Offline Capabilities and Best Approach for Mobile App Development (BTP SDK vs MDK)?

[DavidAvila]

Hi experts,

We are developing a mobile application to simplify work order management for field maintenance teams. Due to network limitations in the areas where tasks are performed, the application needs to work offline. This means that time and material reporting must be sent to S/4HANA regardless of connectivity. As a result, whenever a technician updates information in the application, the data must be stored locally and later synchronized using the standard APIs from S/4HANA Asset Management.

After doing some research, we understand that there are two possible approaches:

1. Build the application using Android Studio with the SAP BTP SDK for Android and SAP Mobile Services Cockpit.

2. Build the application using SAP Mobile Development Kit (MDK) and SAP Mobile Services Cockpit.

As far as we can tell, both options support offline capabilities. However, we would like to know which option would be more suitable for our specific use case. We are particularly unsure whether both approaches fully support offline consumption of OData APIs from S/4HANA.

Thank you in advance for your guidance.

Best regards.

[Jitendra_Kansal]

@DavidAvila 

The solution you're looking to develop closely resembles an existing offering from SAPSAP Service & Asset Manager (SSAM). I would recommend evaluating this application to see if this meets your requirements. SSAM app is built using the on the Mobile Development Kit (MDK).

SAP provides various front-end developments options for mobile applications through SAP Mobile Services, including: MDK, SAP BTP SDK for Android, and SAP BTP SDK for iOS. The choice between them often depends on your team's technical skillset and specific business needs. See some note around this here.

All of these SDKs support offline capabilities, which is essential for your use case involving field operations in areas with limited connectivity.  You can find out the details in this help documentation.

[Dinu]

The standard SAP mobile application SAP Service and Asset Manager uses MDK in client and MAF in the server.