Aiming to make its technology accessible to a broader range of customers, Activplant Corp., a maker of manufacturing intelligence software, today announced that its ActivEssentials technology framework is now SAP NetWeaver certified.
Activplant's Package for ActivEssentials version 4.1, which comprises data collection, reporting, and plant-optimization tools, is now available with a NetWeaver extension that allows it to easily pass information between it and SAP technology environments using XML and other Web service standards, company officials said.
"The information we have in Activplant is now readily available to SAP," said Dennis Cocco, Activplant's founder and chief product strategist. Activplant users are left with the decision of what kind of data is transferred, but the bigger challenge of how to integrate that information is no longer an issue, he said. "Any data we have can be transferred," Cocco said in an interview with Managing Automation. There are many applications for such interoperability among manufacturers. "Maybe [the customer] needs a closed loop for feedback on the production schedule so they know where they are at any given time on production," he said.
It took Activplant about a year of software development time to achieve "Certified for SAP" status. SAP has over 2,000 solutions being built and certified for the SAP NetWeaver platform across all horizontal and vertical areas &mdash a recognition of the manufacturing world's need to seamlessly share information among all types of IT systems.
While SAP officials said they have "an open ecosystem," when it comes to certifying solutions with partners the "focus is on quality versus quantity," said Aiaz Kazi, vice president of solution marketing for SAP's platform ecosystem.
"SAP works closely with select partners that can bring additional and measurable value to customers," Kazi said in an e-mail interview. "Certification helps them reduce the risk and minimize impact on the organization."
There are two levels of SAP certification. "Certified by NetWeaver" means the software conforms to SAP's requirements for exchanging information. "Powered by NetWeaver," on the other hand, is a more stringent certification process that allows the application to co-exist within the mySAP portal. A separate category, "Built on SAP NetWeaver," designates composite applications that are designed from the ground up to tightly integrate with NetWeaver. Last month, for instance, control systems vendor Invensys announced two composite applications in the "built on" category.
SAP officials did not identify how many vendors have achieved "powered by" and "built on" status, but each requires significantly more investment on the part of the SAP partner than the development work involved in gaining certification status.
Activplant opted for general NetWeaver certification for a few reasons. First, as a shop floor operational excellence tool used by engineers, plant managers, or equipment operators, it doesn't need to be viewed in the same environment as SAP — which is basically a business system, Cocco said. In addition, Activplant maintains its position as standalone software that is not tied to any specific ERP system.
"Our philosophy is to maintain openness," Cocco said, not just for SAP but with any ERP vendor. "We'll do that without building specific drivers. We are doing it through the Web services route."
Nevertheless, SAP represents a significant portion of the ERP deployments in manufacturing companies, which makes NetWeaver certification "an important step" for Activplant and others, said Greg Gorbach, vice president of collaborative manufacturing research at ARC Advisory Group.
The NetWeaver extension for ActivEssentials 4.1 is an option available now. Activplant officials declined to provide pricing details.