SAP pros need to concentrate on BAPI, XML, CommerceOne-type skills

SAP pros need to concentrate on BAPI, XML, CommerceOne-type skills

As the SAPMarkets/Commerce One alliance becomes more successful (see http://www.informationweek.com/799/commerce.htm), SAP professionals will be increasingly called upon to extend their current skills in order to build and deploy private and even public marketplaces and exchanges. Not only do they need strong functional backgrounds, with a firm grasp on the business processes requiring integration, but they also need a strong working knowledge of EAI enterprise integration Tools.

"Typically, SAP professionals don't have all of these skills," says David Boulanger, director of the SAP service at AMR Research, Inc. in Boston. "In most SAP shops, the belief was that integration occurred only within SAP and the world revolved around SAP. In the new environment, you have to bring a number of different E-commerce applications into and out of SAP, and that requires new integration skills."

Fortunately, these skills are not difficult to hone for most SAP experts. "Typically, SAP folks know the ABAP language and BAPIs," which are the defined SAP interfaces into and out of SAP, Boulanger says. "It's really an extension of their BAPI expertise, where they now have a transaction from outside of SAP, and need to integrate that using EAI tools from the Web site into SAP."

XML and Commerce One expertise are also of paramount importance. "But leveraging your SAP infrastructure today means a lot more than having folks on board who know BAPIs and ABAP," Boulanger

    Requires Free Membership to View

    Login

    When you register, you will start receiving targeted emails from my award-winning team of editorial writers. Our goal is to keep you informed on the hottest topics and biggest challenges faced by SAP professionals today.

    Hannah Smalltree, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchSAP.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchSAP.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

explains. "In fact, I see a lessening dependence on ABAP moving forward and much more of a dependence on knowing XML and CommerceOne technology. From a technology perspective, that is where SAP professionals should be concentrating their efforts now."

Cummings is a freelance writer based in North Andover, MA. She can be reached at jocummings@mediaone.net.


This was first published in January 2001

Disclaimer: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.

Back to top