What is SAP NetWeaver ?
SAP NetWeaver is SAP's integrated technology platform and is the technical foundation for all SAP applications since the SAP Business Suite. SAP NetWeaver is marketed as a service-oriented application and integration platform. SAP NetWeaver provides the development and runtime environment for SAP applications and can be used for custom development and integration with other applications and systems. SAP NetWeaver is built using open standards and industry de facto standards and can be extended with, and interoperate with, technologies such as Microsoft .NET, Sun Java EE, and IBM WebSphere.
SAP NetWeaver's release is considered as a strategic move by SAP for driving enterprises to run their business on a single, integrated platform that includes both applications and technology. Industry analysts refer to this type of integrated platform offering as an "applistructure" (applications + infrastructure). It is widely held that this approach is driven by industry's need to lower IT costs through an enterprise architecture that is at once (1) more flexible; (2) better integrated with applications; (3) built on open standards to ensure future interoperability and broad integration; and, (4) provided by a vendor that is financially viable for the long term.[citation needed].
SAP is fostering relationships with system integrators and independent software vendors, many of the latter becoming "Powered by SAP Netweaver".
SAP Netweaver is part of SAP's plan to transition to a more open, service-oriented architecture and to deliver the technical foundation of its applications on a single, integrated platform and common release cycle.
Composition
NetWeaver is essentially the integrated stack of SAP technology products. The SAP Web Application Server (sometimes referred to as WebAS) is the runtime environment for the SAP applications -- all of the mySAP Business Suite solutions (SRM, CRM, SCM, PLM, ERP) run on SAP WebAS.
Products
The core products that make up SAP NetWeaver include:
SAP NetWeaver Application Server SAP Exchange Infrastructure (XI) SAP Enterprise Portal SAP Master Data Management (MDM) SAP NetWeaver Mobile SAP Business Information Warehouse
SAP has also teamed with hardware vendors like HP and IBM to deliver appliances (i.e., hardware + software) to simplify and enhance the deployment of NetWeaver components. Examples of these appliances include:
SAP BI Accelerator
Development Tools
ABAP Workbench (SE80) SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio (NWDS) based on Eclipse SAP Netweaver Development Infrastructure (NWDI) Visual Composer see also:
Web Dynpro SAP Enterprise Portal Content Studio SAP Composite Application Framework - an environment for designing and using composite applications
Features
SOAP and Web Services Interoperability with Java EE (WebSphere) Interoperability with .NET (Microsoft) Integration of Business Intelligence xApps Duet Specifically, ERP is being extended by Business Process Management Systems (BPMs) and, as BPMs takes hold as the pre-dominant technical platform for new applications, expect to see radical changes to ERP architecture in the years ahead. Allen Davis, a NetWeaver xMII expert, has successfully used Six Sigma scenarios as information in real time from shop floor control systems and used in plant quality control lab experimental tests. The technology has been applied to a wide range of industries and applications.
SAP's Netweaver platform is still backwards-compatible with ABAP, SAP's custom development language.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetWeaver
