Custom Extensions - via SAP Cloud Applications Studio and SAP Hana Cloud Platform

[kumarraj_moorthy]

In this blog, I have listed down the different tools that SAP provides for partners and customers to customize and extend the SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer solution. The blog focuses on extensions that are built using SAP Cloud Applications Studio and SAP HANA Cloud Platform and gives a guidance on when to use which tool.

Introduction: SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer provides a broad spectrum of flexibility for partners and customers to customize the core solution. The customization are done at different levels by different personas of the system.

End users – The business users of the SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer can personalize their screen using the rich features of the in-built Key User Tools (KUT).

Key users – The key users or Administration users can configure, adapt and extend the solution using the in-built Key users Tools (KUT) capabilities without modifying the core. These changes shall be applied to all users of the system.

IT development or Partner – The IT developers of partners and customers can extend and customize the core solution by building integrations, and developing extension solutions using SAP Cloud Applications Studio or building side-by-side extensions using SAP HANA Cloud Platform.

SAP Cloud Applications Studio:

SAP Cloud Applications Studio is a software development kit (SDK) which enables SAP partners and customers to adapt and enhance the capabilities of SAP’s Cloud solutions (SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer and SAP Business ByDesign).

Certain business scenarios of the customer would require customization which involves implementation of simple to complex business logic or coding. Such custom extension development cannot be handled using the Key user tool and hence partners and customers would require to use the SAP Cloud Applications Studio. The Studio is the development environment that provides a comprehensive set of features which allows you to develop, deploy, and test custom extension solutions that runs in the same runtime environment of that of the core cloud solution.

For more details on SAP Cloud Applications Studio refer Overview

Typical use cases of custom extensions where SAP Cloud Applications Studio is recommended.

1. Extension solutions requiring development of new UI screens and business logic that should are seamlessly integrate with the existing Cloud solution and follow the same UI patterns/style of the standard screens.
2. Customization that requires modification of existing standard screens with additional business logic.
3. Customizations that require extension of existing artifacts or creation of new artifacts (such as Business Objects, Forms, Data sources, Reports, Web services etc.) of the Cloud Solution.
4. Extension solutions that require enhancement of the existing core business process. (Business object extensions, process extension scenarios, enhancement implementations etc.)
5. Extensions that require creation of new approvals processes, and notification tasks within the cloud solution.
6. Customizations that require integration of the C4C solution to the external cloud/on-premise, SAP/3^rd Party web services using SOAP, REST protocols.

SAP HANA Cloud Platform:

SAP HANA Cloud Platform is the centerpiece of SAP’s extension strategy in the Cloud. As an open, standards-based Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) environment it provides partners with out-of-the-box capabilities to enhance the SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer scope. SAP HANA Cloud Platform makes it easier for partners to build entirely new cloud solution and enable new processes to meet their unique business needs.

The SAP HANA Cloud Platform facilitates the entire application lifecycle of SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer extensions by providing the following features for developers:

• A flexible, scalable, and highly adaptable platform
• Integration with SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer based on SOAP, REST, OData and E-Mail
• Comprehensive, built-in services to quickly create new applications or adapt existing applications into either custom or generic extension applications
• Functionality that allows for the building of feature-rich mobile and social media apps
• Access to continuous innovation and latest technologies to expand markets and scope
• Framework that standardizes development workflows for increased developer productivity and better quality
• Secured integration with on-premise back-ends

Typical use cases of custom extensions where SAP HANA Cloud Platform is recommended.

1. If you have to build an external customer portal, for example, for service scenarios to engage with customers and integrate with C4C.
2. If you have to build loosely coupled or side to side C4C extension solutions from the scratch using Java development environment or native HANA XS.
3. If you have to build extension solutions in a continuous development wave manner and maintain separate code lines for development and maintenance.