Implementing the Unicode standard enables a single software product or a single web site to be accessed across multiple platforms, languages, and countries without the need for re-engineering. It allows data to be transferred across many different SAP and non-SAP systems without corruption. To meet these requirements, the SAP Unicode team continues to promote Unicode-enabled SAP systems, aid their installation, and provide tools and full technical support for the smooth conversion of existing SAP non-Unicode systems to Unicode.

As of SAP NetWeaver 2004, Unicode is the default for new installations, and Unicode conversion is also recommended for all existing systems. If customers nevertheless choose a non-Unicode installation, they must be aware that this has serious restrictions. SAP NetWeaver supports both J2EE and ABAP technologies and seamless communication between J2EE and ABAP is the key for this dual architecture. Since Java is based on Unicode, communication between J2EE and ABAP without loss of data is only possible when the ABAP stack is based on Unicode as well. Conversion of existing Single Code Page and MDMP systems to Unicode is fully supported. SAP Note 79991 lists release- and component-specific information.

Globalizing Business
International business demands that IT systems be able to present content and conduct transactions in all major world languages. In pre-Unicode times, there were hundreds of different encoding
systems for representing the characters required for different languages. Unicode changed all that. Now there is one encoding system which forms the fundamental building block for multinational business: Unicode.

A Unicode SAP system will

1. enables you to harness internet technologies better.
2. allows better integration with non-SAP products and seamless integration with existing SAP systems.
3. offers a superior platform for collaborative, cross-system business applications.
4. all languages and language combinations in the world!
5. allows you to install a central system for worldwide business processes, e.g. to gather and store aggregate customer data.
6. enables you to optimize your system landscape and reduce your costs.

You can learn a lot more about unicode at The Unicode Consortium , SDN:Unicode and also Virtual Classroom (VCM) on Unicode (Download from Rapidshare or Mediafire) and yes you willl need Interwise Virtual Classroom Player to view these files.

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