SAP CRM INTRODUCTION

    SAP CRM Technical Overview :

CRM by nature is a business process driven solution. It is crucial that you must acquire basic understanding of the business processes, in order to develop a technically correct solution. 

The key functions in SAP CRM are related to the fields of marketing, sales and service.The SAP CRM contact channels are the Interaction Center, Web Channel (e-commerce), Field Applications (for example, Mobile Sales) and partner channel management.SAP CRM provides leading front office functions and end-to-end industry-specific processes via marketing, sales, service and various other channels.SAP CRM can be integrated into the NetWeaver portal, provided that you have implemented a portal strategy.

     Object-Based/Object-Oriented Programming :

CRM is a primarily an object-based and sometimes object oriented ABAP type system. Object based means the application is not fully object oriented, but written in an manner that simulates object-orientation.

    GUID as primary key :

A globally or generally unique identifier called a GUID is used in CRM. They are either16 bit, 22 bit or 32 bit raw character format. The purpose of the GUID is to prevent issues with number range conflicts and allow for easier read access to the CRM tables.
Single client per instance. 

In a simple CRM landscape that only has one SAP ERP backend connected to it, you will find there is not a need for multiple clients in development system. This due to the fact the CRM downloads customizing from the ERP system and uses this customizing as the starting point for the CRM customizing. Normally we only have one middleware connection between CRM & ERP as recommended practice. It is therefore recommended then to only have one development client then on the CRM side.

The data model is not the same as ERP.

CRM has a unique segment based data model that is similar to HR infotypes in nature. This means not all the information is stored in very large tables for a business object. In addition you should never write select statements to read data in CRM unless you are doing a search for data. Instead you should use the provided API's contained in the system.

       SAP CRM Technical Architecture Overview :

SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) is a part of the SAP Business Suite containing a central CRM server that can be used to access the system via multiple channels. The CRM server can also connect to other systems. 

The SAP CRM application can be connected and fully-integrated in the following ways:
The SAP CRM System as a central CRM server with its application components.
The SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) as a back-end system with the tried and tested ERP functions. 

The BI functions of SAP Net Weaver with comprehensive statistical and analysis capabilitiesThe SCM system as a global solution for product availability checks and demand planning. 

The CRM Middleware is the primary device for the data exchange between the CRM system and the connected ERP system (as of SAP R/3 Release 3.1I and higher). A plug-in installed on the ERP system acts as a counterpart to the R/3 Adapter, supporting the data communication between the two systems. 

The data exchange normally includes an initial transfer of Customizing data, master data and transaction data to the CRM system, as well as a delta reconciliation of the master data and transaction data in both directions. 

SAP ECC 6.0 and later releases contain all interfaces that are required for technical integration with the other SAP components that were previously components of the SAP R/ 3 plug-ins.

      CRM WebClient User Interface:

The SAP CRM users work with the CRM WebClient UI which replaces the existing SAP GUI and People Centric User Interface (PCUI). 

The UI is the same for all applications and can be modified using standard functions. It is mainly based on Business Server Page (BSP) technology.
The navigation is very easy,personalize or customize your CRM Web Client UI. However, some system settings restrict the personalization options.
SAP CRM 7.0, the SAP GUI interface should only be used for administrative purposes.