Factors to Consider for SAP Cloud Extensions

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Extensibility – Deciding the right extensibility option for your use-case? 🤔 💻 or ☁️ During the last decades SAP’s on-premises customers and partners have mainly used classic ABAP extensibility to extend their ERP solution. Classic extensibility allows ABAP developers to use and even to modify all SAP objects. This is very powerful and flexible but at the same time creates a lot of technical debt over the years causing hindrances in upgrades, maintainability and stability of the systems. As we move to the S/4HANA Cloud world, one of the key topics that we discuss with our customers and partners is the concept of extensibility and how do you decide which extensibility pattern do you use when building RICEFWs for S/4 HANA Private or Public Cloud? Yes, RICEFWs have not gone away, they are still very much part of every project discussion; but the way we develop these RICEFWs in the Clean Core and extensibility world has changed. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Edition provides a new upgrade-stable cloud extensibility model that clearly separates SAP code and extensions via mandatory public SAP APIs and SAP extension points. Let’s start by looking at the 2 main types of Extensibility options on S/4HANA Cloud: 💻 On-stack extensions that run on the S/4 HANA Cloud stack because of tight coupling with SAP S/4HANA data, transactions or apps. These can be achieved either by key-user extensibility options or using ABAP Cloud Edition (aka. Embedded Steampunk) ☁️ Side-by-side extensions Run on the SAP Business Technology Platform runtime and are loosely coupled with SAP S/4HANA core. These can be achieved by Low-code/No-code solutions such as SAP Build Apps, SAP Build process automation or Business Application Studio or using Java, Node.js on SAP BTP ABAP Environment. When building for S/4HANA cloud, it is important to follow some key guiding principles. What you build for the cloud should: 1. Not break with every upgrade. 2. Only use released remote or released local SAP APIs. 3. Only be extended using predefined extension points for SAP Objects. 4. Not access database tables directly. But which Cloud Extensibility Option do we chose and how? This is the most important question we should ask for every extensibility use-case – the answer to which depends on 3 considerations – Use-case, Architecture and Scope of the RICEFW. Below is a decision tree, that helps customers to identify what the right type of extension would be for their use-case, architecture and scope based on usage, infrastructure, operations, data volume and coupling with the core! In addition to these considerations, the customers should have a company specific policy based on knowledge and experience of their team, balance between on-stack and hybrid extensions, costs, business strategy and IT strategy that allows them to make right extensibility choices! #SAPCommunity #SAPBTP #EnterpriseArchitecture #CloudDevelopment #CloudABAP

S/4HANA Series: Episode 6 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐩 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝-𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐏: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 🍳☁️ Imagine 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐏 as having your own personal kitchen. You can freely cook anything—grab ingredients directly from the pantry (SELECT * FROM MARA), customize recipes your way, no restrictions. But 𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐏 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝? Think of it as cooking in a shared professional kitchen. You must follow guidelines and use pre-approved ingredients (𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐃𝐒 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐬), ensuring safety, efficiency, and consistency for everyone. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 "𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬"? Because keeping the core clean matters. It allows SAP to deliver seamless upgrades without breaking your customizations. ABAP on Cloud strictly enforces the use of: ✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐃𝐒 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 & 𝐀𝐏𝐈𝐬: Safe ingredients provided by SAP. ✅ 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬: Pre-defined spaces for your custom code. ✅ 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐁𝐀𝐝𝐈𝐬 (𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐝-𝐈𝐧𝐬): Clearly defined "recipe adjustments." No available APIs or BAdIs? Build your own custom wrappers—custom recipes using pre-approved ingredients—to keep your core separate and clean. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦-𝘣𝘺-𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘯-𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘌𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴? 🍕 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞-𝐛𝐲-𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐀𝐏 𝐁𝐓𝐏): Think of ordering pizza occasionally independent and doesn't impact your home kitchen. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: Mobile reporting app fetching weekly sales summaries. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞: Occasional data updates, standalone apps integrating multiple sources. 🍲 𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐎𝐧-𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬): Think adding spices directly into your dish—immediate integration needed. 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: Custom validations for sales orders processed instantly. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞: Frequent real-time access, high consistency within transactions. By clearly distinguishing when to "order pizza" (side-by-side) versus "add spices" (on-stack), we keep our cloud kitchen organized, efficient, and ready for future innovation. This concept is part of SAP's robust three-tier extensibility model—more coming soon! How are you keeping your ABAP kitchen cloud-ready? Share your experience below! 🌟

Dear #SAPPartners, in August, SAP has released a new white paper on Clean Core extensibility for SAP S/4HANA Cloud. The white paper serves as a guide for organizations looking to implement a clean core strategy in their SAP S/4HANA Cloud environments, ensuring system integrity and readiness for future innovations. 💡 The clean core strategy addresses the challenges posed by custom code and undocumented changes in ERP landscapes. It promotes the use of standard processes and strategic extensions to enhance flexibility and reduce maintenance costs. A clean core allows organizations to overcome obstacles related to legacy systems, such as lack of standardization and poor data quality, enabling faster innovation and improved agility. 1️⃣ Extensibility Options:  The document outlines two main approaches to extensibility: • On-stack Extensibility: Extensions tightly coupled with SAP S/4HANA, primarily using the ABAP Cloud or classic ABAP. • Side-by-side Extensibility: Loosely coupled extensions running on the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), utilizing released APIs and modern integration methods. 2️⃣ Clean Core Level Concept:  SAP introduces a new maturity model categorizing extensions into four levels (A, B, C, D) based on their architectural integrity and upgrade stability, promoting a "BTP first" strategy for clean extensions. 3️⃣ Clean Core Framework:  The framework provides a step-by-step approach, focusing on governance, measurement through KPIs, and implementation of clean extensions. The "Stay Clean" and "Get Clean" strategies are emphasized, with "Stay Clean" focusing on new developments and "Get Clean" targeting existing technical debt. 4️⃣ Clean Core Governance and Measurement: Recommendations for establishing a governance framework and measuring adherence to clean core principles through KPIs are provided, along with tools like SAP Cloud ALM. 👉 White Paper: https://lnkd.in/e_CbSaWu 👉 SAP News Center Article: https://lnkd.in/eugFz_v4 👉 SAP Community Blog: https://lnkd.in/ey3CABjz #sappartner #cleancore #sapcleancore #sapbtp #sapclouderp #s4hana #sapcustomcode #sapextensions #clouderp #extensibility

🔹 New SAP White Paper: Clean Core Extensibility for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Perfect timing with my Clean Core Principles series—especially Principle #2 (Extensibility). SAP just published a comprehensive update on how to extend where needed while staying upgrade-stable. Highlights that stood out to me: 👉 New clean core level concept (A–D) to assess extensions by upgrade safety and architectural integrity—more nuance than a simple “clean vs. unclean.”  👉 Reinforces a SAP BTP-first strategy and using released APIs for on-stack (ABAP Cloud) and side-by-side patterns.  👉 Practical governance & measurement framework with extensibility KPIs, plus “Stay Clean / Get Clean” guidance for real projects. 👉 Read the white paper: Clean core extensibility for SAP S/4HANA Cloud (successor to the previous extensibility paper): 💬 Which part of the new model (A–D) will be hardest to implement in your landscape—and why? #SAPLeanIX #SAPEAF #DigitalTransformation #EACoaching #CleanCore #SAPBTP #S4HANACloud #Extensibility #ArchitectureGovernance

Extending SAP solutions needs to be strategic, not complex. The SAP Extension Architecture Guide includes new simplified guidance to help you get started with extensibility. It puts your use cases first, to help you navigate where, why, and how to build... while keeping the core clean.   ✔ Where: Identify the right combination of on-stack and side-by-side extensions for your use case. ✔ Why: Maintain agility and flexibility without disrupting core processes. ✔ How: Use SAP Build to build future-ready extensions leveraging low-code and pro-code capabilities.   This simple use case driven guidance includes a detailed infographic with key concepts and links to dive deeper. It outlines the SAP S/4HANA Cloud extensibility model with SAP BTP, which applies to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition (GROW with SAP), SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition (RISE with SAP), and SAP S/4HANA.   Take a look: https://lnkd.in/e747Yej2   #SAPBTP #Extensibility #CleanCore #SAPCloudERP #ABAPCloud #SAPBuild Marco Matha| Elisabeth Riemann | SAP Business Technology Platform | SAP Build | SAP S/4HANA Cloud ERP