SAP and Microsoft tune up for Duet

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Microsoft in WA State and Vaperware: SAP and Microsoft are bringing up a system for Human Resources for Washington State. Depending on who you chat with it is either doing well or doing poorly. This is a project that Oracle protested. A former Microsoft Manager, now Washington state senitor lobies heavily for the project. Delays have been explained away by legislation involving the timing of a pay raise to non union employees. I have never understood how that impacted the project.

http://www.dop.wa.gov/Employees/InformationSystems/

Many of the agencies in Washington State, recognize that SAP doesn't meet needs and would like to build front ends to SAP using Java Server Faces and other Java technology. Industry best practices may support the notion that front ends should be taylored to those who use the system rather than extensive training efforts and changes in business practices. The building of such front ends at Pacar, for example, is the reason for sucess of this companies IT strategy, according to a presentation they made to Olympia IT workers, a year or so ago.

I have nothing but second hand information on the project but those who have given me comments look forward to not having to deal with the complexities of SAP. This is your basic terminal kind of system apparently. It is reported to be way behind the standards Internet users have come to expect. So Microsoft and SAP are on target with the product discussed in the article. Another concern for the project is change in top managment, which occured shortly after the new governor took office.

But Microsoft is hopelessly behind the eight ball on timing. With Java One announcements expected May 16th and the ease of building front ends using Java Server Faces and other Java technology you can see why the smarter Wasington State agencies are moving ahead with projects that do not involve Microsoft Office.

I look at this announcement as more of the kind of business practice that got Microsoft in antitrust problems. The hawking of Vaporware has a detrimental effect on the industry and on consumers because it forstalls development that would have taken place otherwise.

There are other concerns of course. Like did it make sence to involve a German Company in the core business of a US State government. This is like letting a foreign company run a US airport. For this to make sense in the US, SAP needs to reorganize along the lines of what Oracle did. Oracle has an Oracle USA which is separate from Oracle World Wide.

Just a few thoughts on the article. It probably is not worthy of paper to print it on. But what SAP and Microsoft are up to is worth watching

Zoro; Posted by: mighetto Posted on: 05/02/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use