Project Argo will result in an SAP xApp, a composite application, which leverages the existing back-end search technology SAP call’s TREX, (Text Retrieval and Classification). TREX is an indexing capability within NetWeaver. The Argo application will sit on top of NetWeaver and TREX and it can be integrated with other SAP applications allowing an SAP end-user to get quick answers out of SAP via a desktop widget, a Web browser or even a mobile device.

SAP is calling Project Argo part of its software solutions for information workers. So, SAP plans to target field service technicians or a sales person out in the field with this search product. For example, these employees can conduct a search on their mobile devices in the same fashion a Google search is conducted and call up e-mails, reports and even SAP transactions.

“Argo is completely open ended and extensible. It will allow you to connect to other search services or other kinds of APIs,” said Dennis Moore, general manager of emerging systems at SAP. “Anything that can be querried through an API or Web service can be queried through Argo.”

SAP said that Argo will also be tied into Duet, SAP’s joint product developed with Microsoft that ties many SAP end-user tasks with Microsoft Outlook. Project Argo will also be used in SAP’s new Muse, updated GUI, which users were given a sneak peek of at the Sapphire ’06 conference in Orlando, Fla.

SAP has been using Argo internally for some time and has even hooked it up to external search services such as Google News.

We still don’t know if Argo will be released as a xApp that can be purchased separately, or if it will be packaged as an update to Duet in the third quarter or even an extension to Muse when it is officially released.

A story with more details will be available at SearchSAP.com
-Rob Westervelt

Project Argo is SAP's extension of its enterprise search capabilities. Below is a screenshot of the SAP Developer Network download page for the beta version of Argo. The page was made public, but SAP has since placed it behind a login wall. The DVD is being distributed to a select few Sapphire user conference attendees in Paris, according to the site. While details are still slim, what we do know is that Argo will extend search to Google and other search services via Web services.

During a session at the Sapphire user conference in Orlando, Fla., last week an SAP executive mentioned Argo albeit briefly as a colleague of mine sat quietly in a room full of attendees. SAP executives wouldn’t elaborate about Argo during the conference and during a panel discussion with press, said that Shai Agassi, president of SAP's product and technology group, would have more to say about Argo at a keynote session. That never happened.

So what happened to Argo? Some analysts have pondered that Microsoft’s announcement last Wednesday may have temporarily put the Argo announcement on ice. Microsoft unveiled new search tools that manage end user searches on company data in multiple locations. Code-named "OneView," Microsoft’s search capabilities meld Windows Desktop Search, Intranet search through SharePoint, and Internet search.

What little information we know can be found at SearchSAP.com. The beta download page at SDN is still available for viewing here.
Update: SAP put its SDN page behind a login wall.

According to information about Argo at the SAP Developer NetWork Web site, Argo was to be released on DVD at the Sapphire user conference in Orlando and Paris. It was also to be made available for download at SDN shortly after the two conferences. SAP Sapphire ’06 Paris is scheduled for May 30-June 1 at the Paris Expo in Porte de Versailles, Paris. Perhaps we’ll learn more about Argo there?
-Rob Westervelt

In a broad ranging interview, Andrew Nelson, CEO of SAP subsidiary TomorrowNow, discusses his firm's strategy as it broadens support to include Siebel customers and recent criticism from members of the Quest International User's Group.

Download the Andrew Nelson interview here: Nelson also discusses whether TomorrowNow outsources its support personnel, and how the SAP subsidiary intends to bolster staff as it adds Siebel customers to its growing list of support services.

-Rob Westervelt

SAP spokesman Bill Wohl confirmed that SAP played a role in getting a NetSuite event ousted from a nearby hotel during the Sapphire and America's SAP User's Group  conferences this week. NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson told reporters invited to a press and analyst cocktail hour that it was quashed through some pressure from SAP executives. Nelson was scheduled to speak Wednesday at The Rosen Centre, a hotel and conference center located directly across from the SAP Sapphire user conference. NetSuite sells on-demand software suite for small and midmarket businesses. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison owns the majority of NetSuite.

Wohl said SAP is responsible for filling many of the hotels close to the Orange County Convention Center, where the Sapphire conference is being held. Events sponsored by competitors in a hotel, completely booked by SAP personnel and press covering the event is considered "poor sportsmanship."

Meanwhile, a group of about a dozen taxi cabs emblazoned with rooftop Oracle ads were devoid of passengers,  but circled around the drop off area of Sapphire earlier this week. Convention center personnel ordered the cabs to leave the premises, according to Wohl.

-Rob Westervelt

Looking for a comprehensive overview of NetWeaver or Business Intelligence technology for SAP? Then you'll be pleased to know that we just gave our NetWeaver and SAP BI Learning Guides a complete overhaul, adding fresh news stories and even more in-depth tips and insights from some of the sharpest minds in the business.

SAP Business Intelligence Learning Guide
SAP NetWeaver Learning Guide

Matt Danielsson
Editor

Employers are paying a premium for SAP ABAP, IBM WebSphere skills Java experts and radio frequency identification technology talent, according to research from Foote Partners LLC.

Download the IT skills and certifications ranking podcast with David Foote here: This week we also discuss the latest SAP news including SAP and Microsoft unveiling its new Duet software and Forrester Research ranking SAP and Oracle on supporting the order hub management cycle.

(4:00) Employers are putting less value on certifications: Are certifications worth it anymore?

(6:05) What certifications have remained market stalwarts?

(8:43) If we do head into a recession or there is a blip in the market, would IT personnel with certifications fare better than personnel going on experience and skills alone?

(9:49) How often do you produce reports? What is your background and methodology?

(14: What non-certified technical skills are seeing the most growth, according to your latest research?

(18:00) SAP ABAP developers and other SAP skills are hot, according to Foote.

(18: Are Oracle skills growing in value as quickly as SAP skills?

(19:15) Are Web services and service oriented architecture projects driving the need for IT personnel with these skills?

(20:47) Operating systems: Linux skills are in big demand, Foote said.

(21:35) Messaging and project management skills are in demand, Foote said.

(26:25) What are the highest paying certifications identified in your research?

(27:39) Any good news for database administrators?

(30:21) What are the highest paying non-certified skills?

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Just about two years ago, SAP was ambitious about the opportunities that abound for the use of radio frequency identification technology. SAP made a splash with its Auto-ID initiative, mostly focused on getting manufacturers and distributors to meet government and retail compliance. Months later, SAP’s rival Oracle Corp. launched a sensor technology package, leveraging its initial relationship with NASA to build a product base around RFID and other sensor based technologies, like the ability to track temperature and humidity for specific chemicals or other products.

We’ve appeared to enter into a bit of a lull in the RFID space. Gartner analyst Jeff Woods, recently told SearchOracle that both Oracle and SAP appear to take a back seat in the innovation department – at least for now.

"We don't think that SAP and Oracle are particularly good at delivering [RFID] process innovation at this point … What they are good at is commoditizing processes," Woods said.

Perhaps we’ll hear more from SAP at its annual Sapphire conference later this month about its initial research and strategic planning around the technology down the road. For now SAP has split up its RFID and Auto-ID infrastructure initiatives at its Web site. Auto-ID can be found here and RFID can be found wrapped into the supply chain management module here.

SAP’s Claus Heinrich, has been a big believer in RFID and even wrote a book on the subject (“RFID and Beyond&rdqu last year that outlined some of the ways RFID could be used to transform supply chains and improve the global economy. SAP has been pouring money into the technology and has a research lab dedicated to its Auto-ID products.

But if Jeff Woods is right, it’s possible that SAP and Oracle are waiting on the sidelines for more innovation from the smaller niche vendors. Vendors and industry experts are currently developing standards and assuage privacy concerns among the public. Then SAP and Oracle can move in with an acquisition or partnership when the market for the technology matures. Large ERP vendors are primed to focus on how business applications and systems infrastructure can handle the mountains of data that result from heavy RFID and sensor technology usage. By cleaning and analyzing that data, companies will improve visibility in the supply chain and glean real ROI from RFID and sensor based initiatives.

Read about Oracle’s latest RFID announcement and more of analyst Jeff Woods’ comments here.
-Rob Westervelt

Here's a preview of our podcast due out on Wednesday. David Foote, president of Foote Partners LLC explains that employers are looking beyond certifications when hiring. But when the economy heads south, hiring managers use certifications to justify their hiring. Interesting balance.

Foote also discussed the state of the SAP and Oracle job market. Applications development skills, including ABAP are growing in value, he said. SAP's Enterprise Services Architecture approach is also boosting the need for skills related to service oriented architectures and Web services. But while Oracle skills pay well, they aren’t growing in value as fast as SAP skills, Foote said.

Meanwhile, AMR Research recently released some SAP market figures, showing that "SAP skills generally will continue to be in high demand: 2005 spending data showed that 71% of companies planned to increase their ERP spending this year, with a weighted average budget increase for ERP applications of 14.6%."

View the abridged version of my interview with David Foote, here. I'll post the entire interivew in our podcast when it is available on Wednesday.
-Rob Westervelt