It is rather hard to pin down the meaning of ERP SAP. ERP, as we know, stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. In that case, what does SAP mean? SAP is an information technology acronym that when spelled out means Session Announcement Protocol. It is a form of announcement protocol that is employed for multicast sessions so that potential participants can be informed about pertinent session setup data. An SAP is usually dependent on the Real-Time Transport Protocol.

But there is also another way the SAP acronym is used in the IT world. SAP may also be used to mean Service Advertising Protocol which is employed so that servers linked somehow to the network will be identified through their respective addresses and services. In this case, SAP functions as a Netware protocol. Service Advertising Protocol allows the Server Information Table to function like a phonebook which would require NetWare clients to be knowledgeable about the real address of the server or service that they want before they can access it. Should the server that you want be unavailable, a broadcast packet that would indicate that status is delivered to the Server Information Structure. SAP agents are periodically informed about the status of a server every 60 seconds when a new broadcast packet is delivered. If there is no new periodic broadcast delivered in the span of 3 minutes, the server is called a downed server. The SAP agent will then eliminate the information about the server from the table, and is responsible for initiating a new broadcast with the information that that server is a downed server. This process permits SAP agents to maintain updated Server Information Tables.

A third way that you can derive the meaning of SAP is if it is used to refer to the Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing company, derived from the name SAP America, Incorporated. This company houses the American operations of the software firm SAP AG of Germany. SAP AG is currently believed to be the dominant player in the world for business software solutions. Based on revenues, SAP AG is considered the third-biggest independent software developer in the global industry as well. SAP works for six different sectors in the software industry, namely, Public Services, Financial Services, Service Industries, Consumer Industries, Discrete Industries, and Process Industries.

SAP AG does not concentrate on serving just large enterprises – it also serves small- to medium-sized companies as well. SAP AG is known to have helped introduce the ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning concept which is why the company focuses on ERP systems and ERP solutions in its array of services. In the US, SAP America competes directly with major player Oracle Corporation, with the latter even initiating legal action against SAP for allegedly illegal corporate practices conducted by the SAP subsidiary SAP TN. In turn, SAP denies it has committed intellectual property theft from Oracle.