With businesses shifting from a decentralized to a centralized model, the role that procurement must play within the business is changing. Companies now need to create one central procurement organization that can leverage tighter controls, enforce standardized processes and policies, and achieve new efficiencies and savings. In this article, Sanjay Poonen, President of Global Solutions at SAP, discusses key components of setting up a successful, consolidated procurement organization.2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006294http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/How-Are-You-Elevating-Procurements-Role-in-Your-Enterprise-/6294In the current market, many companies are focused on bottom-line savings and top-line growth, and the latest wave of procurement technology can help drive both. In this Q&A with Chris Salis, Global Vice President of Procurement Solutions and Emily Rakowski, Senior Director and Head of Procurement Solutions Marketing at SAP, readers can learn how these new innovations are changing the role of procurement.2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006297http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/6-Steps-to-Sourcing-Excellence/6297Even with the increased emphasis on cost control that has come out of the recession, maverick or unauthorized spending is still a problem for most organizations, sometimes costing millions of dollars. This article shares six steps to help procurement organizations maximize savings and profits; including obtaining executive sponsorship and collaborating with key stakeholders2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006301http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAPinsider-Special-Report--Innovations/6301When it comes to opening the door for new innovations, both big data and mobility play a major role. In this special report, you'll hear from SAP's partners about some of the solutions and services that you can leverage to capitalize on the unique opportunities that big data and mobility have to offer, while also maximizing your investment in SAP software and achieving better business results.2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006298http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Business-Value-Unwired-%E2%80%94-The-Key-to-Mobile-Success/6298The prevalence and ease of use of mobile devices in our personal lives has left some companies believing that mobility is easy. However, the complexity of developing and maintaining an enterprise mobility strategy and solution set will quickly shatter this belief. In this article, you'll learn how SAP, using their co-innovation approach, works closely with customers to help them navigate the waters of enterprise mobility and come up with a mobile solution that's the perfect fit for their company.2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006292http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Manage-Your-Asset-Retirement-Obligations-More-Accurately/6292Regulatory requirements and accounting rules implemented in the past decade have made calculating a company's current and future financial obligations more time consuming and complicated. Small mistakes when accounting for the cost of retiring assets can cause monetary and possibly legal trouble for an organization. To help its customers calculate their asset retirement obligations (AROs) more accurately and easily, SAP has developed SAP Asset Retirement Obligation Management, a solution that automates the data management and accounting processes associated with AROs. This article explains the importance of ARO management and how SAP's new application can streamline your accounting efforts.2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006290http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Speed-the-Time-to-Value-for-SAP-Software/6290Implementing the newest solutions is exciting for a business, but to truly maximize the return on the investment in the technology, the company's IT organization and user population must be educated on the solutions before they go live. This can be quite an undertaking, but SAP has developed a series of SAP Accelerated Learning packages to help expedite the learning process. This article discusses the packages for SAP HANA, mobility, and business intelligence, and reviews the different ways the offerings can be delivered for faster and more convenient learning.2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006293http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAPinsider-Special-Report---br-Duet-Enterprise/6293The goals of the business and IT can often seem to be at odds. With Duet Enterprise, however, companies can meet the needs of both. Duet Enterprise provides the building blocks that developers can use to compose solutions that blend the functionality of SAP and Microsoft. For IT, this helps broaden the use of SAP software and expand the scope of Microsoft SharePoint. Business users gain a unified view of both their data and their tasks, giving them a central place from which to manage their business processes. In this special report, you'll learn more about Duet Enterprise and some of the innovative solutions partners have already built with it.2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006296http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/New-and-Noteworthy/62962012-01-01T00:00:00-05:006099http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/A-One-Stop-Shop-for-Managing-All-of-Your-Business-Information/6099In an age where technology gives companies access to an increasingly large amount of data, it is easy to lose sight of how to best leverage that information. That's why it is imperative to have an information lifecycle management (ILM) strategy. This article takes a close look at how SAP's ILM solution suite provides functionality that allows users to successfully manage data in a variety of circumstances.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006088http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Innovation-Made-Easy/6088Most businesses want the latest and greatest functionality that SAP has to offer, but they don't always want the down time that comes with an implementation or upgrade. SAP, never blind to customer needs, has created enhancement packages to ease the upgrading process. This article describes the basic enhancement package concepts and outlines the required technical foundation to help you gain the most benefit from them.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006076http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-Big-Squeeze--How-Business-Analytics-Can-Help-You-Extract-Every-Ounce-of-Value-from-Your-Business-Information/6076SAP has slowly and steadily been transforming itself. Its product portfolio is no longer solely centered on SAP Business Suite; it now shares the spotlight with a newer class of solutions known as business analytics. But what, exactly, are "business analytics" solutions? What's driving their high demand? In this interview, you'll learn the answers to these questions and more from Steve Lucas, Head of the Business Analytics Organization at SAP.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006089http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAPinsider-Special-Report--Supporting-Your-SAP-Solutions/6089Companies are always looking for ways to improve their end-to-end IT operations and ensure that their solution landscapes run optimally at all times. In this special report, you'll learn about two support offerings — Run SAP and SAP Enterprise Support — that can help these companies do just that. You'll also hear from partners certified in Run SAP and SAP Enterprise Support about the various offerings and services available to help you get the most out of your IT investments.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006074http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Portals-Take-on-a-New-Life/6074Improved user interfaces have helped transform portals into effective application deployment vehicles and full-featured collaboration hubs. This article explores how SAP has enhanced the functionality of its own SAP NetWeaver Portal solution to help end users, developers, and administrators take advantage of the portal revolution.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006077http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Elevating-Your-Procurement-Organization-from-Knee-Jerk-Reactions-to-Predictive-Analytics/6077Procurement analytics — which encompass traditional spend analytics and key procurement measures — provide the key to identifying areas of low performance, optimizing procurement functions, and reducing costs. But what's the best way to configure and deploy a procurement analytics program? This article will walk you through the 4-step process.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006092http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Outsourcing-in-the-Cloud-and-Beyond--How-to-Choose-the-Right-Partner/6092Cloud services have become increasingly popular and many service providers are already leveraging cloud-based infrastructures to operate on and deliver outsourcing services. Now companies are wondering: "What will this do for us?" "Will it optimize our IT investments at a lower cost and with fewer business risks?" "Or will it actually increase our risks?" This article helps answer these questions and describes the SAP Outsourcing Certification Programs, which can help companies find the right service provider to fit their needs.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006101http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/When-3-Become-1/6101New market opportunities, increased competition, and the need to comply with internal and external regulations are forcing businesses to constantly evolve. This article takes a look at SAP NetWeaver Process Orchestration — which blends SAP NetWeaver BPM, SAP NetWeaver BRM, and SAP NetWeaver PI — a solution designed to help companies keep up with these rapid changes and provide a foundation to generate better business and IT alignment.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006085http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Build-and-Maintain-Better-Connections/6085Every ERP implementation includes an important step: building interfaces that can transfer data both accurately and reliably. Whether you're moving data from a legacy system into an ERP system, or from one ERP system to another, building a suitable interface is critical. This article explores SAP Application Interface Framework, an add-on to existing SAP applications designed to aid in this often complicated process.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:005597http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Unlocking-the-Promise-of-Mobile-Commerce/5597Mobile commerce is enabling retailers and consumer products companies to engage with customers like never before, offering massive growth opportunities. However, consumer mobility has also intensified the pressure on retailers to redefine the shopping experience and deliver multichannel retailing, as well as to implement trade promotion management, traceable marketing spend, coupon program performance assessment, and other capabilities from the mobile world. This article explores SAP's project "Apollo," which aims to help companies in this endeavor.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006093http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-ASUG-Executive-Exchange/6093A small group of C-level professionals can greatly influence the SAP ecosystem with their purchasing and strategy decisions. This article looks at how ASUG's new initiative, the ASUG Executive Exchange, supports this type of collaboration and connects SAP executive management with C-level professionals from member companies.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006094http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Customer-Driven-SAP-Software/6094SAP and DSAG have always worked closely to identify and develop solution improvements for SAP customers. In this article, you'll learn about two new DSAG initiatives — the Customer Connection/Continuous Improvement (CI) program and the Customer Engagement Initiative (CEI) program — that continue DSAG's mission to work with SAP to influence product development.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006087http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/%22Deliberate-Design%22--A-Quick-Guide-to-Architecting-Your-Solutions-Landscape-for-Success/6087To be successful, an enterprise needs an IT solution landscape that is flexible and adaptable, with robust capabilities and operational versatility. This article explores how to build this solution landscape in a cost-effective manner, through a "deliberate design" approach. This concept focuses on architecting each aspect of the solution landscape with considerations for strategic goals, operational constraints, and marketplace options.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006100http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Whats-New-in-SAP-NetWeaver-ID-Management-7-2-/6100SAP NetWeaver ID Management is an important tool for any customer working to manage users' access to applications while also meeting audit and compliance requirements. This article explores the tool's latest release — 7.2 — and delves into some of the new features and functionality that readers can look forward to.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006075http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Unwire-Your-Enterprise-and-Unleash-Business-Growth/6075It is essential that today's businesses be able to make the best use of their corporate data — anytime, anywhere. Setting up an enterprise-wide mobile strategy for employees means the difference between leading the pack and lagging behind. In this article, you'll get tips and tricks for setting up a mobile strategy that will enable you to gain real-time access to critical business information, increase employee productivity, and improve customer interactions.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006091http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-OEM-Primer/6091SAP is on a mission to bring its core technology platforms to an even broader set of end users and to see these platforms used to provide new and exciting innovations. One of the ways SAP is doing this is by sharing their technology platforms with other solution developers through original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnerships. This primer introduces you to the OEM concept, digs into some examples of how companies are benefiting from the OEM program today, and provides information to help other companies decide if they too are candidates for the OEM program.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006079http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/How-SAP-Customers-Are-Succeeding-with-SAP-Enterprise-Support-%E2%80%94-and-How-It-Can-Work-for-You/6079No matter how effective a software solution is, there are always outside factors that can cause issues the company is not prepared to deal with. These companies, however, are not alone. SAP Enterprise Support takes a hands-on approach to helping customers reduce or avoid costs associated with unseen factors or tricky implementations. Through customer testimonials, this article shows how SAP Enterprise Support can help your company meet and exceed business requirements.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006086http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Ensure-Compliance-with-Take-Back-and-Recycling-Regulations-%E2%80%94-Without-Breaking-the-Bank/6086With growing environmental concerns, sustainability is becoming more important than ever. Many companies are making strides to make their business practices greener. For manufacturers, however, the topic becomes even more complicated because they must think about packaging, recycling, and product end-of-life processes. In this article, discover how SAP enables manufacturers to meet their product and packaging recycling goals and requirements with SAP Recycling Administration.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006078http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-insideEdge/6078The world is beginning to see a massive "technology disruption" brought on by trends like social media, mobility, big data, and cloud computing. This disruption brings with it both changes and opportunities. In this executive address, SAP's Chief Value Officer Chakib Bouhdary discusses the disruption, the opportunities it brings, and SAP's plans to support companies willing to embrace the changing market.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006090http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/What-to-Do-When-Your-Subsidiaries-Need-to-Integrate-with-Headquarters/6090Subsidiaries, which make up an important portion of the small business and midsize enterprise (SME) population, face a unique challenge: these companies need solutions that will fit their SME needs, but will also integrate with the corporate solutions that their headquarters uses. In this Q&A, you'll find out why LORD Corporation chose SAP Business One to integrate its subsidiary operations and provide profit accounting, quality, and WIP management capabilities to all of its plants.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006080http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAPinsider-Special-Report--Business-Analytics/6080Business analytics — SAP's fastest growing and largest segment — is driving entirely new ways of doing business for customers. And the way in which companies can access this analytic information is changing too. Users can now access the information they want in the manner they choose, be it on-demand (in the cloud), on a phone or tablet, or on a desktop or laptop. In this special report, you'll learn about the trends driving the business analytics revolution and then drill down into several subsets of business analytics with articles that focus on BI, GRC, EPM, data warehousing, and EIM.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006083http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-Solution-Extension-Primer--The-Insiders-Guide-to-Finding-the-Right-Solution-for-Your-SAP-Deployment/6083A recurring theme for companies these days is to do more with less. In this primer, you'll learn about SAP's solution extensions — solutions sourced from third parties that provide their own unique benefits and also closely integrate with SAP solutions and key business processes. These offerings allow companies to build on current IT investments, enabling them to create even more competitive, compelling, and holistic solutions.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006081http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Beyond-Systems-of-Record-to-Systems-of-Engagement/6081A company's information has always been one of its most precious resources. But the way companies tap into and interact with that information must change. In the past, businesses invested in "systems of record" to house their structured data in databases. Now, with a growing need to be able to easily and flexibly access up-to-date information, companies need to switch to "systems of engagement," in which users can create and share data views, interacting with the information within them. In this article, you'll learn about systems of engagement and how they support the evolution of business analytics.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006096http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/3-Benefits-of-Mobilizing-HR/6096As workforces go mobile, HR must meet a growing demand for employees to be able to access employee self-service capabilities and for managers to be able to view key HR KPIs — all without a desktop computer. This article explores how, with SAP's mobile HR applications, SAP ERP HCM customers can mobilize their HR data securely and effectively to maximize their investment in SAP technology and make their employees more flexible, more engaged, and more productive.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006082http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Bringing-Order-to-the-Chaos-in-Mobility/6082For companies working to empower their end users, increase agility, and lower the TCO of their systems, the rise of mobile applications offers a great opportunity to move forward on all three fronts. However, the proliferation of mobile devices, platforms, and applications has also led to a kind of mobility chaos. In this article, you'll learn how SAP's acquisition of Sybase brings order to this chaos, providing solutions that enable organizations to connect, create, consume, and control any number of mobile applications on any device.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006098http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/How-to-Get-the-Most-Out-of-ABAP-and-Java-in-the-Context-of-SAP-Technology--Part-2/6098This two-part article series shows you that it isn't a question of which programming language — ABAP or Java — is better than the other. The choice depends on the situation, and sometimes the answer is both. This article shows you how to create a mental map to evaluate your options and make this decision by walking through some example scenarios that illustrate the questions you need to answer for your project's unique situation and conditions.2011-10-01T00:00:00-04:006084http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Boost-Profitability-with-More-Efficient-Resource-Scheduling/6084For many companies, the service organization is the most profitable aspect of their business. An efficient service organization not only gives way to favorable customer satisfaction surveys, but also boosts profits. In this article, learn about one application that gives SAP customers the opportunity to improve their service operations: SAP Multiresource Scheduling.1900-01-09T00:00:00-05:005934http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Become-a-More-Demand-Driven-Organization/5934With today's supply chains spread across global networks, a lack of visibility and long decision-making times often make it difficult to plan and execute with speed and precision. This article discusses three success factors that companies are focusing on to become more demand-driven, as well as the SAP solutions — such as SAP Supply Chain Response Management — that are available to support those success factors.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005920http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/From-Idea-to-Delivery--Take-a-Holistic,-End-to-End-Approach-to-Bringing-Products-to-Market/5920Despite the best intentions, silos remain in many organizations that fail to see a direct path to collaboration. But the right IT systems, when used effectively, can extend collaboration out to suppliers, customers, and partners, integrating all processes from idea to delivery. In this Q&A, SAP executives Thomas Ohnemus and Richard Howells discuss the idea-to-delivery model and why it’s so important for SAP customers.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005927http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-insideEdge/5927Collaborate better, decide better, and operate better — these are the hallmarks of a successful strategy in today's "Networked Normal" business environment. SAP;s Lori Mitchell-Keller offers an introduction to the new solutions and features that SAP has developed to help customers better execute on these three dimensions.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005939http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Strengthen-Your-Brand-Through-Strategic-Product-Lifecycle-Management/5939The world expects product innovation, and that means companies need to take a holistic approach to product lifecycle management. This article explores six best practices to help product development and project management line-of-business owners succeed. Plus, readers can learn how the new SAP Product Lifecycle Management 7.01 release helps businesses achieve brand excellence.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005931http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Procurement-Lessons-Learned-from-the-Economic-Downturn/5931For procurement departments, where budgets can be constrained even when the economy is not in turmoil, lessons learned from those companies that survived the recalcitrant economy are invaluable. Uncover the top four tactics that best-in-class performers employ to elevate procurement proficiencies, along with the metrics they use to measure their success.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005942http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAPinsider-Special-Report--Data-and-Document-Management/5942With the enterprise awash in information, successful organizations are those that can strategically manage their data and documents. SAP’s General Manager of Enterprise Information Management, Victor Szczerba, introduces this special report with tips and insights for your enterprise information management (EIM) strategy, including information about the key role that partners play. Then, prominent SAP partners discuss an array of tools and solutions that help companies meet their unique EIM needs.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005938http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/How-SMEs-Are-Democratizing-Access-to-Their-Data/5938Small businesses and midsize enterprises (SMEs) face three key challenges that impede their ability to make good, data-driven decisions: ensuring the integrity of information, democratizing the availability of information, and controlling the cost of ownership. This article sheds light on how the key components of SAP's SME portfolio — SAP BusinessObjects Edge Business Intelligence software and SAP BusinessObjects Edge Rapid Marts packages — address these challenges.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005937http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Dont-Just-Manage-Your-Trade-Promotions-%E2%80%94-Optimize-Them/5937The expense of promotions represents the second highest single line item in the corporate budget, after the cost of goods. So ensuring that this money is spent effectively is no small concern for CIOs. To help consumer companies seeking to take the guesswork out of promotion planning and move to a more data-driven decision-making process, this article takes a close look at SAP Trade Promotion Optimization, a new solution developed to help maximize the return on trade promotion.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005936http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Shedding-Light-on-SAP-Enterprise-Support/5936SAP customers often underestimate the value of SAP Enterprise Support. This article explores four customer examples, and takes an in-depth look at key support features, like Guided Self Services and Expert Guided Implementations, to shed light on the real business value that SAP Enterprise Support can bring.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005924http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Becoming-a-Top-Performer--Why-Companies-Are-Still-Investing-in-Core-Financial-Management-Processes/5924SAP has not been sitting still when it comes to innovating the core SAP ERP Financials capabilities that are the bedrock of many organization' transaction processing and financial reporting. This article explores four areas in which this innovation has been especially powerful: invoice-to-pay and e-invoicing, financial risk management for commodities, travel management, and a shared services framework.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005928http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Global-Traceability--Key-Drivers,-Challenges,-and-Solutions-for-Todays-Manufacturers/5928End-to-end traceability is essential to protect a manufacturer's brand, customers, and customer relationships, as well as to increase profit margin. But why do so many manufacturers today struggle to ensure traceability at a high level? This article explores the drivers and challenges around traceability and how SAP solutions can help.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005923http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Engage-Employees-Through-Innovative-HR-Solutions/5923The roadmap in the human resources (HR) space is an exciting one for SAP. In this first installment of the new “HR Innovations” column, learn about enhancements to SAP ERP Human Capital Management, including the more social user experience that HR users have come to expect today, and innovations such as HR mobile apps and in-memory computing.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005926http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/New-and-Noteworthy/59262011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005943http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Staying-on-Top-of-Technology-Trends-and-Customer-Needs/5943The technology department within the German-Speaking SAP User Group (DSAG) is working to get customers the information and tools they need to evaluate and succeed with new technologies, such as cloud computing and in-memory analytics. In this Q&A, DSAG's Dr. Marco Lenck answers key questions about the department's activities and goals.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005922http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Eliminate-Password-Chaos-While-Ensuring-System-Security/5922Eliminating the need for passwords in business applications means getting rid of processes that can be costly and that have inherent security risks. With single sign-on (SSO) functionality, users only need to authenticate once, thus eliminating password chaos. This article discusses how the argument in favor of SSO has become even stronger with the new security functionality that is now available within SAP NetWeaver Single Sign-On.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005929http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/So-You-Want-to-Attend-SAP-TechEd-2011-/5929With training, learning communities, and technical information all available online, why should your boss send you to an in-person event like SAP TechEd? This article presents three clear reasons that will convince your boss to send you, as well as an overview of the SAP TechEd 2011 session tracks and sub tracks.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005930http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Executing-the-Sustainability-Business-Case/5930Did you know that 57% of companies believe sustainability is necessary to be competitive, but only 33% actually have a business case for it? This installment of the "Sustainable Business" column offers a guide to executing the sustainability business case by addressing key areas that customers most often have questions about and laying out five strong cases for sustainability.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005932http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAP-NetWeaver-Gateway-Extends-the-Reach-of-SAP-Business-Applications/5932Imagine a world where SAP customers, partners, and the broader developer community can deliver innovative applications that connect to SAP software through interactive web experiences and social environments, as well as through mobile and tablet devices. The new SAP NetWeaver Gateway technology makes that world a reality. This article provides an overview of the architecture, explores what it means for developers, and explains how early adopters are benefiting from it.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005940http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/How-Much-Energy-Is-Your-Server-Using--And-How-Much-Could-an-Energy-Efficient-One-Save-You-/5940How can a company be sure that the energy-efficient server it chooses is truly a sustainable one? To help, SAP, in close cooperation with its partners, introduced the SAP server power standard application benchmark, which tests a vendor's server, allowing that vendor to demonstrate the server's efficiency — and enabling customers to evaluate it before purchasing. Explore the results from one SAP partner, Fujitsu, which earned the first SAP server power standard application benchmark2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005935http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-Power-of-Mobile-Analytics/5935As the use of mobile devices rapidly increases, so does the need to deliver business analytics in a way that mobile users can easily consume. In this article, Brad Surak, SAP's Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Analytic Applications, discusses the latest features of SAP's mobile analytic applications, including semantic zooming, and provides use cases to help illustrate the user experience.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005921http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAPinsider-Special-Report--Application-Lifecycle-Management/5921Reduced TCO, increased business innovation, and more productive IT users — these things are all achievable through a well-planned, integrated application lifecycle management (ALM) strategy. In this special report, you'll hear from both Stephen Spears, SAP's Global Vice President and General Manager of Field Services Software, and partners about the growing list of solutions that SAP customers can leverage in their quest for ALM excellence.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005941http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/How-to-Get-the-Most-Out-of-ABAP-and-Java-in-the-Context-of-SAP-Technology--Part-1/5941Is ABAP better than Java? Or is Java better than ABAP? This first article in a two-part series shows you that it isn't a question of which development language is better; the choice depends on the situation, and sometimes the answer is both. This article offers three questions to consider at the start of your decision-making process, and then looks at a scenario in which ABAP is the best option.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005925http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/ASUG-Launches-SAP-News-and-Analysis-Website/5925The recent launch of ASUGnews.com marks an exciting milestone for the Americas’ SAP Users' Group (ASUG). In this Q&A with co-editorial directors Courtney Bjorlin and Thomas Wailgum, readers can learn all about ASUG's news and analysis website—from its origins, to its mission, to its actual content and key topics.2011-07-01T00:00:00-04:005753http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/A-Band-Aid-Solution-Cant-Control-Your-Content-Chaos/5753Companies often implement point solutions to provide quick fixes to their content management problems, but these loosely connected band-aid solutions don’t allow them to integrate SAP and non-SAP content — and often end up costing more time and money in the long run. Uncover an enterprise content management solution designed for the long haul — SAP Extended Enterprise Content Management by OpenText — with an extensive list of capabilities that point solutions alone can’t match.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005735http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-Case-for-Contract-Management--Why-You-Should-Get-Started-Today/5735How well-versed are you in the three key areas of contract lifecycle management (CLM)? Take this quick quiz to determine your competency regarding contract visibility, contract creation/authoring, and contract performance management—and understand whether a CLM solution would benefit your organization.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005754http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Customer-Value-Delivered--SAPs-Community-Approach-to-Social-Business/5754Social networking tools have become broadly accepted as business tools, and SAP embraces this value through SAP Community Network, a central part of an SAP user’s social media universe. Uncover the three key pillars of value that SAP Community Network is focusing on in 2011—social innovation, social intelligence, and social commerce—along with success stories from Walt Disney Co. and Baylor College of Medicine.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005741http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-SAP-NetWeaver-AS-Infrastructure--New-Innovations-for-Developers-and-Administrators/5741What makes SAP NetWeaver Application Server unique? Besides the fact that it is the foundation and runtime environment for nearly 90% of SAP solutions, it has important new features that address customer needs in the areas of TCO, lifecycle management, user interface strategy, embedded analytics, development, administration, and security. This article discusses those features, with a focus on the enhancements that help developers and administrators support SAP Business Suite users.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005742http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAPinsider-Special-Report--Virtualization-and-Cloud-Infrastructure/5742The migration from the old world of physical servers to today’s virtualized data centers and virtual system landscapes is well underway — the challenge now is effectively managing all of the physical, virtual, and cloud-based layers in the enterprise. SAP’s Gunther Schmalzhaf kicks off this special report with a look at how SAP is developing enabling technology to facilitate this step for customers. In addition, you’ll hear from distinguished SAP partners about their unique virtualization and cloud offerings.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005755http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Information-Lifecycle-Management-Can-Seem-Daunting-%E2%80%94-But-It-Doesnt-Have-to-Be/5755SAP is rolling out the new SAP NetWeaver Information Lifecycle Management 7.02. With it comes improvements in usability, automation, and predelivered content. To understand how these improvements can help your company more easily implement an information lifecycle management (ILM) strategy, this article takes a step-by-step look at the role the improvements will play in two key ILM scenarios: retention management and legacy system decommissioning.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005751http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Secure-Solutions,-Peace-of-Mind-%E2%80%94-Guaranteed/5751SAP has undergone rigorous procedures to earn the “Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation” certification for SAP NetWeaver Application Server 7.02 Java, support package 3 — and now it is pursuing the certification for the ABAP stack. This article explores the general process of being certified, SAP’s own work with the certification, and the benefits this certification will bring to SAP customers.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005748http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Influencers-in-Action--ASUG-Launches-a-Strategic-Group-for-the-SAP-BusinessObjects-Community/5748The Americas’ SAP Users’ Group (ASUG) has developed a new collaboration and influence mechanism for SAP BusinessObjects customers with its SAP BusinessObjects Strategic special interest group (SIG). Hear from the SIG’s co-chair, Greg Myers, about the group’s origins, its current and future goals, and how interested SAP BusinessObjects customers can join.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005739http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Top-10-Solution-Extensions-for-ALM-Professionals/5739Companies need to keep their SAP applications running optimally with a well-rounded approach to application lifecycle management (ALM). But with so many ALM offerings on the market, how can customers be sure they get the ones they need? To help them make an informed decision, ALM expert Kishore Bhamidipati offers a high-level overview of what he sees as SAP’s top 10 solution extensions for ALM.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005752http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Taking-the-Wheel--DSAGs-Automotive-Special-Interest-Group-Intensifies-Its-Work/5752Germany is one of the top motor vehicle-producing countries in the world. To keep up with SAP customers’ changing needs within this industry, the German-Speaking SAP User Group (DSAG) established its automotive special interest group (SIG). In this article, the SIG’s speaker, Dr. Volker Vogelgesang, discusses the group’s mission, current activities, and goals for the future.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005743http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAP-NetWeaver--The-Launch-Pad-for-Innovation/5743In the last decade, SAP NetWeaver technology has continuously evolved as customer requirements have changed. This article offers a quick overview of the SAP NetWeaver platform’s main technical capabilities, and then hails the three “new horizons”: mobility, cloud, and in-memory computing. Uncover the possibilities that these horizons create, the new types of applications that can be built because of them, and how they will improve today’s enterprises.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005745http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/%22Why-Doesnt-Our-Software-Look-Like-This-%22-Relieve-User-Interface-Angst-with-UI-Options-Tailored-to-Your-SAP-End-Users/5745User interfaces (UIs) are supposed to be easy to use, yet managing all the UI options out there can seem complicated to many companies. This installment of the “User Experience” column discusses factors that explain this complexity, presents SAP’s “core and extensions” approach to UIs, and looks at UI options that best serve the three main types of SAP users—the frequent user, the occasional user, and the unique user.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005744http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Beyond-the-Utility-Bill--Track-and-Act-on-Real-Time-Energy-Information/5744Many businesses find that their current systems are not adequate for collecting, disseminating, and analyzing the data needed to support true enterprise energy management. SAP’s Director of Sustainability, Lori Duvall, advises on the necessary steps for energy management success and explores the benefits of energy analysis beyond cost savings.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005756http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAP-Special-Report--Business-Analytics/5756True business analytics should enable everyone in an organization to know all aspects of their business, make decisions with confidence, and act boldly. In this special report, SAP’s Stephanie Buscemi introduces SAP’s current and future business analytics initiatives—from technology innovations to the Silver Cloud Marketplace. You’ll also hear from other SAP executives with their insights into hot business analytics topics, such as SAP HANA and the new releases of BI, EIM, GRC, and EPM solutions.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005750http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-Value-of-Innovative-Partnering--Why-Your-Organization-Benefits-from-the-Strength-of-SAP-Partners/5750SAP has built a strong network of partners that today incorporates more than 10,000 diverse companies around the world. To help readers understand the true customer value of these partnerships in the SAP ecosystem, this article looks at four specific examples and explains the key customer benefits of each.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005737http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-Co-Innovation-Imperative--How-the-SAP-Ecosystem-Helps-Fuel-Innovation-for-Your-Company/5737Today’s most innovative companies are moving toward collaborative innovation—or co-innovation—and SAP is no exception. This article highlights examples of recent game-changing innovations that resulted from SAP’s collaboration with trusted partners, as well as how customers can leverage ideas and input from partners to develop game-changing innovations of their own.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005736http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Uniting-for-Customers--New-Joint-Partner-Program-Helps-Customers-Gain-More-Value-from-Their-SAP-and-Microsoft-Investments/5736SAP and Microsoft partners are excited about the new SAP-MICROSOFT Unite Partner Connection program, which enables them to increase business opportunities and deliver solutions to their customers more effectively. SAP’s Bill Lawler highlights some of the benefits that this program offers to partners as well as customers, and explains how companies can get involved.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005749http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/SAPs-Best-Kept-Secret--Small-Businesses-and-Midsize-Enterprises-Are-Rapidly-Adopting-SAPs-Solutions/5749Approximately 80% of SAP’s customers fall into the small and midsize enterprises (SME) category—a surprise for those who usually associate SAP software with large businesses. In this first installment of the new “SME Insights” column, SAP’s Dr. Prasad Akella explains why SMEs are flocking to SAP’s solutions, what impact these solutions are having on their businesses, and what this might mean for your company—large or small.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005746http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Your-IT-Service-Desk-Costs-and-Strategy--Question-the-Status-Quo/5746There has been a radical overhaul of SAP Solution Manager usage rights with regard to IT service desk capabilities. This article decodes those usage rights for readers, arming them with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions about their service desk strategy for both SAP and non-SAP assets, and also covers the financial and operational benefits customers can expect by exercising those rights.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005747http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Maximize-the-Value-You-Get-from-SAP-with-the-Vast-%E2%80%94-and-Expanding-%E2%80%94-SAP-Ecosystem/5747SAP is making unparalleled investments in its ecosystem of partners, communities, and co-innovation initiatives—but why this heightened focus on the ecosystem? And how does it impact customers’ investment strategies? Eric Duffaut, SAP’s President of Global Ecosystem and Channels, shares his insights on this exciting topic.2011-04-01T00:00:00-04:005140http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/The-Inside-Edge/5140Managing in a recession is easy: Focus only on cutting costs and eliminating expenses. But managing in a recovery is much more complex. Find out why, and uncover the role your technology partners can play in helping you balance cost containment and growth.2010-04-07T00:00:00-04:005148http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Steering-Business-and-IT-from-Recession-to-Recovery--Navigating-the-%E2%80%9CNew-Normal%E2%80%9D-Economy-Demands-Incremental-Change-That-Bears-Immediate-Results/5148Despite growing signs of recovery, most businesses still find themselves in a period of heightened uncertainty, in which business-as-usual simply won’t suffice. In this Q&A, SAP’s Vivek Bapat advises readers how they can wield technology to walk the thin line between short-term challenges and long-term opportunities in this “New Normal” economy. 2010-04-06T00:00:00-04:005153http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Article/Application-Lifecycle-Management-for-Everyone--Lifecycle-Topics-for-Developers,-Development-Topics-for-Administrators/5153This next generation of Karl Kessler’s “Under Development” column delves into the recently evolved world of application lifecycle management (ALM) — what it means, where you fit in, which ALM tools you should know about, and how to properly plan your ALM journey.2010-04-05T00:00:00-04:00