SAP NetWeaver is the technical foundation for many enterprise applications from software company SAP SE. It can be used as an application server for supplier relationship management (SRM), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), product lifecycle management (PLM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and transportation management system (TMS) applications. SAP NetWeaver uses a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for application integration. It allows custom development as well as integration with existing applications and systems. Built primarily with the ABAP programming language, it also uses C, C++ and Java. It may be extended with Microsoft .NET, Java EE and IBM WebSphere software platforms. Large enterprises often use SAP NetWeaver Application Server for ABAP and Java to consolidate corporate IT infrastructures for more efficient operations.
SAP NetWeaver is an open application platform that includes development tools and Web services to support enterprise application interoperability, master data management and systems integration. Leveraging Web services, SAP NetWeaver can be used as an application builder for integrating business processes and databases from different sources. IT teams may use SAP NetWeaver to integrate heterogeneous environments into a unified system and manage that system at a lower cost. Instead of replacing an entire database, businesses can interweave various resources of the organization. SAP NetWeaver products can connect business users to SAP software from anywhere – social or collaboration platforms, mobile devices or Web applications – in real time.
SAP NetWeaver also provides unified tracking for different processes such as business intelligence, enterprise portal and exchange infrastructure. It includes an analytical, reporting and data warehousing solution that allows companies to analyze and share information with stakeholders. In global enterprises, various applications implemented in different languages and used by different vendors can be shared and managed through a unified SAP NetWeaver database. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications provides an optimized operating system platform, validated and certified by SAP, for SAP NetWeaver solutions.