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Norbert Kytka, Headquarters Plattling
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Alongside the many Star Wars references, the conference highlighted the “new normal”: treating SAP systems as hybrid solutions. The new normal is defined by a combination of on-premises and cloud solutions, and many enterprises are still trying to find their feet in this new world.
Very often, the tool of choice is the BTP. Enterprises using the platform can keep running their stable, business-critical, legacy systems on-premises, without risking upsetting them with new features, while benefiting from the new functionality essential to success in today’s market. According to SAP SE, BTP Live already has a client base of over 13,000 customers, who have generated a billion euros in revenue for SAP.
Many of the contributions and talks at the exhibition made one thing clear: transition to the Cloud may well be needed, but it’s often hard to find the right pathway there. Our Partner Talk on the interplay between cloud and on-premises was very well attended. We presented the innovative, flexible cloud portal that we developed using the BTP for Koehler Paper SE: the Koehler Customer Portal.
The backbone for Koehler Paper’s core business was an essentially static legacy enterprise system built on SAP ECC 6.0. All the key business data was stored in this system. How could the data be used, so that, for instance, customers could check on their order status from the web?
Cloud technology and the BTP paved the way for Koehler Paper to benefit from modern programming paradigms and the latest technology. The successful development project has been completed and buyers of the company’s thermal paper, deco or packaging paper, paper for playing-card boxes, etc. can now check on their order status in the new online portal.
The example demonstrates that the BTP, particularly when used with the new Fiori interfaces, is an ideal basis for implementing custom enterprise software in cloud projects. Using the platform, clients can develop flexible tools and adapt them easily to changing customer requirements, while at the same time being assured of seamless, secure data exchange with the ERP. Custom development of tools like the cloud portal is one of T.CON’s special competencies, along with an in-depth knowledge of the licensing model for the underlying cloud technologies. We combine an iterative, customer-oriented dev process with a comprehensive, in-depth understanding of SAP technology. And when it comes to custom development projects based on cloud technology, our work is nothing short of pioneering.
There is a lot of interest in projects that exploit the potential of the BTP and the Fiori interfaces. It was also clear from the DSAG Technology Days that SAP, having announced its transition to cloud provider, is driving this process forward effectively – in particular with the “Free Tier” option for BTP. This tier will give many companies an opportunity to experiment.
This matches our observation that SAP Process Automation appears to be the BTP tool that SAP is currently promoting the hardest. And what we’ve seen of it so far is pretty exciting: a user-friendly interface that can be used for creating workflows, drawing up forms, building decision tables, and even developing RPA bots. There are sure to be many use cases for this kind of automation!
Our personal highlights also included a session about SAP-integrated low-code development, using the Power Platform. This was extremely interesting – and we weren’t the only people to think so: the conference room was packed. And no wonder: the ability to build simple apps, office integration, RPA scenarios and chatbots, all integrated with SAP, is very exciting.
Another key theme at the Technology Days was RISE with SAP. This is “Business Transformation as a Service”, built on the SAP S/4HANA Cloud. SAP SE reported that 1,600 customers are already using RISE solutions. However, a DSAG survey indicates that there’s still a gap in knowledge in this area. Only about 21 percent of the companies surveyed already knew about the service. Another 60 percent said that they had at least heard of RISE by name. T.CON is well equipped to advise its clients about the available packages relating to cloud solutions and processes.
We’ve put together a video with our experts’ impressions of the DSAG Technology Days and a bit more about why we consider ourselves pioneers when it comes to custom development projects based on cloud technology.
