S/4HANA Extensibility: Use Case Overview

[ThomasSchneider]

In this post I want to share the overview picture on the S/4HANA extensibility use cases that we presented in our 2016 TechEd session DEV108 “Extensibility Framework for SAP S/4HANA:  End-to-End Scenario”.

The first version of the use case overview shows the layers of a modern SAP Fiori application: Fiori Launchpad, Fiori interface, OData service, ABAP application, HANA database.



I will not dig into the details of these layers, here are just some key words on the layers:

SAP Fiori: is a collection of apps with a simple and easy-to-use experience for broadly used SAP software functions that work seamlessly across devices – desktop, tablet, and smartphone.

• SAP Fiori Principles: role-based, simple, coherent, delightful, responsive/adaptive


• SAP Fiori Design including Visual Design, Information Architecture and Interaction Patterns


• SAP Technologies for SAP Fiori (mainly SAPUI5)

OData (Open Data Protocol): is an OASIS standard that defines the best practice for building and consuming RESTful APIs.

• It provides a vendor-neutral, Web-based API that fully complies with the design principles of Representational State Transfer (REST).


• OData is extensible. This allows SAP to supplement the data types and annotations used by OData with extra information from CDS.

CDS (Core Data Services): is a key component of the SAP S/4HANA architecture for levering qualities such as:

• Capture and share business-rich data models using the HANA relational model


• Enrich the data models with specific semantics e.g. for UI, draft, analytics, search, actions and events. It’s also enabling the S/4HANA APIs


• Leverage HANA optimally in most relevant scenarios


• Enable and standardize esp. zero downtime, verticalization, extensibility, access control (based on ABAP authority objects)


• Integrate into ABAP programming model and improve development productivity


• Exposure of ABAP CDS models and data to SAP Cloud Platform e.g. for Business Objects Cloud and extension apps

The following picture shows the as in-app extensibility use cases.

I1 UI Adaptation

• Add new field, hide field, change label, …) for UIs w/ smart controls (smart filter, table, form)

I2 Custom Fields

• Add custom field to database, application, CDS, and OData

I3 Custom Analytics/Forms

• Custom analytical queries, custom CDS views, tile/role extensibility for custom queries


• Expose analytical views as OData service for side-by-side extensibility


• Custom forms (Adobe print forms and e-mail templates)

I4 Custom Business Logic

• Custom enhancement implementation with restricted ABAP

I5 Custom Business Objects

• Custom tables, custom business objects w/ OData, (default) UI, and determinations/validations


• Expose business object as OData service for side-by-side extensibility

I6 Custom Fiori Uis

• Custom Fiori UI, build with SAP Web IDE, and deployed into the ABAP UI5 repository with SAP pre-defined released OData service or custom OData Service

The use cases are supported for S/4HANA (on premise) and for S/4HANA Cloud (apart from I6). Details on these use cases can be found in my blog: The Key User Extensibility Tools of S/4 HANA.

The following picture I am adding the side-by-side extensibility use cases:

S1: Custom UI on SAP Cloud Platform

• Custom Fiori UI, build with SAP Web IDE, running on SAP Cloud Platform with SAP or custom OData service


• Use UI5 technology, UI5 templates, editors, testing capabilities


• Build UI applications with offline support.


• Deploy to your SAP Cloud Platform account (or to SAPUI5 ABAP repository = I6)

S2: SAP Cloud Platform Application

• SAP Cloud Platform application (Java, JavaScript, ABAP) running on SAP Cloud Platform


• Benefit from open standards and from a partner ecosystem that contribute value to existing solutions and services


• Integration Scenarios, benefit from SAP prepackaged integration content as reference templates to quickly realize new business scenarios.

S3: SAP Cloud Platform Application

• SAP Cloud Platform application (same as S2) consuming SAP or custom OData service

S4: SAP Cloud Platform Service called from SAP S/4HANA Extension

S5: Analytics on SAP Cloud Platform (with data replication)

S6: Launch app from SAP Cloud Platform Service Fiori Launchpad and vice versa

S6: Event management: consume an SAP S/4HANA event on SAP Cloud Platform

You can find a selection of links that dig deeper into the different scenarios here: SAP S/4HANA Extensibility: A Learning Journey.