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March 20, 2024
5 reasons why SAP BTP is ideal for process communication
Processes and communication belong together!
The reality in companies, however, is quite different. There is a fine separation between the transactional and the communicative world. From a technological perspective, these are often SAP systems with the corresponding process applications and, on the other hand, Microsoft Teams & SharePoint, Atlassian Confluence or special providers for employee apps.
From an internal perspective, this separation is also reflected in the responsible departments/areas. Separate responsibilities within IT, separate responsibilities in the departments responsible for the processes. For many years now, it has been a major challenge to get everyone involved in a Digital Workplace project around the same table at all. This is not intended to be a blanket statement, but it does reflect reality in many cases. This separation is not really good and, in my view, not conducive to the future!
Too often, artificial walls are created here that make life difficult for users. This is evident in various usage scenarios. In everyday life, for example, users need too much access knowledge and have to perform a difficult transfer. As an employee, I have to know "where something is or should be done" and how to combine it in a meaningful way. This is similar to the assembly of a car, where the individual production components are scattered in various warehouses and have to be collected in a cumbersome and time-consuming manner before assembly. Or the media break in the process application itself. For instructions, explanations or case differentiation, it is often necessary to leave the application and look in one of the many information repositories.
So instead of separation, the aim should be to bring together enterprise processes i.e. applications with the communication and business related information and combine them in an integrated way. Communication and the related information is a very important part of business processes. You can't do it without communication.
Central access to processes and information
With the "SAP Launchpad" and "SAP Work Zone" services, SAP BTP offers two variants for establishing a central access point for users. This access is also possible from mobile devices via corresponding apps (e.g. SAP Mobile Start). Using roles and authorizations, this access is personal for all employees and tailored to the tasks in the company. My colleagues Dominik Neumann and Stefan Bohlmann looked at the advantages and disadvantages of these two services in their blog article. SAP Fiori Launchpad or SAP Work Zone: The central entry point for all users (vantaio.com)
Harmonious surface experience
SAP Fiori, and in particular the new "Horizon" look of the SAP interfaces, creates a harmonious design image for users. The most important aspect here is that the actual systems move into the background and become "invisible. The focus is on the service and its functionality and practicability in everyday life. The heterogeneous SAP processes merge, so to speak, into a common interface. Now it is only logical to seamlessly integrate a communication layer: Everything under one roof, with a uniform look & feel.
Integration instead of demarcation
Instead of separation or silo thinking, SAP BTP thrives on integration. Regardless of whether data from other systems is to be integrated into applications or data is to be made available externally for other systems. Companies can build very well on their existing IT landscape, even if the required data is located in non-SAP systems.
Start small
Thanks to its modular approach, SAP BTP is outstandingly scalable. Scalable in this context means a quick start with manageable and controllable scenarios that are gradually expanded. But scalable also means, in particular, suitability for smaller or medium-sized companies. Especially for an evaluation of the platform (e.g. a proof of concept), the so-called free tier services of SAP BTP are ideal for testing. As a platform in the cloud, the necessary entry requirements are low and the corresponding hyperscaler such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google or Microsoft can be freely selected. If the proof of concept is successful, no productive rebuild is required; the free tier account can simply be activated into a productive system at the push of a button (only then are licenses incurred).
Special partner products for process communication
With the products News Manager and TV Display, we at VANTAiO have developed two products based on SAP BTP that are specially tailored to the use case of process communication. A typical application example is store communication for retail companies: Employees in the store business use the integrated VANTAiO SAP Retail store cockpit based on SAP BTP. Here, important process and article information is used integrated in the store applications without media discontinuity. Furthermore, there is only one information and communication channel from the head office to the store.
In addition to this example, the possible applications are very diverse. The classic "news" understanding in the company is generally outdated. Employees perceive much more than just "news" as relevant messages, e.g. important process messages or news from application systems that are useful for their daily work. The expectations of employees regarding the provision of information have increased significantly: People want notifications with higher frequency and better quality - tailored to their personal needs!
The News Manager uses intelligent interfaces to "tap" into business-relevant information sources and application systems and generate messages fully automatically! With this system you gain not only a fast and official communication channel for management and departments to the employees*, but a highly innovative tool for more transparency in the company.
For more information about our partner products for SAP BTP, click here:
Do you have any questions?
Feel free to contact me.
Do you still have questions about this blog entry or about SAP BTP? I will be happy to answer your questions or concerns personally.
Markus Marenbach
Managing Director
T +49 6131 – 622280
