SAP can be expanded as Systeme, Andwendungen, Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung in German or Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing in English. The German organization founded in the year 1972 released module R/1 and module R/2 earlier. However, with the advent of the client server architecture the module R/3 was released by the company in the year 1992 and is a business management application based on this architecture. The response to the application has been tremendous and it can be stated that the R/3 module has taken the global software industry by storm.
The R/3 module can be best described as a comprehensive and integrated information system.SAP R/3 is a now being widely used around the world and is easily customizable for various organizations depending on their sizes of operation due its ABAP/4 programming language. The R/3 architecture is a 3 tiered one which includes a user interface, a software application and database server and is compatible with a variety of hardware configurations. The R/3 module includes various functional modules such as financial control, human resources, materials management, sales and distribution in addition to production planning. Though each of these modules performs their functions individually they are integrated together wherever applicable. This feature makes accessing the complete business activities of a company feasible to all it employees. The module also gains through its easy to use interface and online help functionality.
The SAP R/3 module is offered to the customer with standard features turned on and a host of optional features disabled. An organization can manipulate the software according to their specific needs by modifying the settings of the database and tables in the module. However, the module with its excellent features comes with a high price tag. The cost of the R/3 module ranges anywhere between US$1.5million and US$5million.
Though the functionality of the module is highly impressive implementing the R/3 module is a laborious task not to mention the high costs involved. Implementation and maintenance costs range between US$10million to US$100million and include the service charges of the SAP consultant who helps in the process. Generally the implementation process demands a lot of changes within the organization and can be divided into four main stages - the project preparation stage where SAP technical support organization is established and planning the SAP requirements of the organization are undertaken.
In the second stage, the blueprinting stage analysis of the cost of ownership, high availability and disaster recovery requirements, staffing the support organization and training are executed. In the third functional management stage the changes that the organization need to undergo are planned and the SAP systems management and SAP computer operations are established. The phase also involves testing the SAP system before implementation. The final preparation stage involves another testing process and the cutover phase where the organization plans the process of transmission from the older system to a newer one.
It is evident that the SAP R/3 module is a highly useful and integrated system for organizations. Though the cost of the application, maintenance and implementation are high the functionality of the module outweighs the costs involved. Numerous organizations around the world have implemented the R/3 module and benefited enormously.
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