Those with Android smartphones can now join iPhone users in analyzing data while on the move. SAP.info shows you what you need to get started with Xcelsius, WebIntelligence, and SAP BusinessObjects Explorer.

Since early 2010, users have been able to analyze business data on their iPhones with the SAP BusinessObjects Explorer app. Those with smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system can now do the same with firmware 2.2 (codename: “Froyo”), which supports Adobe Flash content.

The supported version of Adobe Flash is the same on which the applications SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard Design (formerly known as Xcelsius) and SAP BusinessObjects Explorer rely. The advantage? Unlike on iPad and iPhone, Android smartphones require no additional software – users can access their data through a Web browser.

Right now, Android’s firmware 2.2 is only available for Google’s own cell phone, Nexus One. However, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and other manufacturers have already announced their intention to provide the latest version on a number of their current models in the months ahead.

Those looking to release Xcelsius dashboards for Android devices should bear a number of factors in mind. First of all, it helps to adjust each dashboard to smartphones’ native resolution; currently, most devices sport 480 x 800 displays. Extra-large buttons and fonts are also recommended to ensure that the dashboards are easy to use on small touchscreens.

On his business intelligence blog, SAP BusinessObjects expert Timo Elliott has made a test dashboard available for download. To try it out, simply open the .swf file in your Flash-enabled smartphone’s browser or on any conventional computer. Elliott also provides a step-by-step guide to using SAP BusinessObjects applications on Android devices.

via SAP.info

Upgrades and updates take time, money, and an understanding of technical and organizational aspects. Here, SAP.info delivers the facts on how to bring your SAP software up to speed, as well as what it will cost.

There are plenty of ways to keep your SAP software current: While updates involve smaller functional modifications to existing software releases, upgrades offer all-new versions typically marked by an increase in version number.

Instead of expensive release upgrades, SAP is focusing its efforts on Enhancement Packages (EHPs) for its current products. However, EHPs are not necessarily for every user: Those who use older software like SAP R/3 will have to upgrade to SAP ERP 6.0in order to take advantage of them. Such upgrades often also entail a change of hardware components or operating systems.

Always up-to-date

The SAP ERP Solution Browser can help you find new versions of your SAP software. First, simply select the release you currently run. The tool will then display the updates and upgrades available for your version in various functional areas.

Costs involved in EHP consulting and installation

For a price of $8,000, the SAP Enhancement Package Planning Service can support your company in planning and installing EHPs. Using SAP Solution Manager, SAP partners check whether your SAP ERP system meets the corresponding requirements. The necessary components are then selected from the EHPs and implemented. SAP Enhancement Package Planning Implementation, which involves only the implementation of EHPs, comes with a $19,000 price tag.

Plan your upgrade from SAP R/3 to SAP ERP 6.0

Under the SAP Business Technology Factory brand, SAP offers standardized update and upgrade services at a fixed price. Planning and consulting cost €12,000 and focus primarily on SAP systems running in Germany. According to SAP, the price of implementations elsewhere is flexible and negotiable. The company’s business technology services include:

• Analysis of current systems and interfaces
• Identification of system requirements
• Presentation of results, including recommendations on new updates/upgrades
• Quotation/project planning
• User workshops

An SAP consultant supports your company throughout the entire process of installing the EHPs in question. Meanwhile, Unicode conversion runs an additional €3,000, andindustry-specific solutions can be incorporated into such updates for the same price again.

Implement SAP ERP 6.0 at a fixed price

SAP Upgrade Factory aids and accelerates the technical upgrades involved in the transition to SAP ERP 6.0. Maintenance has no longer been available for SAP R/3 4.6C since the end of 2006, and support expired for SAP R/3 Enterprise 4.7 at the close of 2009. Companies who still use these versions should upgrade to the latest iteration, SAP ERP 6.0. This new release offers over 300 enhanced functions and can be customized for a total of 28 different industries.

This service consists of three components:

• The technical upgrade itself, which effects only the necessary technology; no changes or system modifications are made to existing standard functions
• Streamlining and optimization of the system environment (functional upgrade); installation of customer-specific functions and modifications
• Implementation of new functions

SAP Technical Upgrade Implementation costs $45,000 and includes a full technical upgrade and customization of up to 250 add-on programs. This price corresponds to atwo-system landscape, meaning that the implementation takes place in a productive and a development system. A three-system landscape, meanwhile – which also includes a quality assurance system – will run the customer a total of $50,000. In addition, companies can have an EHP installed during the upgrade for an additional$2,500, with EHP4 available for a fixed price of $19,000. A database update runs $2,500; an additional sandbox system, $6,000; and a Unicode migration, $14,000.

Minimize downtime

Installing EHPs and other upgrades leads to downtime because part of the affected system has to be shut down. The same applies to maintenance, platform changes, and Unicode conversions. All of the corresponding activities have to adhere to a strict schedule to ensure a smooth transition. SAP’s System Landscape Optimization group offers support in the form of its Minimized Downtime Service (MDS) by coordinating EHP installations for customers and advising them on how to eliminate as much downtime as possible. This team of experts has already helped see through more than 2,500 projects. To guarantee the highest possible stability, each individual step is first carried out in a copy of the customer’s productive system.

MDS represents a combination of technology, support, consulting, and best practices– in short, experiences gathered during past installations of EHPs for other companies.

The System Landscape Optimization group advises against the so-called “big bang” approach, which involves shutting down the target system completely. Instead, the group takes an incremental approach that splits the necessary downtime into two shorter phases. Before one of these phases is scheduled to begin, the bulk of the corresponding data is processed in the same system or transferred to a parallel configuration. Ongoing operations are not affected; since all of the data is processed online in the background, employees can continue using the software in question. In addition, every procedure is documented by means of a database trigger. Finally, the technicians synchronize the source and target systems.

via SAP.info

Business ByDesign is SAP’s solution for fast-growth companies with modules for business analytics, financial management, accounting, CRM, supply chain, and more. Just choose the modules you need when you need them. SAP will host ByDesign for you so that you can focus on getting ahead of your competition and growing your business.

Here’s a short video that gives a quick, irreverent overview of the brand-new cloud-based, software-as-a-service ERP offering from SAP.

Evernote is a great Web 2.0 application that is focused on “helping the world remember everything”. It lets you grab information on the fly, such as notes, web pages links, photos, etc. from a variety of different devices (PC, Blackberry, etc.) and let you store them in your Evernote account. Everything you upload is automatically processed, indexed, and made searchable (for example, if you take a picture of some text, Evernote automatically uses text recognition and makes the text searchable). And you can add tags or organize notes into different notebooks.

The Evernote API allows other applications to integrate with the Evernote platform. This was used by the SAP StreamWorkteam to allow you to bring information from your Evernote account into a StreamWork activity.

Now Evernote has launched the Evernote “Trunk” of applications that extend and connect to the “Evernote memory platform”. SAP Streamwork is the first application featured on the new site.

Evernote have put together a blog posting on how to use the two applications together, and there’s a StreamWork tutorial video available:

via SAP Web 2.0

Although it is not yet officially available, customers can already test the current enhancement package for SAP ERP 6.0. SAP.info gives you a sneak preview of what enhancement package 5 has to offer.

From SAP R/3 through mySAP ERP 2004 and SAP ERP 6.0 – upgrades are expensive, time-consuming, and not without risks. But instead of updating to new software versions, SAP now offers its customers enhancement packages. In a recent article about enhancement packages (Keeping SAP Up-to-Date), we reported extensively on which enhancement packages are available for SAP ERP, SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM), SAP Product Lifecycle Management (SAP PLM), SAP Supply Chain Management (SAP SCM), and SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM).

What’s new in enhancement package 5

Business intelligence functions: The fifth enhancement package offers business intelligence (BI) functions from the SAP BusinessObjects portfolio, such as SAP Crystal Reports and SAP BusinessObjects Xcelsius Enterprise, which can be used to create interactive Flash graphics and make forecasts. SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation 7.5 is also integrated. The application supports users in financial planning and budgeting. And then there’s the SAP BusinessObjects XBRL Publishing application by UBmatrix, which makes publishing reports easy. Thanks to enhancement package 5, users can create financial reports in accordance with theInternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Internet: Once enhancement package 5 has been applied, SAP ERP is also enabled for the Safari browser from Apple. The SAP NetWeaver Business Client 3.0, which was unveiled at CeBIT 2010, will also run after the enhancement package has been applied. SAP NetWeaver Business Client software enables the integration of Internet applications, work centers, and other predefined scenarios. With the Web Dynpro ABAP Page Builder, individual user interfaces can be built.

Workflow: With the fifth enhancement package, SAP promises improved integration of third-party software, such as products from Adobe. Java transports should also now run more smoothly than was previously the case. In the Shared Service Center, messages can be processed more effectively using a ticket system.

Workflow items are designed to structure workflows better. Thanks to traffic light symbols, users can quickly identify open or closed activities and see tasks that need to be completed in the status and work list.

Manufacturing industry: Enhancement package 5 offers a number of new functions for the manufacturing industry. For example, different bills of material (BOMs) – such as engineering BOMs and production BOMs – can be synchronized with each other. While engineering BOMs are relatively flexible because they are used during the design process, production BOMs are highly stable, because production plants and processes must be precisely planned and aligned. With enhancement package 5, the two types can be synchronized with each other, even though they are used for different purposes.

From multilevel subcontracting processes through real-time sales data entry, RFID, barcodes, and kanban – with enhancement package 5, SAP ERP 6.0 aspires to meet everyone’s needs.

Straightforward updates

Enhancement packages are tailored to the individual needs of customers. Regardless of whether SAP Business Suite or just SAP ERP is deployed, enhancement packages save time and money. Another advantage is that customers are free to decide whether, when, and how they will use the enhancement packages. Certain functions can be activated using the Switch Framework. Here, the customer defines the functionality based on the sector in which the company operates. Depending on the industry (such as aerospace and defense, manufacturing, or retail), the company decides on an extension – for example SAP for Automotive. Then it can add up to 15 enterprise extensions – in other words, functions from retail, customer relationship management, or accounting – and combine them or use them in parallel.

Enhancement package 4 is currently available for SAP ERP 6.0. Enhancement package 5 was slated for release in mid-2010 and is currently still in the test phase. SAP expects the new release to be shippable to all customers by the end of the year.

In the second part of our guide coming up soon, you can read about other ways to keep your SAP software up-to-date.

via SAP.info

With providers releasing more and more apps for iPhone or BlackBerry to supplement customers’ business software, the SAP NetWeaver Mobile platform serves as the interface between these mini-programs and SAP systems. Here, we introduce you to the latest version (7.1).

SAP NetWeaver Mobile: The link between partner software and SAP-System. (graphic: grasundsterne)

A few years ago, Apple showed the world how small programs known as “apps” can enable users to run software while on the move. Apps have since become commonplace in everyday business. For SAP partners, this a prime opportunity to program new, industry-specific software that integrates with existing SAP systems and makes it possible for employees to access them with their mobile devices. In the articles “The Best Business Apps for Your iPad” and “Best Business Apps for iPhone,” we told you about the mobile software currently leading the pack.

This time, we take a look at the link between partner software and SAP systems: SAP NetWeaver Mobile 7.1.

Just like SAP NetWeaver, SAP NetWeaver Mobile is a technology platform on which SAP software and third-party programs run. Whether it’s SAP ERP, SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM), or SAP Business One, SAP software is based on the programming language ABAP. SAP NetWeaver Mobile, meanwhile, facilitates the integration of additional industry-specific applications written in C++, Java, or other languages. It also enables users to merge business information from various databases.

The concept behind SAP NetWeaver Mobile

SAP NetWeaver Mobile replicates data from the back end, syncs it to mobile devices, and handles the corresponding processing.

The platform’s Data Orchestration Engine (DOE) directs data and transactions to users based on individual rules, which ensures that it only distributes needed information and transmits changes in the order they are made. When an employee is assigned a new customer, for example, all of the required information is automatically sent to his or her mobile device.

In addition, DOE automatically syncs changes to the devices of employees in the field every time they log in. Rather than transmitting complete data records, the engine only transfers new information – an updated phone number, for instance – which saves time.

Since the data is made available on a middleware server, customers can skip buying additional hardware. From PDFs and Microsoft Word documents to image files, the server sends along the latest data every time users synchronize their mobile software. Technicians on their way to a repair assignment, for example, can access their service manuals whenever needed.

The highest standards of security

Meanwhile, Web services and other software programs run on SAP NetWeaver Application Server, which supports current Internet security standards such as HTTPS, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). From user administration and authorization to digital certificates and signatures, SAP NetWeaver Application Server ensures the highest level of security between clients and servers. The component also includes technology that enables multiple employees to work on the same project simultaneously while supporting separate access rights for each individual user.

Alerts for admins

Besides having lifted technical restrictions on large amounts of data and users, SAP has added a number of improved functions for system administrators to the new version of SAP NetWeaver Mobile. Admins will now find it even easier to manage field employees’ mobile devices, including aspects ranging from device, user, and application assignments to synchronization monitoring.

Security logs, data encryption, and a remote wipe function prevent the misuse of sensitive information should a mobile device go missing, and admins have the ability to monitor all of the data on the devices at any time. Using a central monitoring console, they can also distribute patches, configure devices, and address errors. Alerts automatically notify them of irregularities, such as if an employee in the field has forgotten to sync his or her mobile device with the server. The Web Dynpro framework, meanwhile, makes it easier to develop applications thanks to its basis in open technology standards like Java, XML, and SOAP. Users can access it through a custom system interface or a Web browser.

Via SAP.info

SAP has vowed to make all data from its systems that would be useful on the move available on mobile devices.

As the company awaits European regulatory approval for its proposed $5.8 billion acquisition of mobile software firm Sybase, Sanjay Poonen, executive VP at SAP, told Computerworld UK that “if customers need us to push real time data of any sort to their mobile devices, we’ll do it”.

“This is the main reason for the Sybase acquisition,” he said. “Many customers want data on the move before they go into a meeting, or when they’re out of the office but have to make an important business decision.”

While on-premise software is likely to predominate for at least the next three to five years, according to research from SAP, it was quickly waning to leave many users accessing software in the cloud or on portable devices.

Poonen, speaking at yesterday’s stage of the SAP World Tour in Birmingham, said the mixture of “financial and regulatory pressures, new technology and the new generation of workers” was pushing businesses to make radical IT changes — and that suppliers needed to support this.

One of the biggest changes for suppliers in terms of data, he said, was making it available in more places and through different delivery models.

SAP’s strategy was to make software “on demand, on premise and on device”, he said, adding that it needed to be in real time. “Users want to plan smarter, run faster and perform better.”

The main mobile offerings currently available from SAP are customer relationship management and business intelligence. But Poonen said there was plenty of potential for more modules, including human capital management and supply chain data, to be given to users on the road.

An SAP study of 250 chief information officers in the UK found that currently 71 percent of software deployments are on premise, with 17 percent on demand and 13 percent on mobile devices. This was out of line with what businesses saw as “ideal”: forty-seven percent on premise, 31 percent on demand and 22 percent on mobile.

Businesses expect to step closer to these ideals over a three to five year period. By 2015, they expect the on premise, on demand and on device split to be 51, 28 and 21 percent respectively.

The move to cloud models was being driven primarily by cost and quick scalability concerns, Poonen said, though he acknowledged that security concerns are still holding back many businesses.

Mobile adoption was being driven by employees demanding more information on the move, as well as younger generations who may be more accustomed to tablet computing and smart phones than traditional laptops.

SAP has approximately 100,000 business customers globally, split between enterprise resource planning and business intelligence clients. Large customers in the UK include BP, Shell, Pfizer, Burberry, Premier Foods and the BBC, and with its Business ByDesign offering it also sells software as a service to small and medium sized businesses.

Poonen said SAP recognised that many customers hold the “bulk of data” that feeds into its ERP or business intelligence in non-SAP systems. But he insisted SAP offered the tools to extract that information effectively.

Via NetworkWorld.com

There’s no denying that tablet PCs like the iPad are destined to become well and truly rooted in the business world and smart apps are slated to replace conventional software. We took a look at apps for day-to-day business use.

Office, ERP, SAP: With our tips, you can enable your iPad for the workplace (graphic: grasundsterne)

If developments continue on the same track, the laptop is set to be put out to pasture – because more than three million iPads have already been sold. They are more compact, considerably lighter, more energy-efficient, easier to use, and don’t come with the trappings of a keyboard and a mouse. Moving parts are a thing of the past, and the batteries last at least 10 hours. But some questions need to be addressed: Can we work faster with our fingers than with a mouse? Is it easier to edit the contents of tables with finger movements?

We don’t click any more, we touch. The virtual keyboard automatically appears on the pad, so our eyes don’t have to move from keyboard to screen. And one thing is definitely true: Those small programs – also known as apps – are much faster and simpler to install than the bulky, old-style program packages. The same is true of updates and distribution: Data carriers and interfaces are no longer needed, because the connection is wireless, through UMTS or WLAN.

If studies conducted by a number of market researchers are to be believed, day-to-day office tasks in a typical company can definitely be mastered with a tablet PC. According to such studies, a slim-line computer with a touchscreen could replace a conventional notebook in at least 50% of business cases. Daily tasks include reading and writing e-mails, creating presentations, drawing up documents, accessing business processes such as ERP applications within an app, or controlling such business processes using a Web browser. What’s more, company videos can be shown or video conferences held, as long as the tablet PC has an integrated camera. It is highly likely that SAP’s ambitious plans of reaching a billion users for its ERP software by the year 2015 will only be achieved with the help of smartphones and tablet PCs.

The future of business: the iPad and the iPhone side by side (photo: Frank Völkel)

Office² HD – Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint

Editing Word and Excel files with your iPad

Many potential iPad users quite rightly ask whether it’s possible to compose texts and edit spreadsheets, as well as use e-mail, the Internet, address databases, and calendar functions. Byte Squared recently launched its Office² HD app, which cuts a fine figure on the iPad. Both .xls and .doc files can be edited, although compatibility is initially restricted to the Microsoft Office versions 97 through 2003. An update to the current version (2010) is expected soon.

As a native iPad app, Office2 HD supports many formats.

A new feature for the iPad is the ability to save all documents. And there’s no need for them to be e-mailed to the iPad. Instead, they can be transferred from the desktop by WLAN. Then the application appears as an additional drive in the Windows Explorer.

Furthermore, Office² HD can display Microsoft Access files stored in a MobileMe cloud, PowerPoint presentations (.ppt), and PDF files. The native iPad app Office² HD costs U.S.$7.99 and takes up a mere 3.1 MB in the tablet PC’s working memory. The Office²HD app can be downloaded straight from iTunes (direct link).

SAPPLAPP 1.3

This app is designed to make a company’s entire SAP system available to people who are away from the office, and is primarily aimed at midsize enterprises. This means that even in meetings with customers or vendors, managers can access the SAP system located at headquarters.

SAPPLAPP enables you to access SAP ERP from your iPad.

This app is especially good at calling and tracking transactions within the SAP system. Dialup or connection takes place through the company VPN, and an SAP Internet Transaction Server (ITS) needs to be preinstalled so that the graphical user interface can be rendered as HTML pages. SAP ERP 6.0 already contains an ITS, so only users of older ERP versions need to install an additional server.

Overview of jobs in the SAPPLAPP app

The app requires a minimum of firmware 3.1.2 and runs on the iPad in native resolution (1024 x 768 pixels) as well as on the iPhone (320 x 480 pixels). The iOS 4 software update with fast app switching is also supported. This tiny program takes up 100 KB in the working memory and costs U.S.$0.99. The SAPPLAPP app can be downloaded straight from iTunes (direct link).

SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand and SAP BusinessObjects Explorer 2.0.319

Access to SAP BusinessObjects Explorer has been available for the iPhone for around six months, and now a version has been released that’s specially tailored to the iPad. After the app starts up, users can choose whether they want to work with SAP BusinessObjects Explorer or SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand. It is remarkable that this one app in fact comprises two applications – and that it doesn’t cost a cent, either.

Sending graphics by e-mail with SAP BusinessObjects BI OnDemand

Free of charge, SAP provides a cloud for up to 10 MB of data and a table of up to 2,000 data rows. For more information, see the articles Cloud for Free: BI on the iPhone andOn-Demand Software for BI Beginners. The iPad app for SAP BusinessObjects Explorer, including SAP Business Objects BI OnDemand can be downloaded straight from iTunes (direct link).

Mellmo Roambi Visualizer 3.0.2

The company Mellmo was already making waves at the recent SAPPHIRE NOW conference in Orlando, Florida. Based on its own Roambi Enterprise Server 3, it provides a connection to SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI R2/3.0/3.1, enabling data for reports to be displayed and edited on the iPad using graphics. For the iPad, the Roambi Visualizer acts as the interface to the Enterprise Server 3. The data can be in the form of .rpt files created using SAP Crystal Reports 2008 or an older version.

Roambi Visualizer 1.1

Access to non-SAP environments – such as IBM Cognos Reports versions 8.3 and 8.4 or higher, or Microsoft Reporting Services 2005 and 2008 – is also possible. The native app for the iPad is free-of-charge and produces quite respectable graphics from complex data records. On its Web site, the provider has published a 16-page handbook, which enables users to get started with the app’s functions quickly. Roambi Visualizer 3.0.2 takes up 12.6 MB in the iPad’s memory and can be downloaded  from iTunes (direct link).

Citrix Receiver 1.1

With the Citrix Receiver, you can display the entire virtual desktop of Windows systems, including the current version 7.

Virtual desktop with Citrix Receiver for RSA Account

Via SAP.info

Incidents, program failures, and long response times are some of the performance killers IT managers have to minimize. In complex SAP environments, determining the causes of these problems is often difficult. By applying a special method of measurement and comparison, however, technicians can track down the roots of declines in efficiency and take appropriate action.

800 aircrafts at SR Technics: Business processes have to run smoothly (photo: SR Technics)

Poor performance, stability, and availability can have various causes in SAP systems. In some industries, the “only” culprit is data quantities that are growing at a disproportionate rate. Large retail chains, for instance, process millions of movement data records in their SAP applications every day.

In most cases, however, the reasons behind drops in performance are more complex. The Swiss aviation services provider SR Technics, for example – which shares real-time information on the 800 aircraft it supports with around 500 customers – counts on its central SAP ERP application to always be up and running at a high level of efficiency. “Our business processes have to run smoothly; we can’t risk any reduction in performance,” explains Adrian Wirth, vice president of SR Technics’ IT group. Due to its constantly increasing amounts of data, the company planned and carried out a migration of its SAP application from an aging UNIX platform to a modern, highly accessible hardware platform with a corresponding storage solution. However, the move did not produce the performance boost SR Technics had hoped for. Quite the opposite, in fact: Despite the platform’s more powerful components, the SAP software’s dialog response times and batch program runtimes were even longer than before. “The performance improvements we were expecting from the migration to more potent hardware never materialized, so we had to switch back to our old infrastructure a few days later,” Wirth recalls. Then the investigation into the cause of these events began.

Hardware not always at fault

As this example shows, performance shortfalls in SAP applications cannot always be traced back to a lack of hardware resources. Individual issues can combine to cause greater problems that place unnecessary strain on these systems. In the case described, incorrectly configured hard drive systems, unstable clusters, and performance problems related to the ZFS file system were responsible.

On their own, each of these problems would have been compensated by SR Technics’ new and improved hardware; only the combination of all three led to the company’s serious performance issues. The nature of this conundrum was also such that even more powerful hardware would not have made the slightest difference.

VMS Benchmarks

Why do IT managers often find it hard to pinpoint the actual causes of performance deficits? They often suspect a single reason, make a corresponding change, and typically dismiss the reason out of hand when no improvement occurs. Meanwhile, the attempted modification may actually be part of the solution. The concurrence of multiple causes often amplifies their effects, but since this amplification is nonlinear, it can be difficult or impossible to gauge. This exacerbates the problem.

Assessing individual system reports is not enough to get to the root of the issue; software that performs holistic analysis of SAP systems and their architecture is required. Model-generated monitoring based on benchmarks makes this possible (see text box).

Just such an assessment gave SR Technics key insights into why its SAP ERP system had not exhibited the performance expected following its hardware upgrade. The results recommended modifying the company’s hardware configuration and system architecture, as well as adjusting these aspects to users’ actual behavior. “Since implementing the VMS recommendations, we’ve come to expect fast response times, rapid batch processing, and high uptime in all of our IT processes. Our SAP users are also pleased,” Wirth says in summary.

Targeting complexity

One of the most important conclusions to draw from this case is that there is no universal means of optimizing SAP system performance. The demands business-critical processes place on SAP systems in terms of processing speed, response times, availability, and stability vary by situation. Companies in the automotive industry, for instance, have to be able to handle forecast and sequenced delivery schedules for just-in-time and just-in-sequence processes in seconds. For telecommunications providers, fast response times at call centers are a competitive advantage. At the beginning of each new month, publicly traded companies are obligated to submit their reports for the previous month – the generation of which involves a series of batch processes.

All of these requirements are different; even more importantly, they almost always come in groups. This leads to interdependencies, which makes it very difficult to apply the solution for a particular issue to other cases. Specific problems constantly manifest themselves in different areas.

SR Technics has demonstrated what to expect: When combined, application complexity, the abundance of contingencies among individual components, and limited resources augment one another, leading to nonlinear performance. Since this complexity cannot be avoided – indeed, it will actually increase due to virtualization and other modern technologies – companies must learn to deal with it. In complex systems, improvements only take hold when executed jointly in a coordinated manner. A single action will not have the desired effect, and the series of measures needed depends on the case at hand. Only a complete system analysis capable of factoring in as many aspects as possible can deliver a comprehensive overview and identify the elements needed to achieve optimization.

Via SAP.info

Now also available to private users, Microsoft’s new Office Suite 2010 is designed to provide constant access to documents – whether on desktop computers and smartphones or in the cloud. We’ve taken the new applications for a test drive to tell you how Office 2010 stacks up in everyday use.

A variety of versions: Microsoft offers Office 2010 in seven variants.

Though it’s hard to think of a new feature as controversial and slow to catch on as the “ribbon” interface introduced in Office 2007, Microsoft has stuck to its guns and integrated the concept into Outlook, as well. The company has, however, evidently taken the extensive user criticism to heart and made numerous improvements.

For instance, the tried-and-true “File” menu has made its return. It enables users to access Office 2010’s “Backstage” view, which contains key functions such as “Save” and “Print.” The interface’s individual ribbons can also be adjusted to meet specific preferences.

The other Office applications have only seen minor improvements. Of particular note is the incremental search function in Microsoft Word, which displays every instance found – along with its context – in a preview sidebar. Microsoft Excel users, meanwhile, will be excited to start using “sparklines” – tiny graphics that display the progression of data streams in diagrams. Unlike conventional Excel diagrams, users can integrate sparklines into rows to achieve better clarity.

With incremental search, you can comb through even lengthy Microsoft Word files in real time.

While it does not come close to offering the functional diversity of products like Cyberlink PowerProducer and Adobe Premiere Pro, Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 now supports enough audio and video editing to enable users to shorten videos, for example, without additional programs. Each of the new Office applications can also work with images much better than before: With just a few mouse-clicks, users can crop pictures, apply graphical filters, or add a 3D effect. In many cases, this eliminates the need for an extra image-processing program.

Online control center: Users can start the Office 2010 apps through Windows Live.

Office in the cloud

With Office 2010, Microsoft is seeking to bring its customers a software suite they can use anywhere – whether on desktop computers, smartphones, or applications in the cloud. To make this possible regardless of the user’s location, Office 2010 supports fixed integration of Windows Live SkyDrive, a Microsoft service that offers 25 free gigabytes of online storage.

In addition, Microsoft has made available Web versions of four of its applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. These online applications – which support every popular browser, not just Internet Explorer – are free for anyone interested to use and only require a Windows Live account. While Web users will have to make some concessions in terms of functional scope, Microsoft’s cloud offerings do contain all of the key components needed to get real work done on letters, spreadsheets, and presentations while on the move.

Microsoft Office Word 2010

According to Ralph Haupter, the new head of Microsoft Germany, a virtually unlimited number of users can work on online documents at the same time; connection bandwidth is the only limiting factor. The corresponding data is updated in real time, making it possible to track changes as they are made. All those currently working on a document are constantly displayed at the bottom-right of each user’s browser.

Integrated social networks

Meanwhile, Microsoft is keeping pace with the times by integrating social networks into Outlook 2010. The application’s Social Connector, for example, incorporates status updates from contacts on Facebook and other communities. By the end of June, Outlook will also be able to interface with Xing, a social network popular in the German-speaking countries. Microsoft offers an online overview of the services Outlook currently supports.

64-bit Office

As we reported in our first article on the subject, “Office 2010 – SAP Gives the Go-Ahead,” the latest version of Microsoft’s suite is the first to be available in 64-bit form. This version is mainly of interest to users who have to contend with huge Excel files (more than 2GB in size). The 32-bit variant seems to be the better choice for everyone else, as its 64-bit counterpart does not support the majority of Office 2010 plug-ins – including one that integrates the SAP GUI into Outlook, to name a prominent example.

Via SAP.info