SAP Application Development and Integration

SAP Application Development and Integration

For success and for even survival, today’s companies must develop and roll out applications, with high quality, user experience and integration, while minimizing risks associated with the rapid development and deployment of applications.

An SAPInsider benchmark report on Application Strategies and Development for SAP S/4HANA and Cloud discovered that found that the top driver for application strategy is the need to maintain or improve business process rapidly to support changing needs (50%). The next important driver is the continued demand for SAP and non-SAP applications that connect to core SAP (36%).

SAP Application Development and Integration

Understanding this burgeoning need for developing applications, SAP has bundled several tools in the SAP Extension Suite and SAP Integration Suite which are part of the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP).

To deliver the value proposition, SAP Extension Suite includes components such as SAP AppGyver for low-code development, SAP Business Application Studio for extending business applications, SAP Conversational AI for voice and bot applications, SAP Mobile Development Kit (MDK) for mobile applications, SAP native SDKs for iOS and Android as well as the SAP Fiori design system and design platform for pre-built common applications for thousands of use cases.

This valuable article Extend Your Core Business Applications and Drive Your Business Forward with SAP Extension Suite outlines the various ways in which SAP Extension Suite provides extensibility and walks through the various steps in the process of utilizing it.

ABAP code forms the bulk of the legacy customizations and extensions. As part of SAP BTP, ABAP environments provide ways to develop using the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP), leveraging SAP HANA, SAP Fiori, and a cloud-optimized ABAP language with a clear set of released standard APIs. Developers can utilize a development toolset that enables tight integration with Git-enabled lifecycle management that includes ABAP ABAP editors, dictionary, UI painters, function, class, and web app builders.

Skills are always a major issue in development as the above-mentioned report found. SAP Extension Suite offers options of different technologies and programming languages through various options and runtime environments are available on the SAP BTP: ABAP environment, Cloud Foundry runtime and Kyma runtime.

Almost half of the respondents in SAPInsider research on Application Strategies and Development for SAP S/4HANA and Cloud are planning or evaluating low-code platforms. There is an expectation of significant impact from these platforms such as ability to deliver applications rapidly, reduced IT costs, and enabling industry standards. Read article “Governance for Low-code Platforms” on recommendations on governance for low code platforms.

There is an exciting range of applications that are possible in today’s platforms. Companies like ServiceNow and Pillir.io provide significant set of prebuilt apps in their low-code platforms. Consultants such as Cognizant, cbs Consulting, Capgemini, and TechMahindra can provide the expertise to drive innovation.