German e-commerce software developer Brokat Infosystems AG has won a deal with ERP giant SAP AG to provide secure e-commerce capability to users of SAPÆs R/3 system. Under the deal, Brokat has developed an R/3 link for its flagship Twister middleware that enables companies such as banks to link back-end systems securely to customers over the internet, by phone or web kiosk. Brokat claims Twister can now be applied to e-commerce projects such internet shopping, allowing customers to check delivery times and product availability online. Twister uses 128-bit encryption to secure transactions and runs under Windows NT, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX and HP-UX.