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Solely Clean Core or a Hybrid Solution?

As one of the first SAP software providers with Clean Core certification, ifm is familiar with the current challenges around BTP. In an exclusive interview with E3, managing director Björn Dunkel clears up misleading information and shows ways to achieve a clean core.
E3 Magazine
Björn Dunkel, ifm Business Solutions
January 23, 2025
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E3: Mr. Dunkel, what exactly is the SAP Clean Core Strategy?

Björn Dunkel, ifm: This strategy aims to preserve the integrity and stability of the S/4 Hana core by reducing customizations and enhancements to a necessary minimum. It places great emphasis on maintaining a clean, unmodified core system to ensure long-term maintainability and easy upgrades. The clean core approach provides clear rules for future enhancements to the S/4 Hana system. This applies to Z developments from customers as well as add-ons from SAP partners.

Interview with Björn Dunkel, Managing Director, ifm Business Solutions

E3: Are individual business processes also compatible with the clean core strategy?

Dark:‎ Basically, it can be said that about 80 percent of business processes are almost identical in all companies. These processes are mapped in the S/4 Hana standard and form the stable, reliable core of the ERP system. The remaining 20 percent of business processes are functions that are not covered by the standard. These are used to meet specific business requirements and develop custom solutions. As part of a clean core strategy, companies should implement such extensions outside the S/4 core. This can be done "on stack", i.e. in the S/4 Hana system, as well as "side by side" on the SAP BTP.

E3: One of the first SAP partners to be certified for Clean Core was ifm. What does this mean for you?

Dark:‎ We are proud to be one of the first SAP partners worldwide with a Clean Core certificate for our solution. Of course, there is still a long way to go before our software fully meets the new requirements, but we have made a start. In general, it is important for us to keep our finger on the pulse and evaluate new SAP technologies and incorporate them into our products where appropriate. With this certificate, we have proven that we can do this. From today's perspective, SAP software providers who do not follow this path will not play a role in the market in the future.

E3: What does this mean for your customers?

Dark:‎ We have been in the market since 1992 and our customers can continue to rely on us. Our recent Clean Core certification underscores this. But even customers who are not currently focusing on Clean Core can benefit from our new developments without having to forego any functionality. The only requirement is a specific S/4 release. Independent of the Clean Core strategy and certification, we attach great importance to the upgrade stability of our products. By participating in the SAP beta programs for each new S/4 release, we test the operability of our solutions in the latest SAP releases at an early stage. This ensures a smooth upgrade process and enables us to deliver our software to our customers promptly, usually in time for the global availability date of the SAP version.

E3: Traditionally, many SAP customers have had Abap modifications and add-ons. How does that change with Clean Core?

Dark:‎ Clean Core is not only a set of rules that prevents prohibited access, but also classifies permitted and prohibited access in the programming model. It is clear that not every development requirement can be solved using the Abap programming language. All users—and the Abap developers themselves—must let go of this idea. However, Clean Core is not only a good deal of work; it is also an opportunity for SAP customers to rethink and standardize their processes.

E3: You will be giving a presentation on the topic of Clean Core at the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2025: What are the goals and what can the audience expect?

Dark:SAP's chosen path is a promising one for meeting the challenges of the future. Especially with the short release cycles under S/4 Hana, customers are able to benefit from new innovations in a timely manner. Together with the participants, we would like to review the path from the classic Abap add-on to the first clean core certification. We will report on our initial situation and the challenges we faced in the first project steps. We will also let our guests participate in the decision-making process as to where we see our development platform in the future. We will also highlight current hurdles that currently make a complete conversion to Clean Core impossible.

E3: Is there a Clean Core roadmap and is Clean Core a supplement or also the basis for SAP BTP?

Dark:: It is currently still difficult to name a long-term clean core roadmap. This is because, for example, we are dependent on the release of objects by SAP and therefore on their roadmap. At the moment, we can say that we are gradually increasing the clean core component of our solution. This is already part of our roadmap for the next release of our software. In future, our customers will be able to choose whether they want to use Clean Core "only" or a hybrid solution that contains both Clean Core and classic Abap-based components. The fact that SAP certification for classic Abap add-ons will expire in 2028 does not mean that software solutions based on them will no longer be usable or efficient. On the contrary: we assure our existing customers that we will continue to provide our comprehensive suite with all its functionalities. We do not currently see our solution running entirely on SAP BTP in the foreseeable future. Developments on the SAP cloud platform certainly also have advantages, but typical clean-core apps that run on BTP cannot necessarily map every requirement. The issue of "data volume" is just one example. Where it makes sense, we will incorporate and integrate SAP BTP. This may be the case for functions that can be easily decoupled from the S/4 Hana core.

E3: What resources should an existing SAP customer provide for a clean core project and what can ifm deliver?

Dark:An existing SAP customer who wants to follow the SAP Clean Core strategy will face similar challenges to us: They will have to redevelop their Z programs, on-stack or on SAP BTP. We recommend initially switching to our proven suite, which makes the use of Z developments superfluous. The path to the "clean core" is thus via us and the customer does not have to convert his developments on his own. They have thus "outsourced" the switch to the clean core.

E3: Why should a company do this?

Dark:Quite simply, it saves an incredible amount of work, because the conversion to the Clean Core is extremely complex and labor-intensive. We have made an enormous investment over the past year and many issues could only be resolved in close cooperation with SAP. Our development guidelines have been completely revised, and queries about Clean Core compatibility now play an important role right from the concept phase. Our developers have of course been trained in this regard.

E3: Modifications and enhancements for S/4 Hana and future ERP systems are to take place on the Business Technology Platform. What plans does ifm have for SAP BTP?

Dark:Our current strategy, also with regard to the clean core approach, continues to provide for the development of our solutions "on stack", i.e. directly in the S/4 Hana system. For us, the S/4 system is currently much more suitable for mapping supply chain processes in the best possible way. In the BTP, we are reaching the limits of performance and access to data in the S/4 stack is not always available. Although the latter problem also arises in Abap cloud development "on stack", we have alternatives here, namely in the course of the Tier 1/2 development model, which provides additional interfaces. With MRP view XLNce, we developed the first solution two years ago that runs exclusively on BTP and is therefore available for all S/4 operating modes. Other solutions from our company are also available in the SAP Store, but function as a hybrid. This means that a software component is required in the S/4 system in addition to the BTP solution.

E3: In the context of BTP, is Clean Core a one-off project or more continuous improvement?

Dark:Although we have more than 20 years of experience as a long-standing SAP-certified solution provider in Abap development, the changeover to Clean Core means a complete redevelopment of our solution. The logic has to be rethought, the specifications for the front end require completely redesigned interfaces. Even in terms of the programming language, we find ourselves in a completely "new world". This clearly goes beyond the nature of the project! You could also say: Clean Core doesn't happen overnight.

E3: Why should an existing SAP customer come to Heidelberg for the Steampunk and BTP Summit?

Dark:: There is a lot of information about Clean Core in the world, some of it misleading. The topic is complex and time-consuming, which is why there are many opinions, but only a few well-founded ones. At an event like the Steampunk and BTP Summit in Heidelberg, qualified information from reputable sources is bundled and presented in a concentrated manner. We think that's great!

E3: Thank you very much for the interview.

ifm.com

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Björn Dunkel, ifm Business Solutions

Managing Director, ifm Business Solutions


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Working on the SAP basis is crucial for successful S/4 conversion. 

This gives the Competence Center strategic importance for existing SAP customers. Regardless of the S/4 Hana operating model, topics such as Automation, Monitoring, Security, Application Lifecycle Management and Data Management the basis for S/4 operations.

For the second time, E3 magazine is organizing a summit for the SAP community in Salzburg to provide comprehensive information on all aspects of S/4 Hana groundwork.

Venue

More information will follow shortly.

Event date

Wednesday, May 21, and
Thursday, May 22, 2025

Regular ticket

EUR 590 excl. VAT

Venue

Hotel Hilton Heidelberg
Kurfürstenanlage 1
D-69115 Heidelberg

Event date

Wednesday, March 5, and
Thursday, March 6, 2025

Tickets

Regular ticket
EUR 590 excl. VAT
The event is organized by the E3 magazine of the publishing house B4Bmedia.net AG. The presentations will be accompanied by an exhibition of selected SAP partners. The ticket price includes attendance at all presentations of the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2025, a visit to the exhibition area, participation in the evening event and catering during the official program. The lecture program and the list of exhibitors and sponsors (SAP partners) will be published on this website in due course.