SAP (System Analyse und Programmierung) is the largest German software company and the world market leader for EnterpriseResourcePlanning software.
SAP was founded by HassoPlattner? and other former workers of IbmCorporation in 1972.
See the Harvard Business Review article mentioned on FairProcess for an anecdote on how SAP laid off employees without creating backlash, thus turning the company around to profit.
SAP Enterprise software Timeline
R3 -> R3 Enterprise (?4.6D) -> ?NetWeaver
ServiceOrientedArchitecture according to SAP
Its next generation architecture is called "Enterprise Services Architecture", constructed on top of NetWeaver. Challenges for a successful execution include:
Q What is the name given by SapCorporation for its ServiceOrientedArchitecture based product that will replace the legacy SAP R3? Is it MySap or NetWeaver? And where is a good weblink to get an overview and commentary made by Industry observers?
A Supposedly, "SAP NetWeaver is the technical foundation of mySAP Business Suite solutions, SAP xApps composite applications, partner solutions, and customer custom-built applications. It also enables Enterprise Services Architecture, SAP's blueprint for service-oriented business solutions."
SAP R3 and beyond
SAP NetWeaver is actually the technology behind the mySAP ERP offering. SAP R3 itself was driven by "SAP Basis". There was an intermediate offering called "SAP R3 Enterprise" which has a Web application server engine at its heart that replaced the "SAP Basis". See a SAP Q & A at http://www.sapinsideronline.com/searchspi/search.htm?page=article&key=37900&query_text=mySAP+ERP for a clarification with diagrams (circa 2004).