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HammadSharif1
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The Phases of the SAP Integration Solution Advisory Methodology                          

                           HammadSharif1_0-1736688070707.png

Below are the phases of SAP Integration solution advisory methodology,

  1. Assess your integration Strategy
  2. Design your hybrid integration platform
  3. Define Integration Best Practices
  4. Enable a Practice of Empowerment

Let's discuss them below,

1. Assess Your Integration Strategy

In order to initiate the process, the integration architects needs to analyze the to-be integration architecture landscape, in order to do that, there are three key parameters,

  • Integration Domains
  • Integration Styles
  • Integration Use Case Patterns

Integration Domains:

The integration domains refers different integration touch points in todays cloud and hybrid solution landscapes, for instance in today's hybrid landscapes, cloud system is communicating with either cloud applications or on-premise applications and vise versa, are example integration domains. Below are the currents scope of integration domains,

Integration Domain Description
Cloud2CloudIntegration of cloud-based business applications with other cloud-based business applications
Cloud2OnPremiseIntegration of cloud-based business applications with business applications that are deployed on premises
OnPremise2OnPremiseIntegration of business applications that are deployed on premises
User2CloudIntegration of cloud-based business applications with user-centric applications
User2OnPremiseIntegration of business applications that are deployed on premises with user-centric applications
Thing2CloudIntegration of cloud-based business applications with real world objects (Internet of Things)
Thing2OnPremiseIntegration of business applications that are deployed on premises with real world objects (Internet of Things)
 
 
Integration Styles:
Integration styles represents the key integration architecture types, which explains how the integration scenario should look like between the business application and the target.
Currently the ISAM includes the below 5 styles,
  • Process integration: Connects business processes across business applications and further entities.
  • Data integration: Synchronizes or accesses data across business applications and data sources.
  • Analytics integration: Exposes data from data sources to support business intelligence.
  • User integration: Integrates user-centric applications with business applications.
  • Thing integration: Integrates real-world things with business applications.
Integration Styles Decision Criteria  Process integration Data integration Analytics integration User integration Thing integration
ObjectiveChaining of business processesSynchronization of dataDeriving business insights from business applications and data sourcesOmni-channel access to back-end applicationsCapturing and processing of real-world data
Interaction typeSystem-2-systemSystem-2-systemSystem-2-userUser-2-systemThing-2-system
Coupling to applicationProcess-levelData-levelData-level / business-levelUser interface levelThing event
Primary triggerApplication eventSchedule or application eventUser eventUser eventThing event
Urgency of completion(Near) real timeBatch or near real time(Near) real time or batch(Near) real time(Near) real time or batch
Unit of data exchangeSingle objectsBulk-data or single objectsFrom aggregated to line-item dataSingle objects or bulk-dataSingle objects or bulk-data
Specific requirements
  • Transactional integrity
  • Reliable messaging
  • Message orchestration
  • B2B protocol support
  • Data orchestration
  • Complex transformations
  • Data quality management
  • Big Data processing
  • Local and remote data sources
  • Data & predictive modeling, planning
  • Data privacy & authentication
  • Data volume
  • Online / offline support
  • Device management
  • End-user management
  • Application management
  • Thing management
  • Edge intelligence
  • IoT protocol support
  • Event stream processing
 

Typically an integration architect who has a solid understanding of integration requirements across business applications performs the scoping of integration style

 
 
Integration Use Case Patterns:

Process Integration Style:
A2A Integration: Application to Application integration implement a message based exchange of transactional data.
Master Data Integration: Synchronizes the master data objects across multiple applications.
B2B Integration: Business to Business Integration exchanges electronically generated document across applications.
B2G Integration: Country specific organizations reporting and compliance with local requirements mandating the submission of electronic documents to authorities or business partners.

Data Integration Style:
Data Replication (ETL): Extract the data set and transforms under a specific schema and loads on the front end.

Data Virtualization: Creates a virtual abstraction layer as view which holds the data as a container.
Data Quality Management: Data from multiple sources consolidated at a single point through data cleansing and standardization.
Data Orchestration: A pipeline driven data integration approach for distributed processing for data across multiple and complex landscapes.

Analytics Integration Style:
Embedded Analytics: Charts and KPIs reports are embedded in a business application for both user interfaces and data.
Cross Application Analytics: Combines data from multiple data sources through a data warehouse or business intelligence solution.

User Integration Style:
UI Integration: Incorporates the user interfaces of different business applications in a single point of entry front end.
Mobile Integration: Incorporates the backend application services in a mobile application.
Chatbot Integration: Integrates the chatbots based communication through API consumption from business applications.

Thing Integration Style:
Thing to Analytics: Integrates the data from IOT devices and machines with analytical solutions.
Thing to Process: Exchanges data through triggering a physical object event(e.g. like robotic gears) within a business application.
Thing to Data Lake: Enables the collection of thing or machine data such as time series data into a data lake for predictive analysis.
Thing to Thing: Enables machine to machine communication like devices and robots transmits messages to each other via sensors.

Cross Use-Case Patterns:
API-Managed Integration: Two way secure access to business applications through usage policies and controlled access. 
Event-Driven Integration: Business events based loosely coupled asynchronous communication where an event represents a state of change in the business object.
Stream Analytics: Process streams of incoming event data in real time, collecting feedback on incoming information. 
Process Automation: Automates business processes and workflows tasks across business applications.
Digital Integration Hub: Enables APIs in business applications in large scale by inserting a high performance data store layer in between through a decoupled style.

 

2. Design Your Hybrid Integration Platform

Below are the steps in order to design the hybrid integration platform,

  • Technology Mapping
  • Integration Policies
  • Interface Assessment

1. Technology Mapping:

Technology Mapping are supposed to describe the high level building block in order to to design a Hybrid Integration Platform. For instance a integration technology requiring more than one integration technology, like a Unified Approval Application, consuming data from various sources and different middleware technologies coming in the picture.

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Use case :

For a B2B integration, companies may use a combination of B2B gateways and Enterprise Service Buses (ESBs) for exchanging documents with trading partners while also integrating with internal systems using APIs.

2. Define Your Integration Policies:

Once you have specified the scope of your hybrid integration platform through technology mapping, you can specify one or more for each technology as well, this will work as a guideline for the integration developers and help them to identify required technology for a new requirement.

- Develop a guideline of Integration policies for integration domains and styles, in order to select the right technology for various Integration scenarios, this can be general recommendations, reasonable alternatives, possible exceptions, and techniques for an organized landscape.

Use Case:

Set a policy for all new cloud native applications to use cloud based Integration tools but allow the legacy systems for on-premise solutions till there is an other alternative for them.

Download the Integration Policy Template 

3. Assess Your Interfaces:
- For each new requirement, the most suitable integration technology or the combination of technologies should be assessed as part of Interface Assessment Policy. For e.g. The integration between the SAP Success Factors with S/4 HANA, When integrating SAP SuccessFactors with SAP S/4HANA, the interface assessment would help determine whether a data replication solution or an API-based integration  is more appropriate.

    HammadSharif1_0-1736683012511.png

Use Case:

For large scale organizations transitioning towards a hybrid IT landscape, the technology mapping may align for using the SAP Analytics Cloud for business intelligence, SAP Data Intelligence for data processing, and SAP Integration Suite for API management. So these technologies would work together to facilitate integration scenarios from master data synchronization (Data Integration) to real-time transactional process integration (Process Integration), In this manner, interface assessments guides towards the integration development process while policies ensure that the best technology is used for each case.

Create a Business Solution Request and Interface Request 

 

3. Define Integration Best Practices

Below are the steps in order to define the Integration best practices,

  • Specify Your Integration Dos and Don’ts
  • Create Your Architecture Blueprints
  • Create Tailored Development Guidelines

Integration architects can derive integration standards for their organizations. This makes it possible to channel the integration demand through well-defined processes and to implement integration solutions based on company best practices. For this purpose, the SAP Integration Solution Advisory Methodology foresees best practices such as integration dos and don'ts, architecture blueprints, and integration development guidelines.

1. Specify Your Integration Dos and Don’ts
- Dos: Use integration packages to reduce development effort, prefer asynchronous messaging for better scalability, and avoid tight coupling between applications.
- Don’ts: Avoid synchronous calls unless necessary and steer clear of complex integration chains that are difficult to monitor.

Download the Integration Dos and Don’ts Template 

2. Create Your Architecture Blueprints
Develop visual blueprints to map integration technologies and their interactions with business applications, such as Cloud2OnPremise or API-managed integration. These blueprints help define the integration scope.
For example:
- A Cloud2OnPremise blueprint might detail how cloud-based applications are integrated with on-premise systems.
- An API-managed integration blueprint could show how APIs are used to facilitate communication between different systems.

The below is the architecture blueprint sample of the cross-use case pattern “digital integration
hub” for the integration domain Cloud2OnPremise.

HammadSharif1_1-1736685747555.png

Download the Integration Development Guideline Template 

3. Create Tailored Development Guidelines
Prepare specific development guidelines, such as naming conventions and best practices for error handling, that align with your organization's technology and business needs.
For example, in a project where SAP S/4HANA needs to be integrated with SAP SuccessFactors, the development guidelines could define:
- How to handle data synchronization between both systems.
- The specific integration tools and technologies to be used, such as SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI).
- The best approach for ensuring data consistency and system reliability during integration.

Use Case:
Case: Hybrid Integration Platform with SAP Integration Suite
Consider an organization implementing a hybrid integration platform using SAP Integration Suite to connect cloud-based applications like SAP SuccessFactors (for HR management) and on-premise solutions like SAP S/4HANA (for ERP). The integration scenarios involve transferring employee master data between SAP SuccessFactors and SAP S/4HANA.

- Dos:
- Use SAP Integration Suite's prebuilt connectors to simplify the integration process.
- Prefer near real-time data transfer for employee data to ensure that business processes in SAP S/4HANA are always up-to-date.
- Apply asynchronous messaging patterns for HR data synchronization to handle high volume without impacting performance.

- Don’ts:
- Avoid relying on batch processing for employee master data updates, as this can lead to delays in critical business processes.
- Do not couple the SAP SuccessFactors HR module tightly with SAP S/4HANA without clearly defined integration points, as this can complicate the maintenance of the system.

 

4. Enable a Practice of Empowerment

Below are the steps in order to Enable a Practice of Empowerment,

  • Establish the Right Organizational Structure
  • Introduce Integration Governance
  • Ensure Integration Quality Assurance

Key Tasks:
1. Establish the Right Organizational Structure: Create clear roles and responsibilities to empower decentralized teams, like an Integration Center of Excellence (CoE).
- Example: A CoE provides guidance and support for integration projects, ensuring consistency with the strategy.

2. Introduce Integration Governance: Set up frameworks to manage integration projects, ensuring compliance and consistency.
- Example: Regular audits and policies for data handling, API security, and error management.

3. Ensure Integration Quality Assurance: Implement practices like testing and performance monitoring to ensure reliable and scalable integrations.
- Example: Automated testing tools to validate data flows between SAP S/4HANA and SAP SuccessFactors.

Use Case:
In an integration scenario involving SAP S/4HANA and SAP SuccessFactors, an empowered integration team could be organized within an Integration Center of Excellence (CoE). The team would follow well-defined governance rules, including compliance with data security policies and the use of standardized APIs for communication between systems. The team would also perform regular integration testing to ensure data consistency across the systems and use tools like SAP Integration Suite for effective management of the integration lifecycle.

Download the Integration Development Guideline Template 

 

By using the SAP Integration Solution Advisory Methodology you can raise the maturity level of your Enterprise Integration Strategy from an ad hoc integration towards a systematic modular approach based on your organization standards by establishing integration as a recognized discipline that empowers the digital transformation journey. 

  HammadSharif1_0-1736691704820.png

 

References:

SAP Integration Solution Advisory Methodology | SAP Help Portal

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