Companies have heavily invested in SAP (System Analysis Program Development) solutions like the SAP HANA (S/4HANA) enterprise resource planning software (ERP). But these systems require customizations and extensions to meet the rapidly evolving demands of businesses and developers.
Customizing core systems can unleash a host of technical problems like lockouts and complications during and after system upgrades. And these difficulties might affect your customers’ software if they link with your systems.
Today, developers can maintain stable systems while continuing to innovate if they use Mendix to add customizations and extensions to SAP solutions like HANA. This allows for seamless updates and upgrades and circumvents the problems that arise after altering core systems.
Benefits and Limitations of the SAP Cloud Platform
The SAP Cloud Platform is SAP’s answer to HANA’s customization troubles. The company advises customers to use its cloud platform with SAP HANA (and other SAP solutions) for in-app development and creating extensions. This lets you customize without altering the core system.
Its primary use is developing and deploying custom web applications, but it also offers additional services like:
- Storing and backing up data
- Creating information databases
- Reporting services
- Transaction layers
The SCP integrates with other SAP applications, third-party apps, and internal systems, making it an appealing option for multi-platform software development. As with most cloud-based systems, SAP manages the entire platform infrastructure, including hardware servers, component upgrades, maintenance costs, and the system lifecycle.
However, the SAP Cloud Platform has some notable limitations.
It’s a far-from-perfect solution for keeping a clean core and pulling off efficient customizations. Developers are increasingly aware that the SAP Cloud Platform doesn’t adequately meet this challenge, as it doesn’t provide the proper interfaces and makes integrations more difficult.
The SCP can’t provide the seamless customization and extension services its enterprise customers require without expanded and efficient capabilities.
The Low Code Solution for Customizations and Agility
Low-code development bridges the gap between the SAP Cloud Platform and SAP HANA. The Siemens Mendix solution gives you the best of both worlds—a clean core system and the expanded SAP S/4HANA capabilities you require.
This solution brings the benefits of Low-Code to HANA enhancements, allowing you to create and improve web or mobile apps quickly, even for intelligent enterprises. And you also profit from Low-Code’s trademark features such as:
- drastic reduction in time-consuming manual coding
- option to use citizen developers (with limited manual coding knowledge)
- using a visual framework to optimize code readability and reduce maintenance time
Using Siemens Mendix for SAP HANA customizations decreases time-to-market while using fewer resources, which most companies aim to achieve.
The Mendix Rapid Application Development (RAD) Platform
SAP has partnered with Mendix to offer an official SAP Solution Extension known as the Rapid Application Development (RAD) platform. RAD utilizes HANA’s in-memory database capabilities, unlimited scalability, and advanced analytics, making it the preferred development platform for SAP solutions. The RAD platform helps your company stay proactive and prevent complex technical debt that can accumulate on your extension platform with traditional app development.
In short, RAD provides the answer to all your SAP solution customization woes.
What’s more, SAP has adopted the Mendix Low-Code Platform as its own rapid application development platform. It extends SAP solutions like S/4 HANA, offering the flexibility and robust capabilities you need to get the most out of your investment. Mendix is the only Low-Code development platform that runs natively on the SAP HANA platform (via SAP guaranteed integration), allowing you to flawlessly customize and add extensions to HANA without mucking up your core system.
In addition to building new enhancements through the RAD platform, you can also evaluate and decouple customizations from the core system and migrate them to the extension platform. This declutters your core application, making updates and upgrades problem-free and seamless.
If you want a lean, agile platform without compromising critical customizations, contact Tresbu Digital to access our business engineers and IT support. Our experts can help you safely implement an extension platform and customizations for SAP HANA.
