Digital app ecosystem in the enterprise

The use of standard software is on its way to becoming part of the flexible digital workplace of the future. The way we make customer-specific adjustments in the SAP environment is also affected.

The ways and means by which we in IT provide solutions to our business units is also changing.

SAP has recently taken many important steps in this new direction. The widely expressed desire to use the Web as the basis of a Digital Workplace has been taken into account.

With Fiori UX in particular, the Walldorf-based company is delivering contemporary, personalized access to S/4 Hana and other applications. Fiori 2.0 and the revamped Fiori LaunchPad, for example, provide a significantly upgraded, central entry point into the user's daily working world.

User-specific notifications and, in the future, the SAP Co-Pilot will support users in their daily business across all devices.

This benefits users in particular, who have to deal with an ever-increasing flood of information and growing freedom to make decisions.

In order to best utilize the functionalities of S/4 Hana and Fiori 2.0 in the enterprise, new approaches to the conception, design and implementation of customer solutions are required.

It is not just about the pure user interface, but about the entire process flow: It is essential to consider the interplay of capturing, evaluating and processing information in order to derive the best options for action.

For example, complex transactions, in which several people usually work on one document, can be simplified by smaller process steps with their own Fiori app. SAP provides the necessary technical basis for this with S/4 Hana.

Augmented reality

The basic idea of breaking down monolithic functionality into reusable components is nothing new here. This has been one of the main concerns in software development for many decades.

Current trends such as serverless architectures (back-end functionality is realized at least in large parts via third-party APIs), micro services (vertical small functions map a process step in combination), and augmented reality (use of diverse device forms and accesses in the working world) show where enterprise IT is heading.

The digital future in companies will be shaped by the interplay of different technology paradigms and solutions. Advanced digitization in automotive engineering, in which solutions such as voice control or the interaction of mobile devices with the vehicle have long been established, is an example of how close this future has already come to us.

From transactional applications to the app concept

At SAP, we are talking about mission-critical business applications. Many companies are still skeptical about the app concept here. They often only think of so-called native apps, i.e. applications that are created for a specific operating system.

In the corporate environment, the so-called web apps are important: These can be run in the browser, can be used across the board and are therefore the preferred solution for most scenarios.

The advantage of web apps: On the one hand, advances in browser technology create new access possibilities to the device hardware. On the other hand, cross-device development means that there is no dependence on the operating system manufacturer.

Use on a notebook or smartphone, for example, becomes possible. SAP's standard Fiori apps are usually web apps and can therefore be run in the browser.

If necessary, web apps can also be converted into native apps (so-called hybrid apps).

The reservations about apps are similar regardless of their characteristics. Can they also be used to replace complex user interfaces of existing legacy applications with profit?

The crux: This can rarely be achieved by a 1:1 mapping. Sometimes complex surfaces have to be broken down into parts and conceptually reworked.

This path opens up new opportunities to increase integration between applications. In increasingly complex IT landscapes, cross-vendor solutions are often necessary for this purpose.

Better interaction possibilities

Traditional access to SAP applications has the disadvantage that it usually requires well-trained experts in their field and in the operation of the software. After all, the focus should be on completing the actual task.

Here, Fiori apps offer the opportunity to simplify access for the end user. The difficulty in finding a solution is to combine this demand for simplification of the interfaces with the fast way of working of the expert user, who is at home in complex screens.

In addition to the expert, it is also important to enable the occasional user to operate the system. The latter must have an overview at all times and be able to work through his or her task package on a simplified interface without having to delegate.

What are the advantages?

First and foremost are greater portability and simplified operation. By supplementing or even replacing transactional workflows with suitable apps, process cycle times can be shortened and advantages generated in the workflow by redesigning processes using digital technologies.

Web technologies are also an agile means of lifting applications onto a common platform. Rapid progress means that many scenarios can now be implemented with standard web technologies that were previously the preserve of specialist providers.

The Web is gaining ground in image processing, QR code recognition, and the availability of libraries for voice control. This enables a consolidation of the technologies used, whereby it is important to pay attention to open standards and to proceed in a process-oriented manner.

The findings from process modeling and process control should be integrated. Fiori apps allow the mapping of a process flow here, for example through app-to-app navigation.

The goal: Improve user activities through a mix of apps, classic applications, and new endpoints in a way that makes it easier to manage growing business needs.

Digital ecosystem and cloud - the role of HCP

With the Hana Cloud Platform (HCP), SAP offers the possibility to map a deliberate separation of standard processes and customer-specific application functionality also infrastructurally and in the development environments.

Functional additions can be decoupled from the transactional backend systems and implemented on the HCP as a separate cloud infrastructure with new flexibility. Both extensions to the S/4 system and complete applications can be run on the HCP.

The advantages are obvious: The Abap server of the backend system holds the data and the central processing logics within the company. Integration and flexibility come as a supplement from HCP.

Thanks to Java-based technologies and the Hana server with JavaScript application server, HCP offers significantly more scope to cover cross-solution scenarios. With the Hana Cloud Connector, SAP offers the right tool to securely connect both worlds without cumbersome configuration.

The interaction unfolds the strengths of the on-premise world (stable core) with the cloud advantages (high innovation potential).

However, the advantages of HCP are not only available to S/4 Hana users. The platform offers simplified access to apps for employees outside the corporate network. Often, this still requires investments in the infrastructure (security, single sign-on/SSO, networks).

Established standards such as e-mail must continue to be integrated smoothly. To take full advantage of this, modern devices should be available that have a camera as well as sufficient computing power.

Another advantage is the integration of content from external providers. Here, a cloud platform offers additional opportunities to close gaps in the SAP portfolio. Processes can thus be well supported by in-house development or third-party solutions.

Conclusion

Web apps offer SAP user companies a lot of potential. They help establish new application concepts and allow a pragmatic entry into the digital system landscape of the future.

A step-by-step approach with a view to the big picture is recommended. Offering just a few Fiori apps is not the right approach to establishing mobile technologies, the app concept and Fiori UX in the company.

Integration into an overall architecture is imperative. Only with holistic solutions can the user be convinced that the app concept offers advantages.

Willingness to change is part of it: Companies and IT departments must be open to new ways of thinking and ideas and promote an alternative culture of software development. This would be the breeding ground on which a hybrid, digital app ecosystem can grow and flourish sustainably.