Solution Building Blocks and Characterization
The SAP-aligned agent-led toolchain consists of the following primary building blocks:
SAP LeanIX
- Enterprise Architecture Management
- Business capability modeling, application portfolio management, technology standards, and transformation roadmaps
- Fact sheets representing applications, processes, interfaces, and IT components
- Most customer business capabilities can be created as extracts from the SAP Reference Catalog or linked one-to-one for enhanced transformation planning
- Roadmapping and architecture governance
- Integration with WalkMe Discovery to automatically feed discovered SaaS applications into the LeanIX SaaS Discovery Inbox
SAP Signavio Process Transformation Suite
- Signavio Process Insights: Process performance analysis using SAP ECC and S/4HANA event data
- Signavio Process Intelligence: Advanced process mining and conformance checking
- Signavio Process Manager: Process modeling and documentation
- Signavio Journey Modeler: Customer journey mapping
- Signavio Governance: Workflow for process approvals and publishing
SAP Cloud ALM
- Requirements and task management
- Test case management and execution
- Deployment orchestration and change tracking
- Operational monitoring for cloud and hybrid solutions
- SAP Best Practice template content for fit-to-standard workshop support
SAP Integration Suite
- API management, Cloud Integration, Event Mesh, and related BTP integration services
- Integration content and adapters for SAP and non-SAP systems
- Central monitoring and governance of integration flows
- Support for event-driven and loosely coupled integration design patterns
SAP Build and SAP Business Technology Platform (sub-components of SAP Business AI Platform)
- Low-code and no-code application development and workflow automation
- Process automation and RPA where applicable
- Side-by-side extensibility on BTP to protect the S/4HANA core
- Foundation for AI extensions and intelligent enterprise use cases
- Reusable business services, open-source content including business accelerators, workflow, and integration
- Cloud-native APIs and microservices enabling reduced time to market
Tricentis (SAP’s Strategic Quality Assurance partner)
- Test Automation for SAP with SAP Enterprise Continuous Testing by Tricentis
- Integration with SAP Cloud ALM for test planning and execution reporting
- Risk-based test coverage capability based on process criticality and business impact with SAP Change Impact Analysis by Tricentis
WalkMe Discovery
- User behavior analysis and SaaS application discovery; discovered SaaS applications are listed in the LeanIX SaaS Discovery Inbox where they can be reviewed, and new fact sheets can be created, or existing fact sheets can be linked
SAP Enable Now
- Training content delivery and user adoption measurement
Main Decision Options
1. Option A: (Near-)Full SAP-Native Agent-Led Toolchain
Description
- Use SAP LeanIX for enterprise architecture management
- Use SAP Signavio suite for process discovery, modeling, mining, and governance
- Use SAP Cloud ALM as the primary ALM for requirements, testing, deployment, and operations
- Use SAP Integration Suite as the standard integration platform
- Use SAP Build and broader BTP services for extensibility and automation
- Use SAP Enterprise Continuous Testing by Tricentis test automation integrated with Cloud ALM and Signavio
Key Integration Aspects
- Automatic creation of process-related fact sheets in LeanIX from SAP Signavio models
- Bidirectional links between LeanIX applications and Signavio processes, enabling cross-system navigation and reporting
- Traceability from requirements in Cloud ALM to processes in Signavio and applications in LeanIX
- Test cases in Cloud ALM linked to business processes and executed via Enterprise Continuous Testing by Tricentis
- Integration Suite monitored in Cloud ALM with visibility into end-to-end integration flows
- WalkMe Discovery automatically populating the LeanIX SaaS Discovery Inbox with discovered SaaS applications
Pros
- Highest level of end-to-end traceability across the transformation lifecycle
- Native support for SAP best practices and fit-to-standard transformation approaches
- Aligned with SAP's strategic roadmap enabling Autonomous Enterprise and reference architectures
- Better long-term total cost of ownership due to fewer custom integration bridges between tools
- Enables intelligent enterprise capabilities including AI adoption and automation natively through BTP
Cons
- Higher upfront adoption effort requiring new tools, training, and operating model changes
- Requires establishing EA, process management, and ALM disciplines around SAP-native tools
- May overlap with existing non-SAP tools that are already in use across the organization
2. Option B: The “magic trifecta” as a starting point
Description
- Use SAP LeanIX for enterprise architecture management
- Use SAP Signavio suite for process discovery, modeling, mining, and governance
- Use SAP Cloud ALM as the primary ALM for requirements, testing, deployment, and operations
Key Integration Aspects
- Automatic creation of process-related fact sheets in LeanIX from SAP Signavio models
- Bidirectional links between LeanIX applications and Signavio processes, enabling cross-system navigation and reporting
- Traceability from requirements in Cloud ALM to processes in Signavio and applications in LeanIX
Pros
- High efficiency due to maximum usage of the available SAP Business Content and Accelerators ( SAP Business Accelerator Hub), automated entity discovery (e.g., SAP Discovery feature in LeanIX when connected to Cloud ALM)
- Solid technical foundation for effective enterprise data mapping and workflows, even if there is no need or capacity to use every tool immediately
- Aligned with SAP's strategic roadmap enabling Autonomous Enterprise and reference architectures
- Contained upfront cost, gradual adoption as the organization becomes ready
- Less disruptive organizational change management as opposed to full-scale toolchain
Cons
- Postpones governing of technology layer, user behavioral analysis, data migration tools to a later time
- Requires establishing EA, process management, and ALM disciplines around SAP-native tools
- May overlap with existing non-SAP tools that are already in use across the organization
3. Option C: Incremental (activate-as-you-go) Toolchain
Description
The approach presumes a high level of retention of existing tools (if permitted by maintenance lifecycle) and ITSM processes, while picking and choosing individual SAP Toolchain tool(s) for activation based on:
- Addressing gaps or immediate needs in enterprise IT solution governance
- Preparing for a (better-)controlled transformation of corporate IT solution or an organization-wide program
- Capitalizing on valid solution entitlements and investments in SAP software
Pros
- Lowest short-term effort and cost
- Minimal disruption for organizations with constrained program scope or immature tooling practices
- Topic-focused relief to identified gaps or immediate ITSM needs
Cons
- Weak end-to-end traceability across the transformation lifecycle
- Not suitable for large or strategic SAP programs
- Higher long-term technical debt and operational risk
Decision Tree
Please follow the decision tree below to indicate key considerations and outcomes:
As seen above, the key criteria for choosing the path are:
- Is the SaaS solution set acceptable from regulatory and compliance standpoints in the company?
- Are you solving a tactical-level problem in your ITSM operations or thinking strategically for years ahead (along with a strategic transformation program)?
- Do you have resources and a transformational window to include the full chain’s activation?
- Are there any equivalent tools that you want to preserve for any organizational reasons?
Conclusion
A complete SAP AI-led Toolchain in its entirety is your best bet to lay a solid future-proof foundation for your major and minor transformations towards Autonomous Enterprise, streamline the transitions, and elevate the transparency about how every corner of your corporate IT solution is generating value for the company.
The “magic trifecta” SAP LeanIX, Signavio and Cloud ALM would be your quick win in case you need a solid foundation anchored around architecture, business process management, implementations and SAP operations. These tools have accessible reference content and automations to populate repositories with best practices, capture your baseline situation quickly.
If you are after a specific task like automated data migration, automated testing, or agile development, a pragmatic start would be to consider a purpose-specific tool from the Toolchain for activation, but still, one should be aware of how synergies could play out for better efficiency and traceability in the future.
With any choice above, please do consider reaching out to your SAP counterpart (Account Executive, Success Plan Manager, Technical Quality Manager) for assistance with planning, licensing, and execution of your Toolchain journey.
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