In this article, we will look into SAP Cloud Integration Suite, Cloud Integration Platform, and their capabilities. First, we will discuss the concept of cloud computing and its advantages. Second, we will have a look at SAP’s cloud integration product strategy. Third, we’ll understand the features of SAP API Business Hub and SAP Integration Suite. Additionally, we will deep dive into the features of the SAP Integration suite, such as API Management, Open Connectors, Cloud Integration, Event Mesh, and Integration Advisor.

Finally, we will discuss the pricing model of SAP Integration Suite, what to consider when migrating to CPI from PI/PO, and more details about the Event Mesh concept.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is the concept of delivering computing services and resources over the Internet. We broadly categorize computing services as applications, data, runtime, middleware, OS, virtualization, servers, storage, networking, and runtime. If one or more of these services are delivered via the Internet, we call it cloud computing.

The main advantages of cloud computing are lower cost, scalability, and performance. It has a lower cost since the hardware resources are shared without having to make an initial capital investment. It is also scalable since cloud recourses like storage and bandwidth can be easily scaled up based on organizational growing needs.

These recourses are provided by vendors on different pricing models, such as subscription-based, volume-based, or based on the number of users.

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Advantages of Cloud Computing

• Availability: You can access your solutions and services anytime from anywhere with any device. The same cannot be said for traditional computing.

• Cost-effectiveness: Cloud computing allows organizations to avoid high costs of network implementation and hardware purchases. Additionally, you only pay for what you use which reduces IT costs.

• Scalability: You can easily scale up or scale down your services and requirements in a shorter time period than traditional computing. Moreover, the scaling up can be done with minimum IT costs and capital costs for hardware purchases.

• Simplicity: Another great advantage of cloud computing is the simplicity of use. Your IT team requires less effort when it comes to system updates, upgrades, and general maintenance.

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Types of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is categorized into three different types based on the kinds of computing services provided over the Internet.

1. Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
2. Platform-as-a-service (PaaS)
3. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)

In traditional computing, organizations have to manage their own computing recourses spanning from applications and data to storage and network.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS)

SaaS Offerings from SAP

• SAP Hybris
• SAP Business One Cloud
• SAP Analytics Cloud
• Ariba
• Success Factor
• Fieldglass
• Concur

Platform-as-a-service (PaaS)

SAP Integration Suite (SAP CPI) is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaas) offered by SAP. In Integration Suite, developers can build, test, monitor, and manage integration scenarios. Since the Integration Suite platform is integration-specific, the product belongs to a subcategory of PaaS called iPaaS, which stands for integration platform-as-a-service.

Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)

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What is SAP Business Technology Platform?

Before we talk about SAP Integration Suite, we need to understand what is SAP BTP is. Because Integration Suite is part of SAP Product Suite SAP BTP.

SAP BTP, or SAP Business Technology Platform, is a comprehensive suite of integrated technology services offered by SAP. It provides businesses with a range of tools and services for application development, data management, and analytics, enabling them to build, deploy, and manage applications and solutions effectively.

Tools provided under SAP BTP falls under following catagories:

• Database Management: SAP BTP includes database solutions like SAP HANA, an in-memory database that supports real-time data processing and analytics.
• Application Development: The platform offers tools for developing custom applications, including SAP Fiori for user interface design and SAP Business Application Studio for a cloud-based development environment.
• Analytics: SAP BTP provides advanced analytics capabilities, including SAP Analytics Cloud, which integrates data visualization, planning, and predictive analytics.
• Integration: It supports seamless integration between SAP and non-SAP systems through services like SAP Integration Suite, enabling organizations to connect their applications and data across various environments.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): The platform includes services for incorporating AI and ML into applications, allowing for automation and enhanced decision-making capabilities.
• Extension and Customization: Businesses can extend and customize their existing SAP solutions using SAP BTP to better meet their specific needs.
• Data Management and Governance: SAP BTP offers tools for managing and governing data across different sources, ensuring data quality and compliance.

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SAP Integration Suite

Integration suite is the Integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaas) product coming under Integration catagory of SAP BTP. SAP Integration Suite products allow organizations to build, deploy, and monitor end-to-end integration scenarios across heterogeneous landscapes.

These are the main capabilities of SAP Integration Hub:

• Cloud Integration
• Open Connectors
• API Management
• Event Mesh
• Integration Advisor
• Trading Partner Management
• Integration Assesment (ISA-M)

SAP Cloud Integration (CI)

Moreover, CPI covers not only A2A and B2B integration scenarios but B2G (business to government) integration scenarios as well.

We can divide the features of Cloud Integration as follows:

1. Pre-built integration content
2. Vast range of connectivity options
3. Message processing
4. API-based integrations
5. Message monitoring and operation managment
6. Data storage
7. B2B integration

Pre-built Integration Packages (Out-of-the-box integrations)

SAP integration suite comes with more than 2000+ pre-built end-to-end integration scenarios. These pre-built packages can be reused in CPI with minimum configuration effort to activate integration solutions. EU VIES VAT validation is one such pre-built integration scenario SAP has provided out of the box.

Integration developers can import these pre-built artifacts, make necessary customizations, and deploy them.

Usually, you only have to import the integration artifacts and set up connectivity between the sender and the target systems to use these interfaces.

You can explore all the different standard integration artifacts provided by SAP in “integrations > Integration Flows” menu under API Business Hub.

For example, “Finance Tax Integration for Germany (UStVA)” is one such pre-built scenario provided with the standard integration flows. This integration package enables enterprises to transfer German tax-specific notifications to the authority (ELSTER).

To use this B2G integration scenario, simply import the artifact, set up the connectivity to the SAP system, configure connectivity for ELSTER and complete the configuration SAP S4 HANA system.

I have written a complete guide on how to implement CPI pre-built integration artifacts in the linked article.

Pre-built Business-to-Government Scenarios

Here is an overview of the B2G integration flows provided by SAP at the moment.

Moreover, developers can create their own integrations from scratch. When it comes to the deployment of integration scenarios, developers can choose different runtime environments. You can choose to deploy the interfaces in the SAP Cloud Integration runtime environment (runs on
an SAP BTP tenant) or SAP Process Orchestration (on-premise) runtime environment. The latter is compatible with the release of SAP Process Orchestration 7.5 SP 0 and higher.

Connectivity Options

SAP Cloud Integration has a vast set of adapters that can connect external applications and systems. The following out-of-the-box adapters are available in CPI:

• Amazon Webservices
• AMQP
• Ariba
• AS2
• ELASTER
• FTP/SFTP
• HTTP/HTTPS
• JMS
• KAFKA
• Mail
• OData
• RFC
• Process Direct
• SOAP
• Success Factor SOAP, REST and OData
• WorkDay
• Salesforce
• ServiceNow

Message Processing

Message processing is one important role of middleware.

Here are some of the main message processing and message transformation capabilities of SAP CPI.

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API Management

Key Features of SAP API Management

Open Connectors

Full Catalog of Open Connectors Provided by Integration Suite

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Event Mesh

Event Mesh aims to eliminate peer-to-peer message communication between systems and applications with the use of a central message broker and event-driven architecture. Applications and systems can interact with each other through events. Event Mesh enables the exchange of messages reliably with multiple receivers. The major advantage of the Event Mesh architecture is scalability. New message receivers can subscribe to messages and consume them securely and reliably.

On a more technical note, Event Mesh can use the following technologies as message transfer protocols:

• Advanced Messaging Queuing Protocol (AMQP) allows message orientation, queuing, routing, reliability and security.
• Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) is recommend for applications not running on cloud.
• HTTP 1.1 REST makes use of REST APIs to post and consume messages via queues and topics.

Go to SAP API Hub and then to the event subsection to explore the different events provided by SAP.

Let’s explore one such event in detail. Here we have the events of “Purchase Price Condition”. The different business events related to the Purchase Price Conditions are,

• Validity Period Changed
• Changed
• Amount Changed
• Ratio Changed
• Created
• Deleted

You can use the POST method of the event to push the event information to topics and queues for receivers (subscribers) to consume.

Here we have the POST method that will be raised when a new purchase price condition is created in SAP.

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Environments for Integration Suite

Different environments are available for you to access services of SAP CIntegration Suite.

They are,

1. NEO environment
2. Cloud Foundry environment (CF)

Going forward, we will not be able to use the NEO environment, and the CF environment should be used for future use cases. However, the NEO environment will be available for legacy purposes and the integration artifacts created on the NEO environment are compatible with the CF environment.

There are certain limitations to the CF environment as well, those limitations can be found in SAP note 2752867.

CF is publicly available, it makes use of open-source languages such as Node JS, Jaxx, etc. But you can choose to run any open-source language available, hence the CF environment is language independent.

SAP has implemented CF on SAP BTP for easy access to services.

Buildpacks and Services of CF

A container that runs an application is known as a buildpack. CF offers multiple standard buildpacks. Additionally, you can use GitHub buildpacks for CF.

CF service is a set of programs offered for different runtime environments. As an example, services such as databases, message logging, and other common services are included here.

Developers can deploy new services under the “service marketplace” of the SAP BTP cockpit.

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Cost of CPI and Integration Suite

As we discussed earlier, the Platform-as-a-Service model of Integration Suite allows enterprises to pay based on the use.

There are three main pricing models for Integration Suite:

1. Pay-As-You-Go for SAP BTP pricing
2. Cloud Platform Enterprise Agreement (CPEA)
3. Subscription-based-pricing

You can calculate the cost of different usage options in Integration Suite price calculator.

If you are still evaluating middleware options and want to have a more detailed look at the options of Integration Suite and Integration Suite, you can create a trial license. The Trial license is free to use for 30 days.

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Migrating from SAP PI/PO to Integration Suite

With the introduction of Integration Suite, enterprises with existing SAP PI/PO installations have to re-evaluate the future architecture of their integrated landscape.

Here are some of the key points to consider when it comes to future use cases of PI/PO and Integration Suite.

Should they continue to use PI/PO for new cloud integrations or should they use Integration Suite instead? If they are using both PI/PO and Integration Suite, what are the use cases of both? How to model future cloud-based integration and on-premise integration scenarios? What is the cost of migrating PI/PO integration scenarios to Integration Suite? The cost of Integration Suite license?

Advantages of Migrating to Integration Suite

• Support ending for SAP PI/PO
• Cloud integration capabilities of Integration Suite
• Message-volume-based licensing model
• Trouble-free maintenance

Challenges when migrating to Integration Suite

• Lack of SAP Integration Suite experts
• Limited on-premise integration features on Integration Suite
• Complexity of migrating exisiting integration flows from PI/PO to Integration Suite
• Region restrictions when it comes to exchanging data across Internet

Together with the INT4 team, we have written a comprehensive guide on what to consider when migrating to Integration Suite, as well as a detailed description of the advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, you will find the lessons learned from our system migration projects in the same article.

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To conclude, we looked at the concept of cloud computing concepts: SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. Then we looked into SAP product strategy that addresses the integration needs of heterogeneous landscapes. Next, we took a deep dive into SAP API business hub and SAP Integration Suite. Additionally, we went through the functionalities of Integration Suite, such as cloud integration, API management, open-connectors, and Event Mesh.

We also found out the use cases and features of NEO and CF environments.

Finally, we talked about the license model of Integration Suite and migrating to Integration Suite from SAP PI/PO.

If you enjoyed the article, please leave a comment below on the topics we discussed.