SAP Description

Brief Description of what SAP is: SAP (Systems, Applications, Products) is a German-based company who creates ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) to help appropriately store and process data. There is software for accounting, logistics, human resources, technology, and other modules. All of these categories have sub-categories of modules (ex Insurance, Security, Finance), which delve into almost all existing industries. In order to implement SAP, the ASAP Methodology is used, which contains 6 phases: Project Preparation (planning and setting goals), Scope Validation (evaluate how SAP will be used to accomplish business goals and meet business process requirements), Realization (preparing for implementation), Final Preparation (completion of testing and user-end training, making finishing touches to go live), Go-Live Support (ensuring the applications are well supported and don't come crashing down), and Operate (make tweaks to the applications visually and functionally). Doing Agile development changes the Scope Validation phase with more of a Lean Blueprint phase

Example: Crystal Reports – Crystal Reports is a business intelligence application that generates reports from data sources such as SQL stored procedures to be stored in document types such as CSV, Excel, PDF, a Crystal Report file (RPT), and much more!

Layers of a Database

Layers of a database: 

Presentation (where the graphical user interface is, which serves as an interface for the other 2 layers, when requests are sent from the presentation layer, processing starts at the application layer, goes back to the database layer, and finally to the presentation layer again)

Application (where logical operations and load management are completed, message servers are used here for communication)

Database (Database Management System, Database Server - store, update, or delete data from a server, enable security features, can be combined with application later to reduce bottleneck traffic flow)