ASCII.jp Everything to connect the world - Why SAP commits to low-code/no-code

In February 2021, exactly one year ago, SAP announced that it had acquired Helsinki, Finland-based low-code/no-code development tools startup AppGyver. . Speaking of "AppGyver Composer", among many low-code / no-code development tools, it has a simple interface that can be developed just by dragging and dropping, multi-platform support, and it is attractive that it can be used almost forever for individuals / small and medium enterprises free of charge. It is a development platform that has many users around the world because it has unique features.

Even after becoming a member of the SAP family, we continue to provide a semi-permanent free tier (free usage tier) for individual developers / small and medium enterprises, and it is popular as a low-code / no-code tool. still expensive. AppGyver's top page says, "You will never go back to coding. Seriously."

The message "You will never go back to coding. Seriously." posted at the top of the AppGyver site (https://www.appgyver.com/). Full of confidence as a pioneer and top player in the no-code platform

SAP announced at the developer conference "SAP TechEd 2021" held in November 2021 that this AppGyver will be integrated into SAP's integrated business technology platform "SAP Commerce Technology Platform (SAP BTP)". SAP BTP users can now use AppGyver's low-code/no-code functionality as a cloud service.

Five major topics presented by Müller CTO in his keynote at SAP TechEd 2021. Low-code/no-code is a field that SAP is also very focused on, such as providing free learning opportunities in addition to tool integration.

We have been providing process automation tools that can be created with no code such as "SAP Ruum" and browser-based integrated development environment "SAP Business Application Studio (BAS)" that incorporates a low-code/no-code approach. However, the integration of AppGyver, which is popular among individual developers, is attracting attention as a move to significantly raise the level of commitment to SAP's low-code/no-code.

Notice that the first topics at the tech conference TechEd were "Purpose" and "Sustainability". ``SAP's technology exists to improve the world and people's lives,'' the chief technology officer said

SAP no-code/low-code main portfolio. There is AppGyver for front application development, SAP BAS for integrated development environment, SAP Process Automation for RPA/workflow development, and "SAP Conversational AI" for chatbot development.

What does the integration of AppGyver into BTP bring to SAP? In this article, based on an interview with Mr. Shinichi Oda, Vice President of SAP Japan, Industry & Customer Advisory Division, General Manager of the Division, look at the world view that SAP is trying to obtain by committing to low-code / no-code. want to go.

Mr. Shinichi Oda, Vice President, SAP Japan, General Manager, Industry & Customer Advisory Division

Five topics presented at TechEd have one direction

Before touching on AppGyver and SAP's low-code/no-code strategy, Mr. Oda presented at SAP TechEd 2021 From the content, we list five particularly important topics.

・Free learning site for application development including low-code/no-code “SAP Learning” (https://learning.sap.com/) ・SAP BTP free frame model “SAP HANA Cloud” “SAP Integration Suite”・Integrate AppGyver and SAP BAS into SAP BTP and strengthen low-code/no-code functions in application development ・In SAP S/4HANA Cloud, implement business add-in (SAP BAdI) by ABAP Provides a highly scalable and flexible ABAP environment, including direct access to APIs ・Provides "SAP BW Bridge" that transparently migrates data from on-premises "SAP Business Warehouse" to "SAP Data Warehouse Cloud" (2022) (Scheduled to be available in the first half of the year)

The contents of these presentations are not independent themes. Juergen Mueller, SAP's CTO, who hosted the event at TechEd, said, "These technology implementations are part of SAP's purpose. We will continue to support it) and the most important component in promoting sustainability,” he said in his keynote speech.

TechEd is a community event for SAP developers, as its name suggests. Different orientation. However, this time, Mr. Muller, as the chief executive officer of technology, first stated that ``SAP's technical implementation will evolve with purpose and sustainability as the two wheels'', and the same recognition was given to SAP developers. It can be seen that there is a purpose to share.

"Low-code/no-code to promote SAP's shift to the cloud"

Then, in order to realize SAP's purpose and promote sustainability, low-code/no-code centered on AppGyver's BTP integration. What role do code enhancements play? First of all, Mr. Oda cites "overwhelming shortage of IT human resources" as the background to the growing need for low-code/no-code.

"Since the pandemic began, the need for digitization has increased in all companies around the world, but on the other hand, there is an overwhelming shortage of IT human resources who can handle it, and human resource development is not in time. If business users can create simple business applications and prototypes by themselves without relying on the IT department, business productivity will greatly improve.The low-code/no-code trend is driving the need for digitization. and the overwhelming shortage of IT human resources, which are two conflicting factors.” (Mr. Oda)

The situation of shortage of IT human resources is more serious in the development of SAP systems. In January 2021, SAP announced "RISE with SAP", a service with SAP S/4HANA Cloud as its core, and has clearly set out the direction of cloud shift, and S/4HANA Cloud is also available for on-premises ERP users. strongly supports the transition to However, it is not easy to migrate existing huge on-premise assets to the cloud, and as Mr. Oda points out, there is an overwhelming shortage of IT human resources (SAP human resources) in contrast to the size of the needs. is the current situation.

"The development of human resources with specialized IT skills is a very important issue, and the reason why this announcement includes the provision of free learning opportunities and the expansion of free tiers is that support. However, it takes time to develop human resources.In the meantime, if business users can act as "Citizen Developers" and create applications that extract and visualize business data from SAP systems, for example, business efficiency will increase. It can be said that SAP's low-code/no-code approach is an approach that promotes SAP's shift to the cloud and makes it easier for business users to use SAP systems on their own." ( Mr. Oda)

Looking at the low-code/no-code announcement at TechEd again, AppGyver and SAP BAS are integrated with SAP BTP, and a no-code-like implementation of "SAP Process" is implemented by overlaying RPA on the workflow service. Automation” is also available from BTP. It should be noted that both are implemented as services provided by SAP BTP, a cloud-based integration platform.

Müller CTO describes SAP BTP as "the foundation for realizing an intelligent enterprise." It is positioned as a foundation for developing and providing various services on a one-stop basis, or more precisely, as a foundation for promoting the digitization of companies. In the future, SAP applications will basically be extended/coordinated/developed/deployed via SAP BTP, and low-code/no-code tools will follow this (*Note: S/4HANA Cloud It is also possible to write ABAP apps in it and do small updates like table updates).

Müller CTO calls SAP BTP "Foundation for the Intelligent Enterprise." Intelligent Enterprise is an enterprise IT concept with cloud ERP (S/4HANA) as the core, and BTP is positioned as an important platform supporting Intelligent Enterprise along with S/4HANA.

Aiming for a sustainable society and platform that can withstand change

"Since the pandemic began, end users have been very sensitive to the various changes occurring in the world. The same is true for digitization, and many companies have a feeling close to impatience that “something must be started immediately.” Probably, user companies have a stronger desire for digitization than IT vendors think. There is. Mr. Oda reiterates that even now, two years after the pandemic, there is still a great need for end-user digitization. The growing interest in low-code/no-code is also based on the fact that "just asking the IT department (for site construction, application development, etc.) and waiting will not meet the latest business needs."

However, even if end-users approach the theme of business digitization alone, there are not many effects that can be obtained. Mr. Oda says, "SAP believes that it will be difficult to succeed in digitalization in the true sense unless we aim to realize a sustainable society throughout the supply chain." For example, the current shortage of semiconductors, which has a major impact on the world today, is caused by a major imbalance between supply and demand. At present, major semiconductor manufacturers/foundries have entered a system to increase production, but this alone will not solve the problem, and the entire supply chain, including the country and society, needs to work together. In order to tackle the problem throughout the supply chain, it is also essential to realize an "end-to-end connected and sustainable society" at the same time.

Sustainability is becoming a buzzword these days, but Japanese companies are gradually becoming more interested in sustainability, and have introduced tools to centrally manage actions such as monitoring CO2 emissions, using renewable energy, and reducing plastic waste. The number of places to do so is also increasing. SAP itself has started providing know-how accumulated over many years as a company practicing sustainability management (exempler), and is also active as an enabler that supports the sustainable management of user companies. However, the realization of sustainability is based on the premise that companies and society are “connected”. It can be said that the announcement at TechEd was an announcement to strengthen that connection technically.

SAP aims to realize a sustainable society under the purpose of "making the world and people's lives better". In 2022, we will promote sustainability even more strongly as an enabler that supports the sustainability management of client companies and as an exemplar that is implemented in-house.

"There is a strong demand from customers to increase connectivity between data, services, and platforms, including the need for sustainability, and SAP wants to respond to that. Low code / no code. This approach is also strongly aware of this trend, and the degree of integration with the platform has certainly increased.However, since it is cloud-based, it is architecturally sparse in order to respond flexibly to changes. We want to evolve while striking a good balance.” (Mr. Oda)

Japanese companies tend to be criticized for not only being digitized in advanced countries but also in emerging countries. I believe that the digitization of Japanese companies will progress, and that Japanese society as a whole will become more energetic." We will promote the cloud shift and digitalization of existing assets, and enhance sustainability while strengthening the connection of the entire supply chain. Efforts to low-code/no-code can be said to be an important stepping stone to achieve this big goal faster and easier.

SAP is currently consolidating applications and platforms. While architecturally loosely coupled as a cloud service, it is important to provide users with a one-stop integrated experience.