SAP NetWeaver: still plenty to do before world dominance
Ask IBM, BEA and others about where they're most concerned about competition coming from in the application platform / service infrastructure space, and they'll say "SAP".
I came across
this article the other day (it was a link inside the regular SAP Developer Network e-newsletter - you may need to accept a certificate to view the page).
It's interesting because it reveals (to those who might not know already) that underneath the snazzy "one integrated technology stack for all your application platform needs" branding, the reality of the NetWeaver "platform" is quite different...
Of course, SAP isn't the only company with a "reality gap" between its platform branding and the true status of its platform products. But SAP's position is particularly interesting because it primarily sells to business audiences, not technical audiences - so the incentive for SAP to improve its technology may well be less than that for its competitors...
