Microsoft Collaborates With SAP on Framework for Pervasive Computing And Mobile Devices Based on Windows CE and BizTalk

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 30, 1999 — Today at SAP TechEd ’99, Microsoft Corp. announced that it is working with SAP AG to develop technology architectures for connecting Microsoft® Windows® CE-based and other mobile devices to SAP inter-enterprise business solutions using the Internet and the BizTalk TM Framework.

SAP and Microsoft are developing open application architectures that enable flexible and complete integration of mobile devices in a wide range of potential customer scenarios ranging from the use of industrial devices to smart phones. The project takes advantage of the Microsoft BizTalk Framework initiative and the work SAP is doing to integrate a new set of technologies that will enable handheld or wearable Internet appliances to intelligently interoperate and interact with mySAP.com. The pervasive computing frameworks will use the Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 operating system and the upcoming Microsoft BizTalk Server to provide access to SAP business solutions via any device. During SAPPHIRE ’99, SAP and Microsoft plan to demonstrate a specific scenario of pervasive computing that connects SAP business solutions with Windows CE-based mobile devices.

“Pervasive computing – ubiquitous information networks that offer ready access to information anywhere at any time – means that SAP can provide its customers with access to the data in their business solutions over any device,” said Heinz Roggenkemper, executive vice president for development at SAP Labs Inc. “By integrating these next-generation solutions with technologies such as Windows CE and others, SAP is providing customers with access to widely adopted platforms based on Internet standards.”

Microsoft and SAP are defining BizTalk Framework-compatible schemas, which will be published in the BizTalk.Org library, to enable the exchange of data between SAP R/3 and Windows CE 3.0 and other systems over the Internet. The BizTalk Framework provides Extensible Markup Language (XML) mapping and routing capabilities that allow the integration of mobile solutions, regardless of platform, operating system or underlying technology. Windows CE enables a broad range of devices that provide seamless and direct connectivity to back-end servers and business applications, and provides a familiar user interface that makes it easy for end users to access and use SAP business solutions.

“Windows CE and the BizTalk Framework are a core part of Microsoft’s vision of providing access to information any time, anywhere, on any device,” said David Vaskevitch, vice president of the Developer Group at Microsoft. “More than 5 million developers can leverage existing tools, including the Visual C++® and Visual Basic® development systems, to extend SAP business solutions to the Windows CE platform with common Windows APIs.”

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