Introducing SAP Start

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to describe SAP Start and integration considerations

Introduction

As covered in Unit 1, SAP Start is one of SAP’s central entry point options running on the SAP Business Technology Platform. It is based on SAP Build Work Zone technology and offers users a powerful, yet simple, home page experience for SAP’s cloud solutions. 

SAP Start displays role-based content from SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, SAP SucessFactors, and SAP Fieldglass currently.

Exactly like SAP Build Work Zone, standard edition, SAP Start also SAP Cloud Identity Services for authorization management and single sign on across the integrated solutions.

Compared to the SAP Build Work Zone, standard and advanced edition, it comes with minimal setup effort and offers a predefined home page. The home page is composed of a header bar that offers a search bar, a welcome banner and two sections – one for To-Dos (if SAP Task Center is integrated) and another one for Insights, leveraging interest cards coming in from the connected cloud solutions.

Screenshot of a fully setup SAP Start Page. Showing the Welcome Banner at the top with the To Dos and Insights widgets below with each holding four example To Dos / Insight Cards. 

Key Capabilities

Search:

Search and launch applications from the connected SAP cloud solution to which the user has access permissions. SAP Start also remembers the most frequently used applications. In addition, the search functionality supports launching a content search in the connected cloud solutions, for example, to find an employee in SAP SuccessFactors or a sales order in SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition.

To-Dos (optional via integration with SAP Task Center):

If integration with SAP Task Center is configured, the To-Dos section is shown in SAP Start. It displays the workflow to To-Dos from all SAP cloud business solutions that are integrated with SAP Task Center as action cards.

Note

Note that SAP Task Center supports many SAP Cloud solutions as a content provider in addition to the ones that are supported by SAP Start as a content provider. Hence SAP Start will display task from these additional SAP Cloud solutions as well via the SAP Task Center integration. 

You can use the To-Do cards to perform daily tasks such as approving or rejecting a request. To-Dos are prioritized to ensure you can access relevant information quickly and take actions where they are most needed. You can also navigate to the SAP Task Center application or to the SAP business solution a task came from the action cards. 

Interest Cards:

Interest cards consist of rich and relevant business content tailored to you based on your individual role and business needs. Today, SAP Start includes interest cards from SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition and SAP SuccessFactors. Additional SAP cloud business solutions (SAP Ariba, SAP Concur, SAP Fieldglass) are a priority and will follow over time.

Note

Note: Information about the cards that can be shown in the Insights section of SAP Start is available in this help page.

SAP Start Integration with SAP Mobile Start

SAP Mobile Start is the mobile application for both SAP Build Work Zone, standard edition and SAP Start. With SAP Mobile Start integration with SAP Start, you will get the following on your mobile device based on the end-user’s roles in the respective solutions:

  • Search for and launch all included business apps
  • To Dos from all business solutions that are integrated with SAP Task Center
  • Insights cards from all connected business solutions
Collection of Smartwatch, Phone and Tablet screenshots showing SAP Mobile Starts integration with SAP Start, which brings the To Dos and Insight Cards to the apps start screen. 

SAP Start Setup

There are 2 subscription plans for using SAP Start: Separately a foundation plan is also available for SAP Build Work Zone, standard edition if customers only want to use SAP Start.

  1. Customers using SAP Build Work Zone, standard edition already would have done so by subscribing to standard plan. SAP Start can also be set up using the same standard plan.
  2. Separately, a foundation plan is also available for SAP Build Work Zone, standard edition if customers only want to use SAP Start.

More info about the subscriptions can be found in this help page.

SAP Start can be set up using boosters or formation as outlined in this help page.

Both setups are partly automated by using SAP BTP Boosters and Formations which are continuously improved to cover more integrations. Some examples for automations would be the creation of a subaccount, subscribing to the required services, connecting the SAP Cloud Identity Services - Identity Authentication or creating the integration with your SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition system. Additional manual steps are required to manage the users via the SAP Cloud Identity Services - Identity Provisioning or to optionally integrate the SAP Task Center or other supported Cloud solutions

Links and Resources

Find more information and guidance on SAP Start following the links below: 

Summary of Your Learning Journey

Over the course of this learning journey, you have understood why a central entry point using SAP Build Work Zone, standard edition and a native entry point using SAP Mobile Start is important for customers with multiple SAP solutions and customers who need additional access channels for external or mobile users. While your focus so far may have been on implementing the SAP Fiori launchpad that comes as part of SAP S/4HANA, this learning should enable you to actively consider if the end users could benefit from central/native entry points.

You should now be able to integrate SAP S/4HANA Cloud public and private edition solutions with SAP Build Work Zone, standard edition and SAP Mobile Start either manually or by using pre-defined integration scenarios provided by the Cloud Integration Automation service. You also learned how to further enrich the end-user experience with mobile-specific content like native tiles, news feeds, and by using device capabilities like widgets and notifications. You have followed a basic setup and are also aware of scalable solution options when faced with a large user base and/or roles by using role collection mappings and SAP Cloud Identity Services. The use of central services like SAP Task Center is a great way to allow end users to process tasks from multiple SAP solutions – you now also have some pointers to implement the same.

We hope that you can use the skills that you learned from the course to implement a central and native entry point for your end users and provide them with a seamless UX across SAP solutions.

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