All about the new product SAP Work Zone – FAQs

Companies must invest in the "digital workplace" due to the sharp rise in the proportion of remote and home office activities. From the user's point of view, various "services" must be combined under one roof or integrated in a meaningful way in accordance with the required use cases. SAP Work Zone provides an optimal basis for this. In addition to many own direct services such as collaboration and application integration, many third-party systems can also be integrated via interfaces.

Since some of the SAP license models are very customer-specific, we would like to refer you to your sales contact at SAP. The pricing also depends on which technological services of the SAP Cloud Platform are used and whether a subscription-based or volume-based billing model is desired.

There are many SAP portal solutions that have lived up to this requirement, but also SAP portals that have not turned out well or that have been little integrated or have existed simply as “only SAP solutions”. Basically, we are very optimistic because the SAP Cloud Platform is an excellent integration platform. SAP is currently doing a lot right with Work Zone by splitting the whole thing up into so-called sub-/micro-services and not trying to pack the whole thing into a single product, but developing a suite product from it. Portal/Work Zone projects are very complex and you are not alone in the world, so the subject of integration is essential (Confluence, Teams, etc.). But the corresponding mechanisms are provided on the SAP Cloud Platform.

Yes, SAP Work Zone is the ideal complement to SuccessFactors. At the end of 2020 there will be a version of Work Zone geared towards SuccessFactors. Special business content especially for SuccessFactors is also delivered. In interaction with SuccessFactors, an integrated HR portal can be built based on SAP Work Zone, i.e. HR information & rules, HR processes & applications as well as HR collaboration & communities.

It is planned that SAP systems such as S/4, Cloud for Customer or SuccessFactors will be connected directly via UI Integration Card and visualize content from these systems in the form of widgets. Furthermore, a data-side connection to SAP systems is of course possible via a cloud connector. The SAP Jam API interfaces can also be expanded.

The DeepLink capability is planned, but will only take place step by step, as changes are sometimes required in the respective integrated applications.

VANTAiO is also considering offering a special theme/package for SAP Work Zone which, for example, again offers a right context column for the content. Otherwise, SAP Work Zone already includes many approaches like the VANTAiO Workframe so that a transition from the on-premise to the SAP cloud world can be carried out.

In terms of content, SAP Work Zone is the corresponding successor product of SAP in the cloud from the product vision/target direction. Technically and in terms of detail features, the two products have no common basis, so SAP will not have a technical upgrade path from EP to SAP Work Zone. Technically, it is about setting up a new system including the corresponding configuration and a manual or partially automated data filling.

There is a linkage or connection between SAP Jam and the Solution Manager. This will continue to be supported via SAP Work Zone. The use case consists of being able to generate a ticket in the Solution Manager directly from a contribution within a workstream/workspace.

Many of the approaches known from SAP Jam have been adopted for SAP Work Zone, but some of them have also been extended or modified specifically in the areas of integration. The functions known from SAP Jam are still available in the SAP Work Zone. Only in the case of individual functions such as messages, it will be checked to what extent functions are only integrated in the overall context of the "Digital Workplace", for example via Microsoft Teams. It should be noted that SAP Work Zone is not the official successor product of SAP Jam, but an extended suite product consisting of several services.

Yes, non-SAP workflows can also be offered and/or created via the workflow service of the SAP Cloud Platform.

That depends very much on what operating costs need to be calculated for the SAP Enterprise Portal. As a rule, these costs are made up of the so-called hosting costs at a provider (or possibly via internal accounting with the IT department) as well as personnel investments in administration (security, system patches, role maintenance, etc.). A monthly subscription fee is required to use SAP Work Zone or related services of the SAP Cloud Platform. However, there are no traditional hosting costs. Usually, the personnel administration costs also drop significantly, since updates or system patches are guaranteed by the Platform as a Service (PaaS) approach by SAP as the provider.

The existing integrations via SAP Jam i.e. Open Social Gadgets can still be used. However, Work Zone follows the concept of UI Integration Cards and such cards will be delivered in the future as "Business Content".

SAP Work Zone offers a wide variety of integration options. If the system to be integrated does not have any restrictions (e.g. limited functionality in an iFrame) and supports the industry standards for single sign-on, integration should not be a challenge.

Links/jumps to other applications are possible without restriction. The integration capability is basically possible for all web applications that support integration via iFrame.

Links/jumps to other applications are possible without restriction. The integration capability is basically possible for all web applications that support integration via iFrame.

The SAP Cloud Platform Identity Authentication Service basically supports the connection of multiple identity providers. There are several options for single sign-on to the backend systems. A standard via the SAP Cloud Connector is e.g. the functionality of principal propagation via x.509 certificate.

No, not at the moment. We are happy to give interested customers an individual insight into the beta environment we have already set up.

No, not at the moment. We are happy to give interested customers an individual insight into the beta environment we have already set up.

This is currently not possible. The versions are numbered automatically. In some cases (for example with documents) it is possible to record change information and thus to identify the difference to the previous version.

For SAP Jam customers, there is a technical upgrade path from SAP Jam to SAP Work Zone. The commercial details are to be discussed with your SAP account management.

Central and aggregated system access to a wide variety of systems is the central integration approach of SAP Work Zone.

SAP Work Zone runs on the SAP Cloud Platform (Multi-Cloud), which can also be operated on AWS, MS Azure and the Google Cloud Platform.

The Central Launchpad is currently already available, but is still being expanded successively. The ability to be filled by a wide variety of SAP providers is currently still being complemented.

SAP Work Zone currently has around 25 standard widgets that can be generally used on pages such as images, text, multimedia elements, banners, authors, presentations or external content. In the future, widgets will also be provided as finished business content from other SAP systems/products. In the area SuccessFactors, these are, for example, widgets such as My OrgChart, My Leave Requests etc.)

The SAP Cloud Platform itself naturally has authentication services, which can then be linked against the corresponding Microsoft Active Directory. No Work Zone specifics, but depends on the platform functionality (provision via Platform Services). You have the option to manage the users completely yourself or to configure other identity providers to make users available to carry out the authentication process.

For these modules, SAP will offer integration content for SAP Work Zone in the future. The GA for SWZ for HR is planned for November 20, along with the November SuccessFactors release and the SuccessFactors homepage. In this context, SuccessFactors also plans to deliver HR content. The plan is that further areas will follow in the next year, depending on customer feedback and coordination with LoBs or industries. The focus is, for example, on C/4HANA Service and Integrated Business Planning (IBP, SCM).

Since the SAP Jam functionalities are (technically) taken over in the SAP Work Zone and basically continued, there is a supported (technical) upgrade path for SAP Jam customers from SAP. The first step, for example, is a technical upgrade to upgrade the previous system, including the content/workspaces, to the new SAP Work Zone basis. New functionalities can then be activated and configured on this basis.

The migration paths part could not be dealt with due to lack of time, but can be checked in the presentation on Charts 39/40.

SAP Work Zone and the SAP Launchpad contained therein are very integrative systems and the data/services can come from the SAP Cloud, SAP on-premise and/or non-SAP systems.

SAP Work Zone is a fee-based suite product that contains various other SAP CP services. See SAP Work Zone Architecture slide 17 from the webinar.

A theme (colors, font, logo, etc.) for the SAP Cloud Platform and the applications/services running there can be created centrally via the Motive Manager.

Yes, access from private computers and private mobile devices is possible.

If this question refers to cross-source workflows, i.e. in particular administrative processes that read/write in several SAP systems, this is possible. A brief discussion would be required to answer the question more precisely.

No Confluence integration was shown/discussed in the webinar. There are various options for a Confluence integration (e.g. using custom integration cards or the SAP service "Open Connectors")

The user data from SAP Work Zone is fed from the SAP Cloud Platform Identity Authentication Service. The application authorizations are basically determined by the backend. If, for example, the same identity provider is connected to the respective backend system, groups/roles can be used jointly.

The apps to be integrated do not have to run on the SAP Cloud Platform; on-premise apps can also be integrated via the SAP Cloud Connector.

You can integrate SAP Work Zone with Microsoft Teams quickly and easily (for this you need to perform only a few steps as an administrator). With the standard integration it is possible to access content that you have created in your SAP Work Zone workspace and share it with different teams in Microsoft Teams.

Feel free to contact us, we will advise you in detail about the possibilities of integration scenarios when using the products SAP Work Zone and Microsoft Teams or even Microsoft SharePoint.

Yes there is. This tool is now called SAP Conversational AI. This can be integrated into the Work Zone, but must be licensed separately.

Both variants are supported or are possible.

The application integration is very extensive. You can integrate SAP applications (cloud and on-premise), other cloud players, SAP Dynpro, SAPUI5, etc. into the work area either via the Launchpad or Integration Cards. The integration is very flexible and works mobile via the app.

SAP Work Zone is only supported on the so-called MultiCloud variant of the SAP Cloud Platform. Provision on the current Neo variant of the SCP is no longer planned. There will also be no on-premise variant of SAP Work Zone. The Fiori Launchpad becomes an integral part of the SAP Work Zone for central call up/starting of applications. It will also be possible to launch applications from content pages via a special "Launch Widget". This launch widget then only contains a selected number of tiles from the complete application catalog. The UWL (Universal Work List) is replaced by the so-called One Inbox based on the SAP Cloud Platform and then integrated into the SAP Work Zone.

SAP Work Zone would be set up as a higher-level, integrative entry point for the Digital Workplace. In terms of content, the SAP Work Zone work areas are comparable to Atlassian, whereby Atlassian Confluence is set up as a wiki solution.

That depends on the individual scenario. Coexistence is possible thanks to the integrative approach of SAP Work Zone. However, ServiceNow is very much "workflow-oriented" while SAP Work Zone takes a completely comprehensive approach. In the future, however, there will be greater overlaps, for example through combination solutions from SuccessFactors, Work Zone and Cloud Platform Workflow, and ServiceNow will no longer be necessary.

SAP Work Zone does not compete with the SAP (Fiori) Launchpad, but rather expands and complements it. The added value of SAP Work Zone compared to using the (central) Launchpad alone is described on slide 17.

SAP Work Zone is the successor product of SAP Jam and consolidates/extends the previous JAM functionality with important additional services, see SAP Work Zone architecture slide 17. For comparison with the Launchpad, see previous question.

SAP Work Zone will replace these in terms of the functionality of SAP Jam. However, SAP Work Zone is not the successor product to SAP Jam, as it pursues a significantly expanded approach. For customers, this also means "canceling" the current SAP Jam subscription and taking out a new SAP Work Zone subscription.

The SAP UI Integration Cards are not to be equated with the programming framework of SAP Fiori Elements. The SAP UI5 Integration Cards focus on integrating data from other systems/services using small, lightweight cards.

SAP Fiori Elements is a programming framework with which you can implement very powerful, data-driven applications.

Since the SAP Jam functionalities are (technically) taken over in the SAP Work Zone and basically continued, there is a supported (technical) upgrade path for SAP Jam customers from SAP. The first step, for example, is a technical upgrade to upgrade the previous system, including the content/workspaces, to the new SAP Work Zone base. New functionalities can then be activated and configured on this base. At the moment (as of July 2020) detailed functions (messages, alias users, external users) are not yet supported by SAP Jam in SAP Work Zone. But it is planned that these will be delivered later.