SAP NetWeaver For Dummies [Paperback]

Dan Woods (Author), Jeffrey Word (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0764568833 | ISBN-13: 978-0764568831

Imagine that it’s the 1950s, and you are in charge of developing the U. S. interstate system. There are countless roads already in use. The system can go in numerous different directions. Where do you begin?

Starting to transform your business with SAP NetWeaver is that daunting. NetWeaver is both an application platform and an integration platform. It integrates your current IT systems to enable portals, collaboration, data management, and development environments. To grasp the complexities and possibilities of SAP ASAP, dig in with SAP NetWeaver For Dummies and explore:

• MySAP Business Suite
• SAP Enterprise Planning Resource (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Human Capital Management (HCM), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), and more
• Mobile Infrastructure that performs like a universal translator for mobile interfaces, including laptops, wireless phones, and PDAs
• Master Data Management, including using the content consolidation technique to “clean up” data, master data harmonization to distribute it, and central master data management to maintain a data repository
• Web Application Service and NetWeaver Developer Studio—tools that let you integrate and create your own customized applications

Written by Dan Woods, former CTO of The Street.com and CapitalThinking, and Jeffrey Word, the Director of Technology Strategy for SAP, this guide features real-life stories from businesses and examples of typical uses to help you cut through the complexities and get up and running. It includes a CD-ROM with:

• Detailed white papers and product overviews
• Stores from customers using SAP NetWeaver today
• Demos that show SAP NetWeaver in action
• A directory of resources for additional information

Like that interstate system, SAP NetWeaver doesn’t have to be integrated all at once. You choose the applications that have the most potential to benefit your company’s operations and bottom line. SAP NetWeaver For Dummies even gives you recommendations for rolling it out and suggests practical ways to get started and get quick returns on your SAP investment. Then you’re going full-speed ahead on the road to success!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Meet the SAP NetWeaver integration/application platform

Discover how SAP NetWeaver can help benefit your company’s bottom line

So you’ve heard about SAP NetWeaver and you think it might be great for your business, if only you were sure exactly what it is? Relax – we’ve got you covered. Here’s your guidebook to SAP NetWeaver, the Web services-based business integration and application platform that enables portals, collaboration, data management, development environments, and more.

All this on the bonus CD-ROM

• Additional detailed information about SAP NetWeaver
• Demos of SAP NetWeaver capabilities
• Success stories from companies already using SAP NetWeaver
• For details and complete system requirements, see the CD-ROM appendix.

Discover how to:

• Apply SAP NetWeaver’s capabilities to your business
• Understand how the components work together
• Employ SAP NetWeaver’s ready-made solutions
• Use SAP NetWeaver with existing technology
• Gain ideas from other successful users

About the Author

Dan Woods has a background in technology and journalism and now runs the Evolved Media Network, a firm focused on technology communications. He was CTO of TheStreet.com, and CapitalThinking, led development at Time Inc. Pathfinder, and created applications for NandO.net, one of the first newspaper Web sites. Dan has an M.S. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. He covered banking for three years at The Record of Hackensack, was database editor for three years at the Raleigh News & Observer, and has written six books on technology topics, in addition to numerous white papers and magazine articles. He thanks his wife, Daniele Gerard, and his children, Fiona and Eamon, for their indulgence and support during this project.

Jeffrey Word is the Director of Technology Strategy for SAP, based in Palo Alto, California. Jeffrey has worked at SAP since 2000 in a variety of roles in business development, strategic consulting, and market strategy. Jeffrey previously worked for several IT hardware and software companies in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. He earned an MBA in International Business from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management. He also earned a B.A. in European Studies and Spanish from the University of Oklahoma.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (May 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764568833
• ISBN-13: 978-0764568831
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful overview; a dangerous approach, June 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: SAP NetWeaver For Dummies (Paperback)

This book presents a very useful overview of NetWeaver's various components and capabilities. Be aware, though, that it only covers *what* NetWeaver can do, not *how* to actually do it, so don't expect a technical reference guide. This is, however, a necessary primer before rolling up your sleeves and digging in. (Besides, NetWeaver is such a huge beast that a thorough technical reference guide printed on paper would probably mean the end of the Amazon rainforrest. Look for such a guide in electronic format).

The book is heavily SAP biased (not surprising, given that one of the authors works for SAP) and hypes NetWeaver almost as the culminating achievement and ultimate destiny of IT. This tone almost became too much for me at times - using phrases such as "The bad news? There IS no bad news!" when describing software does dent the credibility a bit for me. Read it for the useful technical overview; take the hype with a grain of salt.

Finally, this slightly twee approach can be dangerous: readers with a technical background can read between the lines and easily imagine the blood, sweat and tears it takes to implement a system of this magnitude, but the non-technically oriented can easily become seduced by the tone of this book, which glosses over all the gory details and focuses on the happy end results and TCO benefits. This might very well build up unrealistic expectations for readers with a non-technical background. So if you're in that group, please keep in mind that properly installing and configuring the entire NetWeaver platform for any reasonably sized company will not be quite the happy lark the book hints at - even though the book barely mentions this, it WILL be a HUGE effort - even though the end result may very well be worth it.

However, with those cevaeats in mind, this is still a useful overview and primer, once you look past the over-the-top hype.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The presentation stinks, July 20, 2005

By 

Colin Smith "colin44691" (Wooster, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SAP NetWeaver For Dummies (Paperback)

I got this book to get myself more educated on what SAP Netweaver is all about. I've been doing SAP consulting for over ten years but, like others, feel like I'm not up-to-date with the latest SAP Technologies and products.
After carrying this book around with me for over two months, I'm still not done with it. This is because I keep on getting irritated when I read this book and then I put it down. And I'm not easily irritated. I think I'm at the point where I'm going to put it in a box (with many other books that I DID read) and read something else instead. This book is just wasting my time.

Here's my problems with this book:
1. The writers try to be funny/entertaining all the time. I do like humor, but they do it way, way too much and they are not funny at all.
2. Some of the things they discuss are simple, basic, worthless information that any IT person knows.
3. They make Netweaver seem easy, all-good and the future of IT. I love SAP and I think Netweaver is probably a good platform. But I think this book is overselling it and making unproven claims that may mislead less-experienced people.

This book could have been good if the (useful) content was offered in a different way. Some suggestions if a second edition materializes.
1. Don't try to be funny. Just present the material.
2. Leave out all the unnecessary, useless information. You're not obligated to go over 400 pages. I'd prefer to read a thinner book with just the relevant information.

I don't always give the lowest rating for things I don't like. And this book does have some useful information here and there. But the presentation is just so terrible to me that it makes whatever good it has worthless.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read for the whole team, August 14, 2004

By 

G-Man (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SAP NetWeaver For Dummies (Paperback)

While true the author hits more on what rather than 'how', this is one of those books every sap project manager and technical team member should have, if not just so we can all speak the same language. No, it's not an implementation book (pick up Anderson's SAP planning/best practices book). And no, it's by no means a guide for administrators (see Burleson, Hernandez, or Liane Will's books, among others). It's more important, in that its the consistent foundation you can all build upon.