SAP Composable ERP and Low-Code: The Winning Combination for Agile Evolution

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This article explores how SAP S/4HANA’s modular architecture and the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) can be enhanced by Mendix, a low-code solution certified by SAP.

In today’s fast-paced market, uncertainty is constant, prompting the need for more dynamic and adaptable systems. The concept of?Composable ERP—a modular and flexible architecture that allows businesses to reconfigure processes and solutions on demand— emerged from this need.

Gartner clarified the concept in 2020, defining composable business as "architecting for real-time adaptability and resilience in the face of uncertainty." This modular approach enables companies to rapidly adjust their systems while maintaining flexibility and agility.

This adaptability links?Composable ERP?to the MACH architecture (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless), which supports the construction of scalable, modular systems ideal for resilient, dynamic businesses.

SAP as a Composable ERP

SAP actively promoted the?Composable ERP?concept with the introduction of?SAP S/4HANA, particularly in recent years with the expansion of the?SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP).

Traditionally, ERP systems like SAP were monolithic, managing all business processes in one centralized platform. This approach, while comprehensive, often proved to be inflexible, with long, expensive implementations and updates. Customizations required custom code, leading to scalability challenges and increased complexity for future updates and maintenance.

The?Composable ERP?model allows businesses to break their infrastructure into reusable modules that integrate seamlessly with external applications and services. This modularity supports independent updates or replacements without disrupting the entire system.

The key is to "keep your core clean"—a core principle in SAP’s composable ERP philosophy, encouraging companies to leverage tools like?SAP Build?to extend functionality without modifying the ERP core, simplifying maintenance and updates.

The Role of Low-Code in SAP Composable ERP

The composable approach aligns perfectly with?low-code?and?no-code?technologies, enabling companies to rapidly develop applications and automations with minimal coding.

SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)?offers a comprehensive suite of tools for building, extending, and integrating applications at scale. BTP supports low-code development through tools like?SAP Build, which allows even non-technical users to create customized applications, automate processes, and design workflows that integrate seamlessly with the existing ERP system.

While SAP Build is powerful for low-code development, it has limitations when integrating with non-SAP systems, as it is tightly coupled with the SAP ecosystem. This makes it strong for integrating SAP modules but can complicate connections with legacy or non-SAP applications, requiring additional connectors or APIs, which can increase cost and complexity.

Given the high levels of?technical debt?present in many companies, especially with legacy systems and customizations—according to McKinsey, up to?40% of IT budgets?are consumed by managing this debt—relying solely on SAP solutions may limit the flexibility required to manage an already fragmented IT infrastructure.

Mendix as the Ideal Low-Code Solution for SAP

At?WEGG, as experts in digital process transformation, we recognize the importance of flexible integrations to support business growth. We recommend?agnostic technologies?that can integrate easily with various systems and help reduce technical debt.

Our technology scouting identified?Mendix?as an ideal solution—an advanced low-code platform with robust multi-system integration capabilities. Mendix is also the only low-code provider certified as an?SAP Endorsed App?and has passed?SAP Premium Certification. This means SAP officially approves and certifies Mendix for use alongside its solutions, either as an addition to or a replacement for its low-code tools (SAP Build).

Benefits of Pairing Mendix with SAP

The benefits of integrating Mendix with SAP include:

• Custom app extensions?that maintain the core system standardized, with simple deployment on?SAP BTP?via?SAP Cloud Connector, ensuring secure on-premise application connections.
• Seamless updates?without redoing all customizations, as Mendix applications, built on cloud-native technologies, can be updated and modified independently of the ERP core.
• Easy integration?with not only SAP but also other platforms and systems, enhancing connectivity and collaboration across diverse business applications.
• Cost reduction: Since customizations are external to SAP’s core, maintenance and update costs are lower, further reducing technical debt.

Would you like to scale your SAP ERP more efficiently? Contact us at [email protected] for a consultation!

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