The S/4HANA in its broadest sense (including the SAP Cloud Platform) not only lead to a new programming model, but also to new options (and variants within the options) when it comes to extensibility and add-on development. In this talk, I would like to share my thoughts about the different options and the consequences for the customers and partners. We will take a look into the topics of in-app extensibility, side-by-side extensibility, what options there might be if you want to avoid the cloud and what might happen to BRFplus
7. Classic
Extensions
-
Some
Thoughts
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
Consequences
• Not transferable to the S/4HANA Cloud (usually)
• Risk to run into “old habits”
(strong coupling, modifications, …)
Tips
• Stick to S/4 Programing model for Add Ons
• Care about interfaces/APIs (lose coupling)
10. In-App
Extensions
-
Some
Thoughts
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
Chances
• Speeding up “RICEFW”/implementation tasks
• Transfer to the S/4HANA cloud is possible
• Restrictions can be a good thing
(challenge superfluous requirements)
• Tooling is constantly improved
Risks
• Abuse of mechanism for Add On development
13. Side-By-Side
Extensions
-
S/4HANA
Cloud SDK
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
Enable Development
• SAP S/4HANA Project Templates
• SAP S/4HANA Types and VDM
• Resilience
• Multi-tenancy
• SAP S/4HANA Mocking
• DevOps: Pipeline as Code
• Quality Checks
• …
https://www.sap.com/developer/topics/s4hana-
cloud-sdk.html
14. Side-By-Side
Extensions
-
Some
Thoughts
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
Tips
• Adhere Cloud Native Development
• Java is (currently) first class citizen
• Go for Spring Boot
• Use the SAP S/4HANA Cloud SDK
Keep in mind
• This is NOT ABAP development
• There is still a connection to non Cloud Native
applications aka S/4HANA
17. SbS Extensions
ABAP
-
Some
Thoughts
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
In general
• Put emotions aside
• Use-cases exist for using ABAP in SCP
Keep in mind
• ABAP is not Cloud Native
• ABAP in SCP has restrictions
in most cases no copy paste from legacy
• Not publicly available yet
• No pricing available yet
• A lot of open questions remain …
18. SbS Extensions
Variant
-
SAP HANA XSA
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
SAP S/4HANA: New Architectural Blueprint for
In-House Software
19. SbS Extensions
SAP HANA XSA
-
Some
Thoughts
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
In General
• Logical approach for Side-by-Side extensibility
• MTA allow a transfer to SAP CP
• Get Cloud experience on prem
BUT
• Risk of wrong integration patterns
(cross-schema access)
• Do you need SAP HANA objects?
• SAP HANA is not a Cloud (scalability!)
22. Extensions
Integration
Business Rules
-
Some
Thoughts
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
In General
• Overall Harmonization (ABAP, JAVA, HANA …)
• Stick to open standards (DMN)
• BRFplus still worth to use!
BUT
• This is a long way to go
• Take care about current restrictions and
deprecations
24. Some last
words ...
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
• Choose the right approach for your problem:
It is not an „either … or“ – combinations are
allowed and often make sense
• Be aware of mid-term consequences - not only
technology counts
• Keep an eye on the emerging SAP CP services
• If ABAP: go for S/4 programing model
• If Cloud Native: go for Java runtime in SAP Cloud
Platform (S/4HANA Cloud SDK)
• Last but not least ...
33. Links, Links,
Links …
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
ABAP in SAP CP:
• https://blogs.sap.com/2017/09/26/overview-of-
abap-in-sap-cloud-platform/
• https://blogs.sap.com/2017/09/26/abap-in-sap-
cloud-platform-frequently-asked-questions/
34. Links, Links,
Links …
07/10/2017 SAP Inside Track Munich 2017
Business Rule Service SAP CP:
• https://www.sap.com/germany/documents/2017
/08/2a8094b1-ce7c-0010-82c7-
eda71af511fa.gate.html#
• https://blogs.sap.com/2017/09/22/business-
rules-united-sap-enterprise-rule-modelsap-
teched-2017/
Editor's Notes
Starting Point: Business Suite on Prem
Which Technology: Enhancement in ABAP
Range: from small extension to huge AddOn development
Impact: from deeply integrated (perhaps too deep aka modification) to loosely coupled
Motivation
Higher agility
Higher speed
„B2C-ish“ Applications also in the enterprise
Integration of other field like IoT, Machine Learning
No longer „business as usual“
What is it?
Business as usual – extending ABAP as we have known for decades
Where is it available?
Only on prem
What can you do?
Everything even modifications
What skills?
Usual ABAP, S/4 skills helpful
What is it?
Modification-free extension of S/4HANA
Embedded into S/4 core
Dealing with extension that are closely related to S/4 core
Consumable by/Delivered with Side-by-Side scenarios
Examples
Hide fields
Rename UI elements
Add Custom fields in UIs/Reports, Forms
Add custom business logic (BAdIs)
Custom Business Objects
Custom Analytics
Where is it available?
On prem and in the cloud
What can you do?
Restriction to specific use cases
Restricted ABAP
What skills?
Some Dev Skills, but no hard-core dev skills necessary
What is it?
Loosely coupled
Development in the cloud/for the cloud
Extend or built Stand Alone
A lot of degrees of freedom
#WhereTheCoolShitHappens -> Disruptive Apps
Where is it available?
SAP Cloud Platform
Extend on S/4HANA Cloud, S/4HANA on Prem -> second class citizen
What can you do?
Runtimes that are available
What skills?
Different Story: Cloud Native Development
ABAP in SCP has restrictions
SAP_ABA
Only S/4 programing model
Deprecated things have been removed
Integration with S/4 only via whitelisted APIs
Cloud based Services are more and more important
Innovations are developed in the Cloud
Side-by-Side Extensibility brings up the necessity to have functionality across system boundaries
“Integrative character” (cross system boundaries) -> Cloud
Example: Workflow, Business Rules
In addition: On premise we have less innovation, less evolution of functionality
Central Repo and Design Time-> DSM
Design-time based on open standards (DMN enhanced)
Transition planned
Replacement for HRF