Concerning SAP ...
I have been involved with SAP (R/3, ERP, PLM, Netweaver ...) as application software for nearly 15 years. A love-hate relation has developed. In some ways I admire the architectural and application ideas, the fact that you have access to the complete source, the performance and stability inspite of thousands of users and the breadth of the applications - the well thought out functionality. On the other side the clunky user interfaces (even 15 years on), the rigid data models - poor extendability/flexibility - the prehistoric customizing mechanisms. Poor software structuring/modularization, use of global interdependencies, the proliferation of side-effects. The much belated discovery of object-orientation (if C++ makes you cringe, take a look at object-oriented ABAP !). Basically the dominance of SAP brings with it a take-it-or-leave-it mentality which is not helped by poorly constructed application architectures with devious interdepencies that can bring down the largest of companies. SAP dominates many corporate IT landscapes - particularly here in Europe, and also in many countries worldwide - hence cannot be ignored. However, the extent of the functionality available is staggering - maybe over a million may-years development are encaserated in the system - this is truly frightening. No one person can possibly understand it. As a result, hundreds of thousands of consultants, a new breed, have found a profitable way of making a living in interpreting this breadth and complexity. Unfortunately scarcity has not always led to quality. Watch out - one wrong recommendation, one false setting in customizing - can in the long term send your company in a downward spiral - restrict your options.
There are many interpretations of the meaning of the three letters S.A.P. - consultants, end-users all have their own favorites - see the collection from Jochen Hein at Die Auflösungen des Kürzels SAP. For me, a particular pertinant translation - that will help you to understand much of the success - and weakness - of SAP is the German: "Sammelstelle arbeitsloser Physiker" - or roughly translated means "a place to go for out-of-work physicists". Over the years having met both privately and for business many persons from Walldorf - it is extraordinary how many of these are Phds in some esoteric branch of physics or mathematics. This includes also the founding fathers of the company. Having also studied physics and worked as an engineer I can understand the benefits (and possible downfalls ?) of this hiring strategy.
Who understands / masters complex global SAP applications ?
What are the risks of complex global SAP applications ?
A burden or corset for the dynamic, modern enterprise ?
The limits + future of ERP ...
ERP's Paralysis Problem and the Repercussions for Businesses Everywhere
Concerning Global SAP Implementations, application architectures ...
See the excellant book Alexander Davidenkoff, Detlef Werner: Global SAP Systems - Design and Architecture. In spite of possible weaknesses in SAP and it's application design (see above) - there is probably no realistic alternative for today's global enterprise. The original R/3 3-Tier architecture stays proven. Few web based corporate applications - based on bloated web app server technology - can match the breadth, scalability, security, stability, performance - on similar minimal hardware - of the original R/3 technology.
Deployment strategies ...
Books / Blogs / References ...
These are books on my bookcase. Some can be recommended - other just repeat the online help with more screenshots - but omit the needed insights into what was actually meant by the original developers from the small town of Walldorf in the middle of rural Germany.