Dissecting a NetWeaver Neo Job Offering

[richard_hirsch]

There was a recent job offering for SAP’s Edge Platform as a Service (PaaS) / NetWeaver Neo for a Java (Senior) Developer.  The description that was included in the offering provides interesting insights into how SAP views the platform and what’s focus will be. 

In this blog, I’ll include the text from the job offering and then provide my analysis.

Purpose and Objectives

The job offer mentions the following purpose and objectives:

• SAP NetWeaver Neo provides an on-demand platform offering various services for Java based applications.
• Our mission is to adopt Open Source solutions for building the next generation Java Server solutions.
• The Infrastructure division has the goal to deliver appealing on-demand applications and a development infrastructure and corresponding processes for Java based projects.
• A major part of the work is consuming or contributing to Open Source projects, especially within the Eclipse community.

 

What was the most striking for me was the emphasis on open source in this section of the job offering – indeed, it is described as the central mission of the platform.

Many of the slides previously seen regarding NetWeaver Neo revealed that the usage of open source software in NetWeaver Neo was pronounced. At one session about Neo at the recent TechEd in Madrid, I heard the presenter inform participants that one way to influence Neo was to participate in the open source projects on which the platform depended.  

The last paragraph in the offering is also important. SAP is not only using open source software – the requirement of employers to actively participate in open source projects shows a substantial change in how SAP views the open source world. 

Expectations and Tasks

The job offer mentions the following expectations and tasks:

As a Java developer in our team

• You will contribute to the development of the SAP NetWeaver Neo solution.
• Your development tasks focus on establishing on-demand applications and an infrastructure serving as basis for high developer productivity. 
• You will likely contribute to open source projects and following its community processes with collaboration, prompt feedback and high transparency.
• You will work in an agile team applying Scrum and agile development practices, thus contributing to team goals, requiring the flexibility and the ability to work on different topics.

     

There are few things that are interesting in this part of the job offering.  Once again, there is a focus on open source project participation but I think it is also critical to see that the Neo team is emphasizing the importance of “an infrastructure serving as basis for high developer productivity. “  As a SAPMentor, I’ve seen some of the tools that are present in Neo and was very impressed.

The fact that SAP has embraced Agile development methodology is often heard in keynotes. This job offering demonstrates that this methodology is really used in some of SAP’s most important OnDemand projects.

Conclusion

The Java PaaS is a critical part of SAP’s cloud strategy. The use of open source in the platform allows SAP to concentrate on the SAP-specific functionality and make more efficient use of their internal resources to improve the platform and make it more attractive for the market.