Using CRM Fiori apps offline

[Former Member]

The CRM Fiori apps are highly appreciated by SAP CRM customers, and also by the user group "sales representative", which is the focus of the current CRM Fiori apps. However one big hurdle was continously mentioned: I want to use the apps offline.

Now the first two CRM Fiori apps are available as offline-enabled apps: My Accounts, My Contacts.

A customer who is interested in using these apps offline needs to apply SAP Fiori 1.0 for SAP CRM 7.0 EHP3, SP10 (wave 10); with release to customer date October 1, 2015. As further prerequisites SAP Mobile Platform (or its cloud edition HCPms) is required, and SAP Mobile Secure.

Using an app offline means the following:

• The user can view, create and change data in the offline app. The user experience is as known from SAP Fiori.
• All data is stored locally on the device
• Data is synchronized with the CRM backend via SMP, or its cloud edition HCPms
• When having network connection data is immediately sent to the CRM backend

For app users this is great:

• You can work wherever you are, with or without network connection
• You can count always on reasonable speed of the applications
• You can forget about making sure that your changes made offline are in the CRM backend

Now let's come to building an offline app:

The process to get an offline app on your device can be described as follows:

In the customer environment the apps are packaged for offline use: The customer assembles all relevant data in a package. Then the customer uploads this package to "Mobile Place" of SAP Mobile Secure. From there the users can install the offline app on their devices. The data ges provisioned to their devices as defined, for example "my" accounts.

See also the following picture:

Detailed documentation can be found here in "Preparing SAP Fiori Apps for Offline Use" (help.sap.com).

This approach has some great advantages:

• The offline apps are under control by the customer.
  • Examples: They can be enhanced customer-specific; different offline apps can be provided for different user groups; branding, such as the use of a company-specific app-icon, can be applied.
• Which data is provisioned to the devices can be defined flexibly (default: as defined for "online" app)
• The apps are NOT native apps: One common code line is used.
• The known Fiori design principles apply, such as responsiveness.

Please note that these offline apps can be used on smartphones and tablets, starting with IOS as the first platform.