SAP BTP:
The Business Technology Platform
How fast companies can react to market changes depends largely on the flexibility of their IT systems: The SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform) allows processes to be digitalized across system boundaries and combines applications with data in a single environment. It is an innovation platform optimized for SAP applications in the cloud and forms the ideal basis for digital transformation.
What is SAP BTP?
Empower your company to be agile and flexible. With a platform that seamlessly integrates systems – whether in the cloud or on-premise: SAP BTP enables you to merge data from different sources, develop cloud-based apps, automate processes and integrate systems. It offers analysis options and access to technologies such as artificial intelligence.
SAP BTP provides tools, applications and extensions to quickly expand and connect systems. And all without high implementation costs. This also makes the solution interesting for medium-sized companies – the smart way to an intelligent company.
Why do you need SAP BTP?
The answer is simple: You can optimize your business processes with SAP BTP. Boost your company’s performance and take an essential step towards digitalization. Some important reasons for using SAP BTP include:
- Effective utilization of business data
- Process automation
- Customized application development
The benefits of the SAP Business Technology Platform
Various integration options
Enables the integration of various company systems and data sources.
Fostering innovation
Promotes innovation as companies can quickly create and deploy their own apps.
Real-time data analysis
Analysis tools and services help companies gain insights from their data in real time.
Cost efficiency
Low operating costs through cloud-based services.
Compliance
Facilitates compliance as SAP BTP helps to comply with industry and legal regulations.
Which role does SAP BTP take on for the Digital Core?
BTP is SAP’s Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and the technological foundation for an intelligent, sustainable company. With the innovation platform optimized for SAP applications in the cloud, companies can expand and adapt their standard processes in the Digital Core, both on the basis of SAP S/4HANA and ECC 6.0. This gives them the opportunity to implement innovations rapidly and with great flexibility, meet individual requirements and achieve competitive advantages.
Companies can gradually create their own customized system from different applications and services. This approach makes it possible to implement the “keep the core clean” principle in their own IT and to develop extensions outside the ERP system. This simplifies the maintenance of the ERP system – there is no risk of unwanted influence on the surrounding applications.
What functions does SAP BTP offer?
An integrated offering makes it possible to expand the system landscape with SAP BTP solutions in a modular and needs-based manner – without any need to install additional technical tools. This turns it into a very flexible and cost-effective solution.
It is compatible both for pure cloud landscapes and in hybrid form with on-premise landscapes. Even those who have not yet migrated to SAP S/4HANA can use the services and applications. All applications developed on SAP BTP are retained during a migration. The major hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Platform are available as cloud infrastructure. SAP BTP’s integrated offering with on-premise and cloud-native technologies as well as services comprises five technology portfolios in a standardized environment:
Expand systems quickly
Getting ideas to market quickly is a real competitive advantage in the short-lived business world. With SAP BTP solutions, applications can be developed and deployed in less time than ever before.
The special feature: Application development takes place outside the ERP system without affecting the core processes –according to the “keep the core clean” principle. This significantly reduces the effort required for updates and automatic tests. With SAP Build, a low-code solution, and the SAP Build Apps functionality, app development is quick and convenient.
SAP Build Work Zone gives users access to all relevant applications, processes, and information – not only on desktops, but also on mobile devices.
Automating processes
Numerous preconfigured workflow solutions also make it easier to automate processes throughout the company. Employees still spend a lot of time on manual, repetitive tasks on the computer, such as data entry. This is where SAP Build Process Automation comes into play with the SAP Intelligent Robotic Process function.
Central integration basis
SAP BTP is characterized in particular by its integration capability. With preconfigured integration packages, companies can merge their business applications and processes distributed across SAP Cloud and on-premise relatively easily and quickly.
The central solution for this is the SAP Integration Suite: It enables the integration of both SAP and non-SAP systems, as well as the integration of digital processes from business partners and public administration into an overall system landscape.
Process and analyze data effectively
The correct handling of data is a decisive criterion for business success and sustainable growth. SAP BTP enables efficient data management with tools such as SAP Datasphere.
The software-as-a-service solution integrates data from different source systems and offers tools for data modelling – even in real time. This provides access to all data in hybrid and cloud environments, regardless of where the data is stored.
Advanced analysis and planning solutions such as SAP Analytics Cloud are crucial for maximizing the use of data. They give companies deep insights into their processes and help to forecast future developments – an important basis for well-founded decisions.
The next level for companies
The SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) offers the opportunity to connect intelligent technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). AI is playing an increasingly important role for companies and is taking them to a whole new level: They can redesign and automate processes or enter new business areas.
In addition to SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation, SAP Document Information Extraction, which can be used to automate the processing of incoming invoices, payment advice notes and customer orders, is particularly worth mentioning.
Examples from application development that we implement successfully:
SAP Integration Suite for lean processes
Are you using too many applications from different providers? This is where the SAP Integration Suite, an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), comes in. It can be used to integrate on-premise and cloud applications and seamlessly connect data, processes and solutions from SAP or non-SAP sources to an existing system landscape. This is especially quick thanks to numerous preconfigured integration templates, out-of-the-box functions that integrate non-SAP services and applications, numerous API interfaces and business events.
Anyone running the on-premise middleware SAP Process Integration (SAP PI) or SAP Process Orchestration (SAP PO) should move it to the cloud and migrate to the SAP Integration Suite. Migrating early will prove to be significantly more cost-effective, especially as the services for the maintenance of SAP PI and SAP PO expire at the end of 2027 and the extended maintenance at the end of 2030. The SAP Integration Suite offers a variety of partner solutions for regression tests and tools for testing migration scenarios.
The SAP Integration Suite streamlines processes, increases efficiency and improves the user experience, which can significantly increase profitability.
Develop and automate applications with SAP Build
SAP Build can be used to optimize numerous business areas such as finance, procurement and human resources. The low-code solution is used to develop and automate business applications. These applications are available to all employees via a central access point, the SAP Work Zone. The SAP Build program package covers three topics: automating processes, developing apps and creating company websites.
SAP Build Process Automation offers intuitive functions that enable developers and employees in specialist departments to customize, improve and renew workflow processes while automating manual tasks with visual drag-and-drop tools.
The solution achieves this through comprehensive robotic process automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Companies can hardly react faster to changing business requirements.
Create apps without conventional programming – SAP Build Apps enables this via drag-and-drop. The apps can be connected to data sources and provided on SAP BTP. In terms of functionality, the apps do not come close to customized developments, but are suitable for simple business use cases.
All important information at a glance: With SAP Build Work Zone, users can create company websites in a quick and simple way that bundle important apps, workflows and documents on one topic. Employees can access them easily from any device, including smartphones and tablets.
Our approach with SAP BTP
What problem would you like to solve? SAP BTP is a flexible modular system that offers services and solutions for a wide range of requirements. These can also be customized to meet individual customer requirements. We help you find suitable solutions and adjust them to your needs so that you can use SAP BTP to your advantage.
Regardless of whether you want to continue operating your existing on-premise SAP ECC landscape or switch directly to SAP S/4HANA – you can use SAP BTP solutions in both cases. All without high implementation costs. Applications developed on SAP BTP are also retained when moving to SAP S/4HANA. We will thoroughly analyze your initial situation and show you the best way to proceed.
First steps with SAP BTP
If you are interested in using SAP BTP in your company, you should consider a few points:
First, you should be clear about which business processes you want to optimize and which goals you want to achieve.
Then you should familiarize yourself with the functions and services of SAP BTP.
It is also necessary to define a suitable strategy for implementing the platform in your organization.
If you are wondering whether the use of SAP BTP could be helpful for you, please contact us. Our experienced team of experts will be glad to advise you.
We will be glad to help.
Are you interested in individual SAP BTP solutions, or do you want to know how you can use the platform to make yourself ready for the future? Get in touch with us!
