New SAP Infrastructure Stresses Interoperability, CollaborationNew SAP Infrastructure Stresses Interoperability, Collaboration

SAP is moving into the Web-services arena with a new open-standards-based infrastructure built to fuel collaboration by integrating applications from competing vendors. Analysts say the new infrastructure, dubbed mySAP Technology, will let SAP's base of about 20,000 customers retain their legacy systems while embracing Web services.

The mySAP Technology consists of three components: a Web application server that delivers Web services using applications from a variety of vendors; an exchange and integration infrastructure designed to enable the creation of collaborative business processes; and a portal infrastructure that gives users easy navigation of relevant information from disparate systems. SAP says the mySAP Technology infrastructure will let customers cut costs, increase flexibility, and protect their existing technology investments.

Joshua Greenbaum, an analyst with Enterprise Applications Consulting, says the move signals SAP's entrance into the Web application server and enterprise application development markets, which have been the domain of BEA Systems, IBM, and webMethods. Equally important, Greenbaum says, is SAP's implicit commitment to its existing customers. "It's extremely well-thought-out," he says. "They really did their homework on this one."

Byron Miller, a VP with Giga Information Group, says basing SAP's pending update to its venerable R3 software on the Web application server should provide a seamless transition for its legacy customers. "It's a good sign that SAP is not falling behind technologywise, nor when they move forward do they want to leave anyone in the lurch," Miller says. He also says that in building the technology around the Web application server, SAP is effectively bridging enterprise resource planning vendors and custom application developers: "It's like the two worlds have collided."