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SAP and MOSS 2007 interoperability

In almost all organsiations running SAP and Microsoft this is one of the most discussed topics : integration / interoperability of SAP (Portal) and MOSS 2007.

The attached zipfile contains a flash movie explaining all the ins and outs. Very helpfull.

This overview animation explains options and possibilities as well as limitations in the combination of SharePoint 2007 and SAP NetWeaver.

Download: SAP MOSS Interop Animation ZIP

Announcing the Microsoft Business Data Catalog Definition Editor for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Business Data Catalog allows for integration of LOB systems with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

The Business Data Catalog Definition Editor tool (or "BDC tool") is now available in the latest (August 2007) version of the downloadable MOSS 2007 SDK, which was just posted at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6d94e307-67d9-41ac-b2d6-0074d6286fa9&displaylang=en.

The Business Data Catalog Definition Editor provides a visual tool for creating an Application Definition for BDC in MOSS 2007.  Features include:

• Underlying XML is abstracted by the design surface and properties window
• Drag and drop web methods, tables, or views to create line of business (LOB) connections.
• Entities and methods are created automatically from database metadata and WSDLs.
• Additional method instances can be added to further enhance the database or web service connection.
• Method instances can be tested from within the tool, enabling incremental development of LOB connections

Currently, writing an application definition to connect the BDC to a LOB system is a manual process.  This requires an understanding of both how the LOB system is configured and what must be included in the XML to satisfy the BDC. Having a tool to simplify this process not only lowers the initial knowledge threshold for administering the BDC, it also lessens the required work of the user (such as testing, making modifications, etc.). 

The tool has been designed to assist in the lifecycle management for Application Definition files.  The tool enables searching over databases and web service-based repositories, as well as BDC web parts in MOSS. 

Highlights

• Tool supports databases (SQL, Oracle, OLEDB, and ODBC) and web services
• Drag and drop design surface for selecting DB tables or web methods:
• Metadata is automatically extracted from databases by dragging and dropping tables
• Web Services require a few additional steps to completely configure the connection
• Users can import and export Application Definition XML files
• Users are able to test method instances incrementally from within the tool
• The tool is not required to run on a web front-end
• Associations are created automatically when foreign keys are selected; they can also be created easily for web services by adding an Association method instance

SAP Global Alliance Technology Team Blog

I came across the SGATTB :-) today. Although they don't post daily, the stuff they do post is quite valuable of you happen to live in a Microsoft & SAP world.

http://blogs.msdn.com/saptech/

I came across a very nice animation (zip file contains exe file) which decribes the integration between SAP and the Microsoft platfrom. Unfortunaly its SharePoint 2003 and not MOSS 2007 but the post indicates an update is underway :

We had a very successful Conference in Berlin two weeks ago (European Sharepoint Conference). I was asked by many customers who where not able to make it to post the slides. We had around 7 sessions about SAP integration where I presented in three of them together with Partners (Sitrion, Bluebridge) and Customers  (SIEMENS, CLP) targeting Technical Decision Makers, IT Pros and Developers. The decks are somewhat different but contentwise with overlap. Please feel free to download and distribute.
Also be reminded on our Overview animation we published last year (Microsoft Sharepoint Server - SAP NetWeaver Portal). This is still pretty much all you can do in the integration space between the portals today. However we will update this animation and include new MOSS features like the Business Data Catalogue (BDC) and the iView/WSRP WebParts as well as Enterprise Search you can get out of the box today.

source : SGATTB

IT Dev Spending Still Flows to Big Players

CRMBuyer.com published some results of a recent survey under 300 developers and thier platforms of choice .... homerun for Microsoft so it seems.

I very much like the motivation ("focus on key enterprise priorities of applications  integration, security , cost-cutting, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning , customer relationship management and Web-based applications development"), because I seem to end up every time in discussions that Microsoft does not provide 'enterprise grade solutions'. Don't worry its just the guys from IBM saying that ...

... Microsoft is slated to garner the majority of IT development spending over the next six months, according to a survey of more than 300 developers by Evans Data.

The reason is more complex than Microsoft's dominance on the desktop or in corporate IT. Rather, developers are gravitating to Microsoft and other leading tech and software providers because of their focus on key enterprise priorities of applications  integration, security , cost-cutting, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning , customer relationship management and Web-based applications development, the survey found.

Other leading vendors ranked in this survey: SAP, Apple, IBM, Sun, Adobe, BEA, Oracle, AMD, Intel, Cisco, HP, Computer Associates, Compuware and Borland. ...

...

• ... In the next year, survey respondents expect to increase spending on application development with SAP (54 percent), Microsoft (50 percent) and BEA (44 percent) more than with any other firms.
• In the next year, they expect to increase SOA spending with SAP (41 percent), BEA (40 percent) and IBM (34 percent) more than with any other firms. ...

Source: CRMbuyer.com

Hotel developer to marry SAP user access to Office front end

This is a clear example of the value add of DUET i.e using Microsoft Office as the front-end for SAP Applications.

... SAP AG business software is often seen by users as complicated to work with. But one midsize company thinks it's solved the training and productivity challenges involved by using an Office interface with its SAP apps.

Englewood, Colo.-based hotel development and management company Stonebridge Companies announced Friday that it plans to use a special integration technology called Duet that will link its SAP ERP 2005 back-end suite with Microsoft desktop applications. Duet is a set of links between SAP's powerful business applications and Microsoft's Office software that allows users not versed in SAP's intricacies to easily synchronize tasks directly through Microsoft Outlook calendar software or other Office apps.

Stonebridge intends to use SAP ERP to help automate several of its financial, human resources, compliance reporting and real estate management processes. The move is designed to help Stonebridge, which develops properties over the western U.S., to double in size over the next several years, the company said in a statement. ...

Source: Computerworld.com

Gartner: Vendor Rating: Microsoft's Business Applications Are Promising in a Growing Market

Although not in my primairy focus area, it's good to see such positive feedback on the Business Applications side. Overall Microosft has developed a very balanced portfolio is all aspects of the market ...

In a market in transition, Microsoft has the potential to be among the three top choices for business applications software. Gartner rates current and future prospects for Microsoft's business applications' strategy and offerings.

Paid for analysis : Gartner.com

Epicor Unveils New Desktop Productivity Solution on Microsoft Office System

...Epicor Software Corporation has announced the introduction of Epicor Information Worker (IW), a new desktop productivity solution that delivers Epicor’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications on the 2007 Microsoft^® Office system, providing information workers improved access to business data. Unveiled today to the more than 2,000 attendees at Epicor Perspectives 2006, the company’s annual customer conference, Epicor IW enables individuals to boost productivity and improve real-time decision-making, key factors in improving bottom-line results. ...

... In today’s accelerating information workplace, the connection of the business worker to the right data at the right time represents a significant business opportunity for the software industry. According to Forrester Research, “As enterprises better understand the interrelationship between roles, collaboration, content, and business processes, the need to provide information within the context of an information worker's daily activities will drive the implementation of Information Workplaces.”

Sixty percent of the respondents to a recent Forrester survey about the information workplace said, “that providing content within the context of the business process is extremely important. . . By moving to contextualized information workplaces, workers will receive information seamlessly, and they no longer have to mentally and manually integrate disparate tools into their work environments.” ...

Source: CRMToday 

Another great example of the recognition of Microsoft Office System as a platform. You've seen all the major ECM players move this way. The Forrester Report highlighted in this article addresses what they call the 'contextualized information workplaces' Microsoft with Microsoft Office System is very well positioned to deliver this solution, today. And bare in mind this is the the 'all encompassing user interface for activity based collaboration', this is the (business) information you need in the application you use.

Microsoft, SAP Weave Apps and Plan for More

Very good to see these developments evolve. The beta of Mendocino, as the joint developemnt of SAP en Office integration is called, is being shipped this month according to the article. ...

As the companies hammer out the 1.0 version of their combined development project to connect mySAP and Microsoft Office, they're also pounding out the second iteration.

...Expected on the market about a year after the release of Version 1.0—so around July, 2007—2.0 will continue to add scenarios around time management and employee self service. But it will also look to add a line of business scenarios, like CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and SRM (Supplier Relationship Management).

"You can imagine contract management, which today is managed in SRM systems," said Kevin Fliess, vice president of solution management for emerging solutions at SAP. "So the processes require structured and unstructured information like forms or Word documents with business process logic from SAP…we could imagine doing that through Office, but having the backend system's process logic come from SAP." ...

[Via eWEEK Technology News]