SAP BTP: The Next Big Thing

The existing SAP customer can find Steampunk on the Business Technology Platform as an Abap environment. This can be used to implement side-by-side extensions (see graphic on the following page), which then communicate with the S/4 Cloud via APIs. And Steampunk is also available in the S/4 Cloud as an embedded version. In addition to web services, OData and RFC APIs, the Abap programmer also has the option of working directly on the database via shared CDS views. This programming model is called Abap Cloud. In the S/4 Cloud, this is an interesting option for developing larger system adaptations in the same stack - data therefore does not have to be replicated for linking.

With S/4, SAP is not only getting the Hana database, but also a new basic concept. It took a long time - too long for some existing SAP customers - for SAP managers to agree on a concept for consolidating the Y/Z namespace and the purchased applications. Now, with the BTP, Business Technology Platform, a verified framework is available and with the SolMan successor ALM, Application Lifecycle Management, a sufficiently good IT tool.

Abap is relevant and will remain so in the future. For existing S/4 customers, SAP offers the aforementioned Abap Cloud development model. Abap Cloud makes it possible to build upgrade-stable and cloud-capable solutions and extensions. Depending on the scenario, existing customers or SAP partners can build their Abap Cloud extension directly on the S/4 Hana stack or on the BTP. Within the community, this is also referred to as embedded steampunk or steampunk. The Abap Cloud development model is available on the BTP and in all S/4 editions, i.e. public cloud and private cloud (on-prem).

Future: BTP

SAP Business Technology Platform could become a vision in the community that goes beyond S/4. SAP is considering using the BTP, including its frameworks, as an ERP platform for many years to come. SAP Executive Martin Heinig's department has the somewhat cryptic name "New Ventures and Technologies", but it deals with very real and relevant SAP topics, such as what the Business Technology Platform could look like in five to ten years' time. For the entire SAP community, existing customers and partners, this is both a very important question and a reassuring message.

At the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2024 in Heidelberg, this BTP roadmap will be discussed and it will be shown that SAP has far-reaching plans for this platform. Investments by existing customers and partners will therefore be sustainable in the long term - perhaps even beyond S/4.

Plus Abap

For Abap extensions that run directly on the S/4 stack (embedded steampunk), a distinction is made between different editions. On the one hand, the public cloud, where only Abap Cloud can be used and no modifications are possible. On the other
On the other hand, there is the private cloud (on-prem), where Abap Cloud is recommended and classic Abap extension techniques and modifications are still possible.

This immediately raises the question for existing SAP customers: Is steampunk now a threat to SAP's "Clean Core for SAP S/4 Hana" claim? Abap Cloud does not allow modifications. Abap Cloud is the only available Abap development model in the public cloud. In the private cloud (on-prem), existing SAP customers can gradually transform their classic Abap code in the direction of Abap Cloud and thus, together with SAP BTP, have a predictable and viable path to a clean core, see also the interview with SAP partner Heiko Edelmann on the following pages and his experiences with the old and new programming framework.

Steampunk and the underlying Abap Cloud model are primarily aimed at professional developers. With Abap Cloud, customers can use the tried-and-tested Abap development tools for Eclipse to develop a new application in the development team and use professional debugging, refactoring, code analysis and testing tools. In addition to existing SAP customers, SAP partners can use Steampunk and Abap Cloud for their add-on solutions.

All BTP plus steampunk

The efforts of existing customers and SAP partners are clearly secured by the strategic step of also positioning BTP with hyperscalers. BTP, which was still known as SAP Cloud Platform in 2017, has been available to hyperscalers since then. However, SAP only communicated this fundamentally positive fact marginally. However, a combined roadmap with SAP's Cloud Platform and the multi-cloud approach with Cloud Foundry was already emerging in 2017. BTP services are now available worldwide, albeit sometimes as insider knowledge, so SAP CEO Christian Klein once again felt compelled to point out the global availability at SAP itself and the connected hyperscalers at the 2023 DSAG Annual Congress in Bremen.

Martin Heinig's work and broad availability could turn SAP's Business Technology Platform into a universal ERP playground whose significance could ultimately extend beyond S/4. Professor August-Wilhelm Scheer published his latest book "Composable Enterprise: agile, flexible, innovative" in Munich a few weeks ago. Composite, cybernetically acting ERP modules will need a platform like BTP could become. SAP is not quite there yet.

Based on Martin Heinig's work, however, the SAP community could already have a composable ERP platform with steampunk in the near future. The SAP community is still divided on how far this development will actually go, see also the interview with Heiko Edelmann on the following pages. US SAP partner Heiko Edelmann doubts that a complete ERP can be realized on the BTP. An alternative platform from Scheer, on the other hand, seems to be further along. Wolfram Jost, Chief Technology Officer of Scheer Holding, will address this platform idea in his keynote speech at the Summit in Heidelberg.

Although the possibilities of BTP are multifaceted, many German companies do not yet seem to have fully embraced them, wrote Timo Rüb in E3 magazine last fall. He is Vice President at Valantic and an expert for the SAP Business Technology Platform. He has more than 20 years of experience as an SAP consultant and has been supporting and managing SAP BTP projects since 2016.

According to survey results, 34 percent of existing SAP customers are already using BTP. 13 percent are at least in the process of introducing it. The other half have not yet sufficiently familiarized themselves with the SAP Business Technology Platform. In contrast, just under 18 percent of those surveyed are struggling with the cost factor of implementation.

And Timo Rüb emphasized in his E3 contribution: "When considering costs, the famous apples should not be compared with the no less famous pears. Total Costs of Ownership (TCO) is the key word here. When considering the costs of using the BTP, the costs of the BTP must be compared with the total costs that arise if the platform is not used.

Complex upgrade projects for on-stack extensions instead of the implementation of side-by-side extensions (see graphic) are examples of this, as is the cost-intensive operation of interfaces without the use of modern integration concepts and integration techniques such as API-based and event-driven integration.

The metamorphosis

SAP has decided on a workable compromise. The metamorphosis of the Abap programming language from on-prem to the cloud age was naturally not painless: at the SAP Competence Center Summit 2023 in Salzburg, SAP partner Snap showed which Abap commands were lost and where there are new things to discover. This metamorphosis via hybrid intermediate solutions is entirely intentional on SAP's part. After all, Rise with SAP includes basic BTP licensing for this purpose. Nevertheless, the question arises for all on-prem users as to which path to the cloud is the best. In addition to the transformation of processes, data silos and Y/Z developments, it is also about spending the money required for this in a future-proof way, emphasized Christian Knell from SAP partner Snap in the E3 magazine December 2023. Christian Knell will also be giving a presentation at the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2024 in Heidelberg.

His advice in advance: "Start building up your expertise now. SAP architectures are becoming hybrid very quickly, so start today with proofs of concept, training courses or smaller projects to make yourself and your team cloud-ready. This is not a cloudy marketing term, it's about knowledge. And acquiring it takes time because the learning curve is steep, as I can tell you from my own experience. But it is necessary, because - as Christian Klein made clear - the future of SAP lies in the cloud." Heiko Edelmann also talks about a challenging learning curve in his E3 interview.

Professor August-Wilhelm Scheer's book can be a guide to changing the SAP ERP scene in the medium term, as we know it today with S/4. It is not yet possible to say whether this will result in an ERP revolution. In any case, the orchestration of IT modules will change conceptually. The concept of Composable ERP, as the book is titled, is not entirely new, as parts of it have already existed as best-of-breed for many years. But Composable ERP offers a new conceptual structure. In the future, composite ERP modules should harmonize in the form of a cybernetic system. This composability naturally requires a platform. This is where BTP comes in for all existing SAP customers. At the Steampunk and BTP Summit on February 28 and 29, 2024 in Heidelberg, the opportunities of a composable ERP will also be discussed.

A composite ERP can become a solution. Based on a stable platform including a powerful development environment, the next ERP generation can emerge. Professor Scheer has now taken the first step with his new book Composable ERP. Complemented by AI, machine learning, process mining, open source and cybernetics, a usable ERP should emerge. Best-of-Breed 2.0 brings opportunities and options for existing SAP customers. However, it can also be a disadvantage for SAP itself. The combination also means that existing SAP customers will be able to choose from a variety of ERP solutions in the future, and that even the topic of hybrid computing will take on a whole new meaning and thus a new significance. In a cybernetic, self-configured system, the cloud-only dictate will have no chance of survival. On the contrary: composable ERP will need a strong platform, but the composite modules can be on-prem and cloud. Composable ERP is ultimately also the antithesis of cloud-only.

Investing in BTP

BTP is considered a central element of the SAP strategy and was therefore also included in the annual DSAG Innovation Report 2023. 24 percent of DSAG members stated that they would make high and medium investments in the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) for SAP cloud solutions. In this case, investment means increasing expenditure on cloud solutions, including subscriptions.

SAP SuccessFactors followed in second place in the ranking of SAP cloud solutions with high and medium investments for 17 percent of respondents. In third place was SAP Customer Experience with nine percent. "SAP is positioning BTP as a central element of its strategy. Against this background, it is understandable that the survey participants are considering this SAP cloud solution," says DSAG CEO Jens Hungershausen. From DSAG's point of view, it is positive that the first migration services are now being developed to support the conversion of existing integration architectures to BTP's Integration Suite, for example. However, the costs for development, quality assurance and use of the services without productive reference are too high - as are the costs for general operation. DSAG is in contact with SAP on this issue. In terms of relevance for investment in the Business Technology Platform, the area of data and analysis is ahead of application development and automation as well as integration, with 38 percent high and medium investments.

Finally, Timo Rüb from Valantic once again: For companies planning their S/4 migration, BTP can be a central component of their future system landscape. In most cases, the S/4 system must be integrated with a large number of other systems. In addition, enhancements are required that differentiate companies from their competitors and create competitive advantages. This is where the Business Technology Platform can play to its strengths, offering all the necessary services and tools for all conceivable integration scenarios as well as for enhancements and innovations, especially for SAP-focused application landscapes.

e3mag.com/en/steampunk-summit