SAP NetWeaver For Dummies Chapters 23 & 24

By: Purnima Kapoor (9502911) Sonashree Jaiswal (12609127)

CUSTOM MADE: COMPOSITE APPLICATION

FOCUS ON:

Understanding the need for custom composite applications Examining the challenges IT departments Seeing how SAP NetWeaver gets the job done

CUSTOM PROCESS AND CUSTOM APPLIACATIONS

Difficulty in reusing Aggressive development of enterprise applications along with the growth of

tools (Web services, enterprise application integration, business intelligence, portal technology) gave rise to custom development.
EXTERNAL NEED TO CUSTOMIZE Automating an innovation in a business process that has proven successful a best practice Automating an important relationship with a customer, partner, or supplier. Reducing the risk of costly errors. Rapidly assembling information for decision support. Capturing collaborative processes that require human beings to play together to get stuff done. Creating highly customized, end-to-end processes to support innovation and beat the competition.

WHERE DID WE COME FROM?

Systems for content management, business intelligence, and search were just poking their heads out as stable commercial products.

Toolkits for XML messaging and transformation, enterprise application integration, Web user-interface design, and business-process management were just baby technologies or did not even exist.

Custom applications frequently implemented their own mechanisms for access control, security, and operational monitoring, instead of reusing a pool of systems for all the functionality you needed to incorporate.

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Today, we live in a brave new world.

A custom application have newer elements, but employs the data and functionality from existing applications

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Assembling data from a wide variety of sources in a coherent form for processing by a custom application Broadcasting changes made in a custom application Translating incompatible data formats into a unified format Creating services from existing enterprise applications and platform component systems Supporting many role-based interfaces Integrating with systems for single sign-on, application security, and monitoring operation Implementing best practices for life cycle management, maintenance, and upgrade of the software

BRINGING COMPOSITE APPLICATIONS TO LIFE: A WHOLE NEW THING

Unique It reflects the new world in which developers arent starting from a blank slate, but are using multiple modules or applications to build on existing functionality. At the enterprise level, any single developer has a difficult time understanding the multiple systems, technologies, and tools that are necessary to create a composite application. SAP NetWeaver provides a set of tools, code repositories, and visualizations that give developers some perspective. They can now reuse the strengths of the tools that they prefer and make use of the investment in code that the organization has already made. Life cycle process Any new application has to be created in an installable unit and then you have to install it, test it, configure it, operate it monitor it, upgrade it, and, eventually, retire it. Greater agility You can leverage the underlying legacy applications without messing up the status quo

CAPABLE COMPOSITES
Portal: Providing the framework for building new user interfaces and

workflow, the SAP Enterprise Portal incorporates and orchestrates different services and processes. Integration broker: Allowing the portal to easily access and knit together Remote Function Calls (RFCs) and BAPI, the integration broker helps you instantly create Web services from SAP R/3 functionality. Support for both J2EE and ABAP development: SAP Web Application Server is a powerful runtime system that hosts components based on ABAP or J2EE technology Application platform: Providing the ability to access RFCs and BAPIs, the application platform allows you to create and orchestrate new Web services that you assemble by using model-driven development to support new functionality or integrate with other applications.

 Business Process Management: Providing the ability to model

business processes using special languages designed for that purpose, often with graphical tools, so that the way applications work can be easily modified and optimized. SAP Composite Application Framework: Using a visual tool to extend the modeling approach, the SAP CAF allows a business analyst to define a process and generate it without requiring much time from a programmer. Life cycle management: Handling the details of managing complex development projects across large teams in distributed locations, life cycle management includes source-code management, staging, customizations, and upgrades.

CAPABLE COMPONENTS

WHO CAN USE THIS THING?

SAP NETWEAVER STAGES

Data integration One-way process integration Interactive process integration

Business process management

INFORMATION AGGREGATION
Implementing a portal gives your company a quick win because it Allows users to aggregate information from multiple systems in a personalized and easy-to-reuse fashion. Gives developers a simple implementation with high value. Allows users to become familiar with the overall system how it presents data and how it allows multiple system access in a coherent interface. Allows developers to add functionality without complicating user adoption. Is the ideal environment to bring together all the levels of a composite application framework. Permits personalization in environment, simple navigation, consistent look and feel, and the ability for the end user to reuse parts.

TURNING TRANSACTION INTO WEB SERVICE

ENABLE TRANSACTION AS WEB SERVICE

SAP Enterprise Portal, which provides the framework for

creating a new user interface that includes extended functionality. SAP Web AS, used to construct new Web services based on ABAP or J2EE that supplement SAP R/3 functionality with new, custom components. This allows the SAP Enterprise Portal access to the widest possible variety of functionality and information. It also brings the largest number of developers into the loop. (Developers love being in the loop.) The life cycle management features, which keep the maintenance of these new components and solutions under control, so you can coordinate the work of large development teams and manage versions and upgrades.

DEPLOYING SAP Xapps THAT FIT THE BILL

Drive business processes across different

applications, technologies, and organizations. Enable on the fly or spontaneous team collaboration as part of your most essential business processes. Provide you with greater agility, because you can leverage your underlying SAP and existing legacy applications. Put knowledge and structured information within the context of a business process. Are triggered by events, can aggregate and contextualize information, and finally drive collaboration and transactions.

DEVELOPING AN END TO END PROCESS

Tools for deployment are:
Role-based UIs SAP NetWeaver integration tools Multiple components from mySAP Business Suite Legacy applications Applications from other vendors to extend SAP R/3 to support

and optimize new business processes

Plans and People

I n t hi s c h a pte r, we l l c ove r t h e fo l l owi ng

Planning for SAP NetWeaver

Discovering people who can help

Planning for Success

BEST PRACTICES OF SUCCESSFUL SAP CUSTOMERS

Figure out where you can apply SAP NetWeaver:

Start with answering the question Where in my organization could SAP NetWeaver provide the most benefits?
Know thy process:

Dont assume that SAP NetWeaver is an IT solution, you need understand only the technology. Instead one should know about their own business process.
Set your goals:

Try to understand the business benefits that you hope to obtain from SAP NetWeaver and make goals as specific as possible.

BEST PRACTICES OF SUCCESSFUL SAP CUSTOMERS

Count those pennies:

Determine whether return on investment (ROI) is a factor in your SAP NetWeaver implementation.
Know whos who:

Identify the players and roles for all your SAP NetWeaver project stakeholders.
Get the powers that be behind you:

Line up internal support for your SAP NetWeaver project before you get started.
Go with the (work)flow:

Understand your organizations unique culture, especially its pace and style of decision-making.

People Make It Happen

The quarterbacks: SAP account executives

One person who simply must be on your SAP NetWeaver

team is your SAP account executive. Account executive is essentially an SAP salesperson. This persons job is to ensure that you, as an SAP customer, are receiving lots of good service. Your account executive is also on hand to help you understand which SAP products and services might be useful to your company. He or she also ensures that you receive whatever support you need from a wide variety of SAP experts easily and quickly.

Technical players: Solution engineers

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a

good product demo worth? SAP solution engineers can tell us. These technically savvy people understand the nittygritty details of all SAP products and theyre ready and willing to demonstrate the current and future functionality of the companys products. Solution engineers begin by discovering as much as they can about your industry, company, business challenges, and technical requirements. Then and only then do they produce an SAP NetWeaver demo thats tailored to your specific needs.

Getting engaged: Customer engagement managers

SAP customer engagement managers are responsible for

planning your SAP NetWeaver implementation. Suppose you need consulting services from SAP during your SAP NetWeaver implementation (and you probably will). Well, its your CEM who makes all the arrangements. These folks are on hand to make sure that your SAP NetWeaver voyage goes smoothly, in the right direction, and on schedule. They direct you to whatever resources and SAP specialists you might need.

Building solutions: Technical solution architects

These single- minded professionals have just one goal in

life: to help you (and other SAP customers) architect a successful SAP NetWeaver solution. They help provide a strategy for your SAP NetWeaver rollout and also recommend the best approach for your implementation. More specifically, a technical solution architect is an expert on SAP products having a good deal of experience with previous SAP NetWeaver implementations. This person has already discovered the shortcuts, figured out to avoid the pitfalls, and can guide you on the most direct route.

SAP consultants and third-party system integrators

These

third-party firms include Accenture, Cap Gemini/Ernst & Young, Bearing Point, and IBM Global Services at the high end, as well as a long list of smaller specialty firms. Whats the difference between working with SAP and working with a third party?

SAP has its own internal group of consultants who can give you detailed support for your SAP NetWeaver (or any other SAP product) implementation, regardless of your industry. By contrast, system integrators are companies that have formed partnerships with SAP. They act as extensions of SAPs own consulting team, filling in gaps or bringing in specialized industry or technology expertise.

Teachers pet: SAP education

SAP offers a rich education and training curriculum.

The company employs professional trainers and provides

public training on SAP NetWeaver and its many products. If you prefer to stay within the comfort of your office, SAP also offers virtual training and eLearning over the Internet. Most SAP customers use training in two ways.

First, the techies find out how to implement and then customize SAP NetWeaver. Second, the end users of the tools find out how to use SAP NetWeaver solutions like pros.

SAP Custom Development

If our implementation falls into this category which involve

quite a bit of custom programming, the next group of people youre likely to meet is the SAP Custom Development team. This team gets called in, like a hi-tech S.W.A.T. team, whenever special coding is needed. If your other SAP consultants and account representatives tell you that SAP lacks off-the-shelf software that can handle a part of your project. If thats the case, SAP Custom Development can be used to build custom soft- ware for you.

Unexpected help: Colleagues and SAP customers

SAP NetWeaver customers especially those in your

industry or function (such as marketing or sales) can help you by answering these questions:

How long did it take them to install SAP NetWeaver? How much did their installation cost? How did installation cost compare with original estimates? What sort of return on investment are they achieving, and how does that compare with their original estimates? What challenges did they encounter along the way and how would they recommend that you deal with those same challenges?

Their answers to these questions and more provide you

with invaluable inside information.

Analyze this!
IT industry analyst firms are a reliable, generally unbiased

source for information about IT products, vendors, and markets. They can help you compare SAP products with those of other vendors from price, functionality, and technology standpoints. Leading analyst firms include Gartner, Forrester, META Group, and IDC. Many of these firms offer both research and consulting services. That is, they can sell you reports that give you a sense of SAPs marketplace, technologies, competitors, and future direction. But they can also advise you on your own SAP NetWeaver installation and implementation.

Eye-ess-vee (ISV, to you)

Another useful member of the SAP NetWeaver ecosystem is

the independent software vendor (ISV). These companies partner with SAP to offer industryspecific and function-specific software. Essentially, they fill in the SAP gaps for specific industries or business processes. You may find that SAP acts as a reseller of the ISVs software. If thats the case, the ISV software is already included in your SAP NetWeaver package.

So glad you came: SAP hosting

Another option that SAP offers is whats known in the

industry as hosting. This kind of hosting occurs when SAP runs your SAP NetWeaver system from its data centre. In other words, SAP hosts your SAP NetWeaver software on its computers, which you in turn pay the company to run and maintain. Its like buying a data centre and data-centre staff in a box, saving you the overhead and headache of running your own.

If you work for a large corporation with one or more data centres already in place, hosting probably isnt for you. But if your company is small or medium-sized, its an option to consider.

Calling Dr. : SAP Support

When your SAP NetWeaver project is a go, you make the

acquaintance of a new team: SAP Support. The SAP Support team works in two ways: Theyre proactive and reactive.

Reactive means that in the unlikely event that you find a software bug or some other problem in your SAP NetWeaver system, you can call SAP Support and they quickly make a fix or repair. Proactive means that SAP Support ensures that your SAP NetWeaver system runs at its optimal levels. A subset of SAP Support, called SAP Safeguarding, checks your system, looking for opportunities to optimize and improve it and eliminate risk from your project.

THANK YOU..!!