The beginning of the end

Apple and SAP have announced a partnership to revolutionize mobile working for businesses of all sizes, combining the powerful apps for iPhone and iPad with the innovative capabilities of the Hana platform.

In addition, software tools and training will be available in the future to enable SAP developers, partners, and customers to create their own native iOS apps, tailored to their business needs.

"This partnership will fundamentally change the way iPhones and iPads are used in businesses. We combine the security and innovation of iOS with SAP's extensive expertise in business software."

Apple CEO Tim Cook said.

"SAP is the leader in enterprise software, with 76 percent of all business transactions running on SAP systems. This makes SAP the ideal partner for us to transform business processes worldwide with the iPhone and iPad.

With the help of the new SDK, we are empowering the now more than 2.5 million SAP developers to build powerful native apps based on SAP Hana Cloud Platform and leverage the far-reaching capabilities of iOS devices."

HCP (Hana Cloud Platform) - not to be confused with HEC (Hana Enterprise Cloud) - is to become the basis for new SAP add-ons and apps. However, a roundup of German-speaking SAP partners by E-3 Magazine reveals a different picture: Business processes that represent a unique selling point in the standardized S/7 and S/4 environment are complex and their representation as an iPhone or iPad display is a far downstream problem.

For existing SAP customers, the added value lies in efficient business processes and not in a colorful Fiori interface. Naturally, the SAP community is convinced that the classic SAP GUI has reached the end of its life cycle - even if millions of users are still working successfully with it.

In a shrinking iOS market, the cooperation with SAP is an interesting option for Apple after the partnership with IBM - but certainly not a mass market, which Apple urgently needs.

For SAP, the announced partnership is a welcome distraction from current problems. Existing customers need an S/7 and S/4 roadmap: How do you get from SAP Business Suite 7 with the core ECC 6.0 to S/4 - with all modules, modifications and add-ons and not just Finance and Logistics?

"We are very proud because the partnership between Apple and SAP sets new standards"

was the natural comment of Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP SE, during a visit to Apple's campus in Cupertino, California (USA).

"A dynamic and intuitive work experience empowers people to gain new insights, be more productive and achieve more. We combine the power of Hana Cloud Platform and S/4 Hana with iOS, the leading and most secure enterprise mobile platform, to empower people to work with real-time data anytime, anywhere.

Apple and SAP share a common goal of actively shaping the future, improving not only the operations of the global economy, but people's lives as a whole."

Apple and SAP hope that in the future, companies, designers and developers will be able to quickly and efficiently develop their own iOS apps for iPhone and iPad based on the Hana Cloud Platform (HCP) with a new software development kit (SDK). These native apps will provide access to core data and business processes in S/4 while leveraging iPhone and iPad features such as the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, location services and notifications.

Visitors to TechEd 2015 Barcelona may have heard SAP EVP Björn Goerke's outstanding keynote and wondered what the recent announcement of technically already realized possibilities meant.

Already half a year ago Björn Goerke impressively showed how apps for iOS and Android can be created on the basis of HCP and published even without Apple iTunes Store.

Old wine in new skins shortly before Sapphire in Orlando in May - that's what many an existing SAP customer will have thought about this "April Fool's joke" of an Apple-SAP cooperation.

As part of the partnership, Apple and SAP also plan to develop native iOS apps for business-critical core processes. Several times during his TechEd and DSAG Technology Days keynote, Björn Goerke emphasized that HCP should not be confused with HEC.

The Hana Cloud Platform (HCP) is a kind of meta-framework for developing SAP add-ons and Fiori apps. HCP provides the interfaces to the R/3 and ERP 6.0 data silos as well as publishing mechanisms for iOS and Android apps.

Hana Enterprise Cloud (HEC), on the other hand, is ERP as cloud computing based on the Hana database. In both cases, Hana technology is a key component.

E-3 Magazine asked Guido Hoepfner and Matthias Kneissl, both of Q-Partners, about the SAP community's perception of Hana.

Guido Hoepfner:

"It is definitely an interesting strategy to expand the platform for app development. In general, it is always the case that customers implement their own advantages in the business processes individually in an SAP solution in order to secure the market advantage. For this in particular, it should then be difficult to find apps in an app store."

And his colleague Matthias Kneissl adds:

"The business of customization and individualization will remain. A platform for app development and an app store live from apps. We are still skeptical here about the extent to which apps can be programmed and provided in a standardized way that then integrates into the customer's system."

The native business applications for iPhone and iPad are to be created on the basis of Swift, a modern, secure and interactive programming language from Apple, and will be based on SAP Fiori for iOS in terms of operation.

Across industries, users will be able to access key business data, processes and user interfaces to make decisions and take action directly on their iPhone or iPad.

The field service technician can thus order spare parts or schedule maintenance work directly in mobile applications, or a doctor can share the latest patient data with other experts on the spot - that's the hope at Apple and SAP.

The new design language SAP Fiori for iOS combines new design possibilities with the high usability of iOS. SAP Academy for iOS offers appropriate tools and training to enable the 2.5 million members of the global SAP developer community to take full advantage of the new SDK and Apple's innovative hardware and software. All tools and training offerings are scheduled to be made available before the end of 2016.