--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question: Review a Concise History of SAP.
Source: https://community.sap.com/ (Hasso Plattner, Klaus Tschira, Claus Wellenreuther, Dietmar Hopp and Hans-Werner Hector).
Answer: A Brief History or Milestone of the SAP software company:
- 1972 to 1980s - Five former IBM engineers started SAP in April 1, 1972 in Mannheim, Germany. In 1973, founders released SAP R/1, which was an integrated financial accounting system (FI). This software was revolutionary for its time, allowing companies to process data in real-time and share information across departments.
- 1980s - ABAP or Advanced Business Application Programming which is the proprietary language of programming for the SAP system until today was released in this period and also where SAP release SAP R/2. In R/2, SAP expanded its capabilities to support manufacturing (PP), sales, and distribution processes (SD). The foundation of the SAP system that includes FI, MM, PP, SD as an integrated system between Accounting and Logistics became the initial backbone of the SAP software system. At this time, SAP is still running only on Mainframe-based system.
- 1990s - The era where Client-Server Architecture flourished is also where SAP introduced its R/3 System in 1992. The R/3 (or Release 3) provided a "more flexible and user-friendly interface", allowing further integration of Financials and Cost Accounting (FICO) with Logistics (MM, PP, SD), and Human Resources (HR). It is also a time where supporting modules like Warehousing (WM), Plant Maintenance (PM), Quality Management (QM) etc was introduced as SAP takes the lead from MRPII system to ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning). So far, SAP is still a "ONE Software" company from R/1 to R/3.
- 2000s - The internet bloom sees SAP introduced "MORE software" for Advanced Solution option as well as Connecting to other Software. In 2004, SAP introduced ECC 5.0 (Enterprise Centric Component) that replaced R/3 where the "Backend Software of FICO, MM, PP, SD, WM, PM, QM, etc) will be integrated to the "NEW software" solutions where some of them can also be sold separately. These "NEW Software" solutions include SRM (Supplier Relationship Management), APO (Advanced Planner & Optimizer), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), SEM (Strategic Enterprise Management) etc. AND in 2006, SAP released ECC6.0 which became the SAP Backend Solution until 2015 and even today. It is important to note that it is in the early 2000 that SAP introduced Life-Cache Technology (LCT) which is the SAP proprietary memory-resident object management technology that enables higher levels of performance in business processing and initial intention is for the APO (Advanced Planner and Optimizer) Solution (or Advanced PP that is to use Optimization Engines for Planning and Scheduling).
- 2010s - This is the era where software companies began the shift to "Cloud Computing". The more than 10 years of Life-Cache Technology (LCT) experience consolidated into SAP HANA which was released in 2012. (HANA = Hyper Performance Analytical Application) is and improved in-memory database platform that allows for real-time advanced analytics and higher speed transactions in a software system. AND in February 2015, SAP released S/4HANA (interestingly instead of R/4HANA), and the "S" of S/4 is consistently being referred as abbreviated letter of the word "Simplification". SAP S/4HANA can be scaled UP or scaled OUT (all the way to 48TB as of today by using multiple servers in a cluster, or by using cloud storage. AND because such advanced storage capabilities, SAP then included some of the Advanced Solutions Embedded into the single S/4HANA instance which include part of the APO system called Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling (PPDS), Extended Warehouse Management (EWM), or Transportation Management (TM). AND not just that, Industry solutions like IS-Automotive etc have also becoming Embedded into the S/4HANA system. The "sudden" rapid shift from Traditional IT management to Cloud Computing (which originally dates back to the 1940s and 50s) is now no longer a "Technology gimmick" but achieved mainstream adoption to organizations world wide since the early 2010s. So, besides the S/4HANA solution, SAP embark on its next journey to create Cloud Solution like the "Integrated Business Planning" (IBP) which is a Cloud solution for Demand Planning and Forecasting (previously the Demand Planning (DP) component of the APO system) which was release in mid 2014.
- 2020s - The increased use of smartphones in the workplace has prompted SAP to further introduce Fiori with "User Experience (UX)" capabilities. BUT this is the ear where SAP is leading the charge in helping organizations leverage the latest technologies to transform into Intelligent Enterprises.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question: What are the official web resources on SAP.
Answer: Pending
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question: Enter here.
Answer: Pending
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------