The Integration Strategy Is Based on Four Principles:
- No.1: Predefined integration
SAP has defined its strategic approach and future plans for integrating end-to-end processes within its intelligent suite. The integration focuses on leveraging well-defined suite qualities to facilitate seamless data exchange between SAP software applications. An example of this integration is the alignment of domain models, which enables the efficient and convenient transfer of main data across SAP applications. This includes prebuilt integrations available in the SAP Business Accelerator Hub.
- No.2: Open integration
In addition to integrating SAP software with other SAP solutions and partner software, SAP also welcomes third-party integrations and custom extensions that use public APIs. SAP's Integration Suite offers the Open Connectors capability, which provides a wide range of prebuilt connectors for over 170 third-party applications. This feature-rich offering enables seamless connectivity and integration between SAP systems and various external software solutions.
- No.3: Holistic integration
SAP offers a comprehensive integration technology portfolio that caters to various integration needs in both cloud and hybrid landscapes. Powered by the SAP Integration Suite, SAP provides support for a wide range of integration use cases, including process, data, user, and analytics-centric integration. This holistic approach ensures that organizations can seamlessly connect and integrate different elements within their IT ecosystem, enabling efficient and effective operations.
- No.4: AI-driven integration
SAP not only integrates intelligence into core business processes but also uses AI techniques to streamline the development of integration scenarios. The Integration Advisor capability within the SAP Integration Suite serves as a prime example of this. By using AI, this capability simplifies the process of designing and creating integration scenarios, enabling organizations to enhance their integration efforts with greater efficiency and ease.
How Does SAP Fulfills These Promises?
When examining the positioning of the SAP Business Technology Platform, integration emerges as one of its pivotal pillars.
Achieve seamless integration of applications, whether they are located on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid model, all while ensuring secure connectivity between applications, processes, and individuals.
- Integration of SAP and beyond to include third parties, including API management, B2B/B2G (Business-to-Business and Business-to-Goverment integration) support, data integration, and process integration.
- Ready-built content that includes integration packs, APIs, business events, and connectors.
- Continuous access to best-practices through pre-packaged SAP business content.
- AI-powered Content Advisor to speed integration development and lower ongoing support costs.
Distributed Architecture and Its Challenges
A distributed IT-system is an architectural paradigm. The Encyclopedia of Business Informatics Online Dictionary defines it as follows:
"A distributed IT-system comprise subsystems (components in the broadest sense) that are coupled together within the framework of a specific architecture and handle tasks cooperatively".
In contrast, a monolithic IT system is characterized by bundled or centralized functions. Unlike a distributed architecture, where system functions are logically distributed among components, a monolithic system keeps all functions bundled together. While a distributed architecture may also involve a coordinated physical decentralization in a computer network, a monolithic system remains centralized, with all functions tightly integrated within a single unit.
We consider all IT installations and services as individual components, such as ERP on-premise, SAP S/4HANA on-premise, and/or SaaS applications.
An example of a distributed architecture:
The following image is an illustration of a customer landscape where various technical systems interact with each other, each with their own unique technical characteristics and communication methods.
Which Challenges Need to Be Solved?
Given the diversity of systems, it is essential to seek, find, and implement expensive and complex solutions to address the following challenges:
Challenges in Enterprises
| Release management | Monitoring | Error identification and correction | Latency | Quality of Service |
| Security | Availability of implementations | Observability | Documentation | Many different transport and message protocols |
An effective approach to overcome these challenges is by adopting an API-first approach.
What is an API First Approach?
The API First Approach is an approach to software design that focuses on the API to create applications that can be easily connected to each other. API First creates ecosystems of applications that are modular, reusable, and extensible, such as Lego bricks.
An API First Approach means that your APIs are treated as first class citizens. Everything revolves around the end product being used by mobile devices and client applications. An API First approach involves developing APIs that are consistent and reusable. This is achieved by using an API description language.
Find more information at:
- Understanding the API-First Approach to Building Products adopting-an-api-first-approach/
- It is not Cloud First or API First but Strategy First. API Management Strategy in Multicloud Environments | SAP Blogs. (it-is-not-cloud-first-or-api-first-but-strategy-first-api-management-strategy-in-multicloud-environments/)