permissible values for each of the
authorization fields that are listed in an authorization object.
- B -
BC
Basis
Backflush
Material is issued for use in an order. Automatic posting of a goods
issue for these components some time after their actual physical issue
is termed as backflush. During confirmation, the goods issue posting of
backflushed components is carried out.
Background Processing
To schedule a process to happen without coming onto the screen. Data
can be processed in the background while other functions are being carried
out in parallel on the screen. Some programs can be schedules to run on
week ends at a particular time. This is particularly useful for batch processing,
taking back-up of data etc.
BAPI
Business Application Programming Interface
Batch Input
Interface to facilitate the transfer of large amounts of either old
data or external data to an SAP system.
Batch Processing
The procedure to process large volumes of data at once. The processing
can not be modified once processing has begun.
BBP
Business-To-Business Procurement
BDC
Batch Data Communication. Used to define processing mode for a batch
input sessions like Displaying all records, Displaying error dialogs, Process
sessions in background etc.
BW
Business Information Warehouse
- C -
CO
Controlling
CATT
SAP tool for grouping and automating repetitive business transactions
for test runs and text modules.
Change Management
Handling of transformation from one environment to another. This could
be changing systems internally from one system to another or moving to
a new release from the existing system.
Client
A self-contained unit with separate master records and its own set of
tables. Typically a Corporation.
Company Code
The smallest organizational unit for which a complete self-contained
set of accounts can be drawn up . Will be able provide data for generating
balance sheets, profit-loss statements.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management
- D -
Dispatcher
The system agent that helps in sending a job to an idle work process
by identifying the type of task (ex: update, on-line, batch)
- E -
EA
Each. A unit of measure.
EDI
Electronic Data Interchange
SAP Early watch
The EarlyWatch Service has been developed to take note of any problems
that may occur and to coordinate R/3 applications within your system, providing
you with Optimal system performance. Early recognition of potential problems
in R/3 customer systems is crucial to a problem-free installation. The
EarlyWatch team of experts locate bottlenecks and potential problem sources
and recommends feasible solutions. Constant system tuning helps you to
optimise your system resources.
- F -
FI
Financial Accounting Module
SAPfind
Authoring system for developing hypertext books in the R/3 System
FOCUS
Focus On CUStomers
- G -
GI
Goods Issue.
GL
General Ledger
GR
Goods Receipt.
GT
Goods Transfer posting.
GUI
Graphical User Interface. Windows like feel and look. User friendly
screens to develop and use are provided. The user can simply point the
cursor and click the mouse to operate.
- H -
Help
All SAP systems are provided with information , in case the user needs
more information. In SAP system , place the cursor on the object where
you would like to know more information, and press F1 for more details.
Hot site backup
Identical copy of the Production database on a stand-by database host
HR
Human Resources Module
- I -
IDES
International Demonstration and Education System. A sample application
provided for faster learning and implementation
Idoc
Intermediate Document. Data container for data exchange between SAP
systems or between a SAP system and a Non-SAP system.
IMG
Implementation Guide Hierarchical structure reflecting the R/3 component
hierarchy and contains all configuration activities.
Instance
An administrative unit that groups together components of an SAP R/3
system or simply an Application server which has its own set of work process.
IR
Invoice Receipt.
IS
Industry Specific Solutions
InterSAP
InterSAP is REAL TIME COMMUNICATIONS WITH R/3 resulting in immediate
on-line transaction processing and transaction formats can easily be adapted
to evolving requirements.
ITS
Internet Transaction Server links R/3 Application server to web servers
to communicate with Internet.
- J -
Job
A continuous chain of programs, using control commands.
- K -
None
- L -
LES
Logistics Execution System
LIFO
Last in First Out is a valuation procedure according to which the stocks
of a material that were last received are the first to be used or sold.
- M -
Matchcode
A tool for finding specific record Mainly used to find possible entries
for an input field
MAP
Moving Average Price.
MM
Materials Management
MM SRV
Material Management External Services Management
MPS
Master Production Scheduling takes care of those parts or products which
greatly influence company profits or which take up critical resources.
MRP
Material Requirements Planning takes into account and plan every future
requirement during the creation of order proposals (independent requirements,
dependent requirements etc).
MVP
Material’s Valuation Price. The standard price for a standard price
material, the moving average price for a moving average price material.
- N -
- O -
OLAP
Online Analytical Processing
OSS
On-line Service System that helps in users to get fast and effective
help from SAP. The user may log-in to OSS system to find a possible solution
for a 'bug'. Get the patch ,if any, download and apply to correct the problem.
- P -
PCC
Pre-Configured Client. The R/3 Simplification Group’s pre-configured
client.
PM
Plant Maintenance
PO
Purchase Order.
PP
Production Planning
PREQ
Purchase Requisition
PRP
Product Requirement Planning
PS
Project System
PLU number
Number under which a price is stored in the POS system of Industry Solution
-IS.
- Q -
QM Quality Management
- R -
RFC
Remote Function Call. Allows to call and process predefined procedures/functions
in a remote SAP system.
RFQ
Request For Quote
RI
Reversal of goods Issue.
RMA
Return Material Authorizations
RR
Reversal of goods Receipt.
RT
Reversal of goods Transfer posting
- S -
SADT
Structured Analysis and Design Technique
SD
Sales and Distribution
SAPmail
Electronic mail system in SAPoffice with which you can transmit messages.
SAPoffice
The electronic mail system and folder structure in the R/3 System allows
you to send documents internally (to other R/3 users in the same system)
or externally (to users in other systems).
SAP R/2
SAP R/2 was the first compact software package for the whole spectrum
of business applications from the SAP corporation. SAP R/2 runs on mainframes,
especially IBM, BS2000 (Siemens' machines) or Amdahl.
Modules of SAP R/2
RF Financial Accounting
RA Assets Accounting
RK Cost Accounting
RK-P Projects
RP Human Resources
RM-INST Plant Maintenance
RM-QSS Quality Assurance
RM-MAT Materials Management
RM-PPS Production Planning and Control
RV Sales and Distribution
SAP R/3
R/3 is the SAP client-server solution It has proved hugely popular in
many countries. The solution is available to many more companies than R/2
as a mainframe is not required.
It consists of the following modules:
BC Basis (includes ABAP/4 Programming Language)
AM Asset Management
CO Controlling
FI Financial Accounting
HR Human Resources
IS Industry Specific Solutions
PM Plant Maintenance
PP Production Planning
PS Project System
QM Quality Management
SD Sales and Distribution
MM Materials Management
WF Business Work Flow
SAP Retail
Includes more than 200 new business processes that have been designed
specifically for retail purposes. This is the integral part of R/3 release
4.0.
SAProuter
Software module that acts as part of a firewall system.
SAPscript
SAP-own word processing system. The text editor supplied with the R/3
System for creating and editing documentation.
SCOPE
Supply Chain Optimization Planning & Execution
SERM
Structured Entity Relationship Model
Session Log
Record of a batch input sssion run. For each run, a session log is created.
SO
Sales Order
SOP
Sales & Operations Planning Sales & Operations Planning (SOP)
is a flexible forecasting and planning tool with which sales, production,
and other supply chain targets can be set on the basis of historical, existing,
and/or estimated future data. Resource planning can also be carried out
to determine the amounts of the work center capacities and other resources
required to meet these targets.
- T -
UPC
Universal Product Code
- V -
None
- W -
WBS
Work Breakdown Structure is a model of a project, that represents in
a hierarchy the actions and activities to be carried out in a project.
WF
Business Work Flow: Tool for automatic control and execution of cross-application
processes. This involves coordinating the persons involved, the work steps
required, the data which needs to be processed (business objects). The
main advantage is reduction in throughput times and the costs involved
in managing business processes. Transparency and quality are enhanced by
its use.
- X -
XXL List Viewer
Tool used to configure Microsoft Excel for display and further processing
of R/3 application data. The XXL List Viewer facilitates;
Presentation of R/3 data in Excel, taking into account information delivered
by R/3 on the structure of the data
- Y -
Year-end closing
Annual balance sheet and profit and loss (P+L) statement, which must
both be created in accordance with the legal requirements. All assets,
debts and accrued and deferred items (balance sheet) as well as all revenue
and
- Z -
Zero Stock Check
Check or inventory procedure used to increase the level of accuracy
in stock figures. If a storage bin becomes empty after a goods movement,
the bin is checked as to whether it is really empty or not.
