Cloud and API impact on SAP solutions

ABAP is no longer just the language behind ECC or S/4HANA. It has evolved. And with that evolution comes a radical shift in mindset, tooling, and expectations. 𝐀𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐀𝐏 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 : 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐏 – 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞 ➡️Classic ABAP gave us: ↳ Full access to tables ↳ Modification-heavy projects ↳ SE38, SE80 – our comfort zones ↳ Procedural code with occasional OOP ↳ Transport requests and TR drama It worked. It still works. But it’s not built for the cloud-first, API-driven world we’re in today. 𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐏 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 ☁️(𝐚.𝐤.𝐚. 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐤) – 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 ➡️ ABAP on Cloud flips the script: ↳ No direct access to tables → You must use released APIs or CDS views ↳ No dirty hacks or shortcuts → Welcome to the Clean Core ↳ You code in Eclipse (ADT), not SE80 ↳ You follow RAP (RESTful ABAP Programming Model) ↳ You think in services, bindings, behaviors, projections You deploy via Git-enabled spaces on SAP BTP or Embedded Steampunk It’s opinionated. Structured. And yes – different. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮? ➡️ If you're a seasoned ABAPer, don’t resist this change. Embrace it. ➡️ If you're new to SAP, start directly with ABAP on Cloud – it's where the future lies. ➡️ If you're a consultant, advocate for Clean Core – it saves your clients technical debt. Classic ABAP made us what we are. But ABAP on Cloud is what will keep us relevant. 𝐔𝐩𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐄80 – 𝐢𝐭’𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐀𝐃𝐓, 𝐑𝐀𝐏, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. *************** Never miss an Update on Important topics : https://lnkd.in/gspu3-Fd Twitter : https://lnkd.in/gQ6UDgBm Read my technical articles here : https://lnkd.in/gd47gXhN

🗒️Have you heard about SAP Note 3255746❓ In our latest SAP cloud integration evaluations, we stumbled upon SAP Note 3255746, which blocks third-party tools from using ODP APIs. This directly affects data ingestion into platforms like Databricks, Azure Data Factory, and Qlik Replicate. Why does this matter❓ Without ODP, we're left with SAP OData, which isn't designed for bulk data extraction. While OData works well for transactional, real-time data, it struggles with large datasets, leading to performance issues. This makes OData inadequate for high-volume data transfers needed for reporting and analytics. Why is SAP doing this❓ This appears to be a defensive strategy by SAP to protect market share and promote their Datasphere solution against popular cloud analytics solutions. For years, SAP has claimed that only they can effectively integrate their products for business intelligence use cases, but that grip is loosening with the rise of emerging cloud technologies. It will be interesting to see how major players like Microsoft, AWS, and GCP react once SAP fully implements this note, as seamless integration with SAP is essential for these vendors' cloud ecosystems. 💬 What are your thoughts? How will this move affect your data integration strategy? Drop your insights in the comments below.

The Clean Core principle is vital for agility, maintainability, and seamless upgrades. When integrating Business Partner (BP), adopting modern APIs instead of traditional methods like IDOCs ensures a clean, future-proof architecture. Why Move Beyond IDOCs? Customization Complexity: Extending IDOCs adds technical debt. Real-Time Gaps: Limited capabilities for synchronous communication. Cloud Misalignment: IDOCs struggle to align with scalable, event-driven cloud architectures. To align with Clean Core principles, SAP provides modern APIs: SOAP APIs: Structured communication for synchronous BP replication. OData APIs: RESTful services for CRUD operations on BP data. REST APIs: Lightweight, scalable integration for cloud scenarios. Event-Driven Integration (SAP Event Mesh): Asynchronous, decoupled communication via BP-created/changed events. Benefits of Clean Core APIs: Upgrade-Safe: Standard APIs ensure compatibility. Real-Time & Scalable: Support synchronous and asynchronous use cases. Cloud-Ready: Fit for hybrid and cloud-native environments. Simpler Maintenance: Minimized custom development and technical debt. As an SAP Consultant, start upskilling with modern APIs and advise your future customers to adopt clean core integration technologies.

SAP BTP Integration Suite with AI: The Next Evolution of SAP CPI SAP has enhanced its Cloud Platform Integration (CPI) capabilities under the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) Integration Suite, now infused with AI and automation for smarter, self-healing integrations. Key AI-Powered Features in SAP BTP Integration Suite 1. AI-Assisted Integration Flows (SAP AI Core & Joule) Smart Mapping: AI suggests field mappings between systems (e.g., SAP S/4HANA ↔ Salesforce) by learning from past integrations. Anomaly Detection: AI monitors message processing and flags unusual patterns (e.g., sudden API failures or data mismatches). Self-Healing: Automatically retries failed calls or suggests fixes (e.g., OAuth token renewal). Example: An EDI 850 (Purchase Order) from a retailer has inconsistent product codes. AI recommends corrections based on historical data before forwarding to SAP S/4HANA. 2. Generative AI for Accelerated Development (Joule + OpenAI Integration) Natural Language to Integration Flow: Describe an integration in plain text (e.g., "Sync customer data from Salesforce to SAP every hour"), and Joule generates a draft CPI flow. Auto-Generated Documentation: AI creates integration specs and test cases. Example: A developer types: "Create a real-time API that checks credit risk before approving orders." Joule proposes: A webhook trigger from SAP Commerce Cloud. A call to a credit-scoring API. A conditional router in CPI to approve/reject orders. 3. Event-Driven AI Integrations (SAP Event Mesh + AI) Smart Event Filtering: AI processes high-volume event streams (e.g., IoT sensor data) and forwards only relevant events to SAP systems. Predictive Triggers: AI predicts when to initiate integrations (e.g., auto-replenish inventory before stockouts). Example: A logistics company uses SAP Event Mesh to track shipment delays. AI analyzes weather + traffic data to reroute shipments proactively. 4. SAP Graph + AI for Context-Aware Integrations Unified Data Access: SAP Graph provides a single API endpoint for cross-SAP data (S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, Ariba). AI Adds Context: Example: When fetching a customer record, AI automatically enriches it with related sales orders and support tickets. Real-World Use Case: AI-Powered Invoice Processing Scenario: Automatically validate supplier invoices against POs and contracts. AI Extraction: Invoice arrives via SAP Document Information Extraction (DocAI). AI parses unstructured PDFs into structured data. Smart Matching: CPI calls SAP AI Core to compare invoice line items with SAP Ariba POs. AI flags discrepancies (e.g., price changes, missing items). Self-Healing Workflow: If discrepancies are minor, AI auto-approves. If major, CPI routes to a SAP Build Workflow for human review. Result: 70% faster invoice processing with fewer errors.