SAP development

What is SAP development?

The term SAP development refers to the development options within an SAP system landscape - from the creation and adaptation to the expansion of applications and functions, from the programming of business apps to the integration of non-SAP systems and the customizing of processes.

What is behind SAP's clean-core approach?

In the area of development for SAP, a profound change and paradigm shift has taken place in recent years with SAP S/4HANA.

For a long time, the SAP core was seen as a framework for extensions and additional programming. Unlike in the past, however, the SAP standard in an ERP system is no longer supplemented or adapted exclusively with its own additions and optimizations.

According to SAP's “clean core” approach, the core of the ERP system with SAP S/4HANA now remains free of developments.

Existing “gaps” in the SAP system are therefore no longer closed directly in the SAP system itself with in-house developments. For example, the applications are no longer programmed to access tables directly; instead, developers use an abstraction layer known as CDS views. In addition, standard APIs can increasingly be used instead of classic function modules or BAPIs.

How can SAP S/4HANA be extended?

Most company requirements and processes can already be covered with the SAP standard and best practices.

The best practices are “turnkey” solutions, i.e. tried and tested applications that can be used to implement business processes optimally. And the number of these solutions and the scope of solutions have increased considerably with SAP S/4HANA.

Nevertheless, every company has requirements that call for individual process and software solutions.

SAP S/4HANA can also be extensively expanded, for example

• with the Extensibility Framework (Key User Extensibility),
• as an on-stack extension with the RAP model
• as a side-by-side extension in the cloud (e.g. Business Technology Platform) via API interfaces or
• via middleware solutions (Lobster_data, SAP Process Integration, Talend, Dell Boomi, SAP Cloud Integration).

Various tools and solutions are used today for developments in the cloud, such as the

• RESTful ABAP Programming Model (RAP),
• the SAP Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP) or the
• SAP Business Application Studio.

What happens if the SAP standard is not enough?

If the best practice processes are not sufficient, there are several ways and solutions available for customization and expansion.

If a suitable solution is not yet available, it can be developed by specialists using suitable tools.

Extension and software solutions in a modern SAP S/4HANA architecture include

• Business Cloud apps (from third-party providers or SAP),
• (permitted) SAP Extensibility Framework extensions,
• the in-app extensions and
• Side-by-side extensions (non-public or cloud-like).

These solutions are “docked” to the core in a modular and flexible manner via OData interfaces and Core Data Services (CDS). They are then connected to the SAP S/4HANA core and the other system components in real time while the system is running.

Can mobile applications also be developed?

Yes, developments are also possible in the SAP Mobile area.

With the triumph of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the need for suitable mobile solutions with which the SAP system used in the company can be accessed directly is increasing.

Specialists are needed to take advantage of such solutions,

• who have mastered the development of suitable apps,
• know the tools available (such as SAP Mobile Services) and can handle them.
• know how to use them.