SAP's R/3 enjoys new lease of life

SAP is trying to make its applications more user-friendly, with a new interface for its R/3 enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, writes Lisa Kelly.

This week, at its labs in California, the applications vendor showed off the EnjoySAP interface - billed as a 'user experience for the next millennium'.

EnjoySAP features the ability to offer different interfaces for different types of user, such as sales, distribution and financials.

The new front ends look like an Internet portal and allow users to mix specialised information from SAP's back-end systems with personalised content.

The launch gives shape to chairman Hasso Plattner's promise to make SAP applications easier to use, but Simon Bragg, senior analyst for enterprise applications at Automation Research Corporation (ARC), said SAP is playing catch-up.

'Baan is ahead with TopTier data navigation technology whereas SAP's interfaces look dated with their 16-bit Windows technology. Maintenance managers on the shop floor have been replacing SAP with simple systems because they don't want to wade through the vast numbers of R/3 screens to get to the technology,' Bragg said.

However, the interface could win SAP new fans among medium-sized businesses, he added.

Robin Bloor, chairman of IT consultant Bloor Research, dismissed the move as a 'makeover'. 'I would have expected more initiatives in the data warehouse and workflow space,' he said.

The first R/3 module featuring EnjoySAP is SAP Business-to-Business Procurement, which is available next month.

In the third quarter, SAP will ship the Enjoy R/3 Release (SAP R/3 Release 4.6) which includes new front ends for all modules.