The evolution to enterprise service architecture strategy is a huge bet for SAP, especially if Web services turn out to be more problematic to evolve and take root in enterprises. But, SAP CEO Kagermann is convinced that he is making the right moves:  “I am completely convinced it’s the right architecture for next ten or more years. We have the architecture and application knowledge to do the granularity of enterprise services in the right way. Its not just technology--we deliver an architecture that brings flexibility but still requires that customers select one vendor of choice as a sole control. But within the [framework], you can combine with other components.”

 

The critical point for SAP and its competitors, and more importantly their customers, is the notion of a vendor of choice and sole control. Despite the promise of more interoperable components and composite software composed of elements from a multitude of vendors, customers will follow the path of least resistance and complexity. That means fewer vendors and a few major providers who impact how other products and services are used.

 

We may be moving from client/server to enterprise services, but some things don’t change. The SAPs of the world will increasingly dominate the software business, and the important innovations that sprout from smaller companies could have a more difficult time getting sunlight.

At SAP's annual customer event--SAPPHIRE--CEO Henning Kagermann touted the development partnership with Microsoft and an agreement with several hardware vendors to provide virtualization services for Netweaver. Fundamentally, SAP is leading the push toward a more complete service-oriented architecture with Netweaver and SAP's suite of applications, such as mySAP ERP.. "It's [mySAP ERP] a transaction system built around people," Kagermann said. "If we want to go for growth, the best we can do is make our people more knowledgeable and take the most out of your knowledgeable people. The paradigm of the future is a system that pushes relevant information to you--not management by transcation, but by exception. In Kagermann's vision the user gets the alerts, KPIs,  filtered information with embedded analysis and what he called 'guided self services' to help make decisions better and take appropriate action.  There isn't much new or original in Kagermann's vision, but SAP is actually doing more than competitors to make it happen across platforms (Java and .Net) and industries.

We are covering the N+I networking conference in Las Vegas this week. Check out our ongoing coveraging, including keynotes for MCI's Michael Capellas and Cisco's John Chambers.

David Berlind: One of the challenges facing attendees at a big trade show like N+I is finding the handful of nascent, disruptive technologies that are poised for explosive growth once IT departments get hip to their advantages. One such technology at this year's N+I is wireless mesh technology. In these days of Wi-Fi, the phrase "wireless" generally conjures up images of untethered client connectivity. Wireless mesh is nothing of the sort--it's primarily a new enabler for Ethernet deployments in scenarios where pulling wire doesn't make sense.

John Carroll writes cogently about the proprietary versus open source code debate....especially as it relates to which model is best from a business value point of view.

In an interview before Google's IPO filing, tech guru Craig Silverstein discussed the backlash against Gmail among privacy advocates, the company's cultural changes and its shifting reliance on PageRank. It turns out that this man behind the curtain doesn't offer any substantive revelations.