What Are SAP's Data Exchange Technologies?

SAP offers a variety of integration technologies to facilitate seamless data exchange and communication between SAP systems and other applications.

Here’s an overview of the key SAP integration technologies:

• SAP Process Integration/SAP Process Orchestration: SAP Process Integration is used for integrating SAP and non-SAP systems using various protocols and data formats. SAP Process Orchestration includes additional orchestration capabilities, allowing for more complex workflows and process management. SAP Process Orchestration is supported till 2030.
• Cloud Integration and SAP Integration Suite: A cloud-based integration service that enables the integration of on-premise and cloud applications. Provides prebuilt integration content and supports various protocols such as REST, SOAP, and OData. Cloud Integration and SAP Integration Suite are the same; the latter is an evolution of the former.
• SAP BTP: Combines database and data management, analytics, application development, and integration into a single platform. Facilitates building and extending applications while integrating with existing systems.
• SAP Gateway: A framework that allows developers to create and expose OData services for SAP applications. Enables easy access to SAP data via RESTful APIs, allowing integration with web and mobile applications.
• SAP Data Services: A data integration and transformation tool that allows for data cleansing, profiling, and loading into SAP and non-SAP systems. Supports batch and real-time data integration.
• IDocs: A standard data structure used in SAP for transferring data between SAP systems and external systems. Facilitates asynchronous communication and is commonly used for batch processing.
• SAP Fiori and SAPUI5: SAP Fiori is a user experience (UX) design approach, and SAPUI5 is its development toolkit. They can be integrated with backend systems through OData services for real-time data retrieval and updates.
• Event Mesh (formerly SAP Cloud Platform Messaging): A messaging service that enables event-driven architecture and real-time communication between applications. It supports various messaging patterns like publish/subscribe.
• Application Link Enabling (ALE): A technology for connecting distributed SAP systems using IDocs for asynchronous data exchange. Suitable for integrating different SAP environments.
• SAP Analytics Cloud: Allows integration of analytics capabilities into SAP applications and connects with various data sources. Facilitates real-time data access and reporting.

These technologies provide flexibility in integrating various systems, whether they are on-premise, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments, ensuring that businesses can maintain efficient processes and data flow.

This table provides an overview of SAP ERP middleware.

The middleware listed is out of support from SAP. SAP Process Orchestration version 7.5, which was released in 2015, is still in use and will be supported until the end of 2030. SAP Process Orchestration is a combination of different tools including SAP Process Integration, enabling not just system integration but also business process management, business rules management, and other technical components like SAP Composite Application Framework (supports the creation of persistent data) and SAP Extended Enterprise Content Management by OpenText. For companies that are looking to move their applications and integrations to the cloud, SAP Integration Suite is the logical successor to SAP Process Orchestration.

Let's look at SAP Process Orchestration 7.5 and its three components—SAP Process Integration, SAP Business Process Management (SAP BPM), and SAP Business Rules Management (SAP BRM):

• SAP Process Orchestration 7.5: SAP Process Orchestration is a strategic integration offering for an on-premise deployment from SAP. It covers the full functional range of an integration platform, including message processing, connectivity, and business process and rules management. The current version of SAP Process Orchestration is 7.5 and is a solution bundle running purely on a Java application server which consists of SAP Process Integration on Java (an Advanced Adapter Engine Extended [AEX]), SAP Business Process Management, and SAP Business Rules Management.
• SAP Process Integration: This is an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) that traditionally uses both ABAP and Java stacks (up to SAP Process Integration 7.4) to enable message-based integration between IT systems, using a number of adapters to send messages to and receive them from these systems. It is possible to implement SAP Process Integration so that it runs only on the Java stack that can activate and use the other SAP Process Orchestration components (SAP BPM and SAP BRM). As of version 7.5, it is only a Java stack in SAP Process Orchestration 7.5.
• SAP Business Process Management: This is a business process management offering to create processes and workflows among people, systems, and business partners. It supports joint modeling of processes, central process execution via a Java-based engine, provision of interfaces for users, and integration of business rules into processes.
• SAP Business Rules Management: This is used to set user-defined business rules that are required in business processes. For example, SAP Process Orchestration includes all the tools you need to create business logic, applications, and integration to close gaps between your IT systems. To enable automatic decisions by using business rules, the business users participate in and control rule definition, while the business process experts model, validate, deploy, update, and archive business rules through the lifecycle. The business rules describe the operation of, definition of, and constraints on the behavior of a business and enable decision automation.

The next figure shows the components of SAP Process Orchestration, where SAP Process Integration, SAP BPM, and SAP BRM are the components of SAP Process Orchestration.

In SAP Process Orchestration, the Advanced Adapter Engine (AAE) is meant to connect SAP systems and non-SAP systems together by the various adapters in the Advanced Adapter Engine to convert XML and HTTP-based messages to the specific protocol and format required by the systems.

Advanced Adapter Engine Extended (AEX) provides the connectivity capabilities of the AAE as well as the design and configuration tools (ES Repository and the Integration Directory) to set up scenarios based on the AAE. The figure below shows the AAE, which is the part of SAP Process Orchestration. AEX connects to the AAE.

This table differentiates the key features between SAP Integration Suite in SAP BTP as a component and SAP Process Orchestration.

Integration technologies with EDI and SAP offer several significant benefits that contribute to improving efficiency, accuracy, and overall business performance. Here are some key advantages:

• Automation of business processes: Integration technologies automate the exchange of business documents such as purchase orders, invoices, and shipping notices between SAP and external systems using EDI standards. This automation reduces manual intervention, speeds up transaction processing, and minimizes errors.
• Improved data accuracy: By eliminating manual data entry and reducing the likelihood of human error, integration technologies ensure that data exchanged between SAP and EDI systems is accurate and consistent. This enhances the reliability of information across business processes.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automating data exchange and streamlining business processes lead to improved operational efficiency. Organizations can reduce processing times, shorten cycle times for order fulfillment and invoicing, and optimize resource utilization.
• Real-time visibility and tracking: Integration technologies provide real-time visibility into transaction statuses and process flows across the supply chain. This visibility enables businesses to track the movement of goods, monitor order statuses, and respond quickly to changes or issues, enhancing overall supply chain management.
• Compliance with EDI standards: Integration technologies ensure compliance with EDI standards (such as EDIFACT or ANSI X12) required by trading partners and regulatory authorities. Adhering to these standards facilitates seamless communication and collaboration with partners, avoiding penalties and improving business relationships.
• Scalability and flexibility: SAP's integration capabilities, such as SAP Integration Suite, support scalability and flexibility. Businesses can easily integrate new trading partners, add additional EDI transactions, or expand their business operations without significant IT overhead.
• Analytics and insights: Integration technologies enable the aggregation and analysis of data from EDI transactions within SAP systems. This data can be leveraged for business intelligence, trend analysis, and decision-making, driving continuous improvement and strategic initiatives.

Integration technologies in SAP and EDI are instrumental in modernizing business operations by automating and enhancing the exchange of critical business data. By leveraging SAP’s robust capabilities and integration tools, organizations can achieve significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and compliance, ultimately driving competitive advantage and operational excellence. They play a crucial role in achieving digital transformation goals and enhancing overall business efficiency and effectiveness.

The final figure illustrates how an SAP system integrates with EDI systems. The SAP sender system sends a purchase order as an IDoc to SAP middleware, where it is converted from an IDoc to an EDI purchase order in 850 format and sent to the SAP receiver system via VPN and an EDI hub. The SAP receiver system processes the PO and sends the PO acknowledgement in IDoc format to the middleware, where is it converted to an EDI message and sent across VPN to the SAP sender system.

Editor’s note: This post has been adapted from a section of the book Architecting EDI for SAP S/4HANA by Marek Piaseczny and Agasthuri Doss.