The number of ways that it is possible to build additions to your SAP system have increased over the past couple of years as the NetWeaver platform has matured. As well as the traditional tools like ABAP and BAPI’s a new breed of tools is available like Guided Procedures and Visual Composer.
To try to help you understand the various tools, CompriseIT have created a Quick Reference Guide together with usage guidelines. You can find the guide here.
At the Atlanta SAPPHIRE Hasso Plattner talked about the next generation of Enterprise Software and what it could/would do in the future. I recommend you take a look at it here.
Some of these ideas are possible today using Enterprise SOA by Evolution, some need Enterprise SOA to have been designed in and some need the adoption of web 2.0 into the workplace. Anyhow what is clear is that the requirements to have a clear SAP Strategy and roadmap is greater than ever.
The Vienna SAPPHIRE did not have the same presentation, but Henning talked about how A1S (A new code base from SAP) and how this would / could co-exist with the existing platform showing new components available in 2009.
Lots of talk about the new Composition Environment which will make it easier for people to use the development and modeling tools available from SAP. To prove this SAP had a number of customers talking about the Enterprise Services Bundles that they had implemented as Composite Applications.
All in all the message was simple :-