The rest of this course will allow you to focus on DevOps with SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP).
Note
You can also explore DevOps also in other SAP environments. For example, Git-enabled Change and Transport Systemenables an agile CI/CD approach to ABAP development on SAP S/ 4HANA.You will primarily benefit from the DevOps approach on SAP BTP due to its cloud-based low-entry barrier for SAP-specific use cases.
This low entry barrier and best-practices-based approach are beneficial when you tackle DevOps as part of an overall change, such as your cloud transformation.
Business Scenario
As CTO of Rotating Banana, you want to apply the clean core principle of SAP S/4HANA, by replacing custom ABAP code with side-by-side extensions, running on SAP BTP. This would allow you to reduce upgrade efforts caused by custom ABAP code.
With the introduction of SAP BTP as an extension platform, your development teams will benefit from modern cloud development using DevOps practices.
Overview of Recommended DevOps Approach on SAP BTP
The following video outlines an integrated approach for enabling your development teams to benefit from agile DevOps on SAP BTP, as recommended by SAP.
Note
The video reflects the whole approach as recommended by SAP. If you have special requirements (such as for your IDE, CI/CD, or automation), you can also replace single parts of the recommended approach with alternatives - without direct out-of-the-box integration, but with the option to integrate parts via open APIs. Further details about potential alternatives will also be outlined in more detail in upcoming lessonsThe approach in the video is recommended for customers who:
- Do not bring much DevOps experience or own DevOps infrastructure, as it allows a very low entry barrier for applying DevOps principles around SAP-specific use cases and covers large parts of the development life-cycle.
- Favor an SAP-recommended, opinionated approach, with direct support from SAP, also for their DevOps processes for their SAP-centric development.
- Tackle DevOps as part of their cloud transformation, as it enables them to experience the benefits of this agile DevOps approach quickly and without much overhead.
For customers with existing CI/CD infrastructure, solid DevOps experience, or a need for bespoke software development, consider a complementary approach with project ‘Piper’. Project 'Piper' is an open-source project with community support that provides preconfigured Jenkins pipelines and a shared library of pipeline steps that you can use in your own CI/CD infrastructure and adapt according to your needs.
Business Scenario
For you as CTO of Rotating Banana, this recommended approach sounds like a perfect fit, as your company has yet to bring much experience around agile development. Also, this recommended approach will allow you to tackle DevOps as part of your overall transformation, with a clear focus on SAP-centric development use cases.
Summary
You can now describe the approach for applying DevOps on SAP BTP as SAP recommends, especially for customers who need to bring more experience or who favor an SAP-recommended approach with direct SAP support.
Further Reading
Here's a link to the Git-enabled Change and Transport System (gCTS) documentation, which serves as a baseline for applying CI/CD for ABAP development with SAP S/4HANA running in private cloud or on-premise Git-enabled Change and Transport System | SAP Help Portal.
For more information about the complementary open-source approach for CI/CD, see Project "Piper": Continuous Delivery for the SAP Ecosystem.