Technical Articles
Cloud Integration Automation Service – What is it?
Update August 2021: SAP offers a better way to integration business scenarios:
Cloud Integration Automation Service
What’s the benefit?
Until recently, the integration of Cloud to Cloud scenarios or hybrid scenarios was based on integration guides, help pages, blog posts or other written documentation.
Now, Cloud Integration Automation Service (CIAS) provides guided workflows with the following features:
that make use of
- Standardized → all workflows for the configuration of different scenarios have the same look
- Role Based Execution → tasks are assigned to the right person based on role assignments
- System Landscape Information → available as drop-down list from known customer SAP systems
- Partially Automated → some tasks are automated and therefor reduce the manual work that comes with the configuration
- Integrated Parameter Management → data can be entered once and reused throughout the workflow
- Traceability of Activity → information is stored on who did what steps during the integration setup
Customers can use this voluntary service at no additional fee or license cost, if they have:
- An SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) Cloud Foundry account in one of the CIAS supported data centers or an SAP Cloud Integration account
- System instances of licensed SAP cloud products that are in scope of the integration scenarios
What integration scenarios are supported?
There is a total of 100+ integration scenarios available in the Cloud Integration Automation repository. The list is permanently extended and is updated on this list of supported scenarios: CIAS SAP Help Portal Documentation
How does Cloud Integration Automation Service work?
After successful subscription to the Cloud Integration Automation service in the Service Marketplace of your SAP Business Technology Platform Cockpit you can directly use the scenario configuration workflows in the application. Here is a blog that describes the subscription steps in detail.
You have the option to generate workflows either via the CIAS Launchpad directly or via the Maintenance Planner
Cloud Integration Automation Service Launchpad view:
With the “Plan for Integration” tile, you get the selection of all available solutions and scenarios:
On the Maintenance Planner you will get to the list of available solutions and scenarios via the tile “Plan for Cloud Integration Scenario”:
After selecting the scenario of your choice, you will be able to generate your individual workflow. Your systems and tenants are known from the framework and can be selected directly.
This will be shown in a separate blog.
Where do I get further Information?
For more information, see:
- CIAS SAP Help Portal Documentation
- CIAS Subscription blog
- CIAS now on Cloud Foundry blog
- SAP Note 2608492
- SAP Activate Methodology for SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Best Regards Stefan Jakobi Product Management Cloud and Lifecycle Management
Interesting! Thanks to SAP S/4HANA Cloud for bringing automation service to benefit all-sized enterprises to integrate business process. Also, thank you very much for explaining the steps about how cloud integration automation service work along with the screenshots. Thank you so much and this is really a great information!
Best Regards
RajeshN
Nous Infosystems
Hi Stefan,
this is most interesting. Is this also available on SAP Business Technology Platform Cloud Foundry ?
Best
Georg
Hello Georg,
funny that you ask 🙂
Just this week, Cloud Integration Automation Service went live on Cloud Foundry!
I am just about to rewrite new Blogs to highlight the improvements that come with the switch from NEO to CF.
Hi,
is Cloud Platform Integration and Cloud Integration Automation Service are Same?
Hello Kodru,
thanks for the question.
No, the formerly known "Cloud Platform Integration (CPI)" is now part of the SAP Integration Suite and revered to as a feature called "Cloud Integration". More details in this description (page 5): https://help.sap.com/doc/e50e61e7b66c4b60ae5e88c00c01486a/CLOUD/en-US/FSD_IntegrationSuite.pdf
"Cloud Integration Automation Service" is an independant framework to setup integration scenarios with the help of a workflow.
Stefan Jakobi the blog post is a year old but I hope to raise some questions. I am new to the cloud automation / integration but we have a business scenario to transfer from old PO BPM to a new tool.
As the process is more like a technical process orchestration with less business person involvement currently there is a search for different technology elements that could help in this exercise.
I think three basic question I would have:
The above chapter "what is the benefit" rather tells that such a scenario is rather not supported or considered as core feature.
Tried to check your blog posts (fast) which are really a good kick start but I think I did not find the answers I am looking for.
Thanks in advance for any help. BR.
Volker
Hallo Volker,
Thank you for the questions and I will try to answer accurately.
Cloud Integration Automation Service is a standalone service that is limited in the way it can be adopted. That means you cannot change the content of the available scenarios itself or have scenarios run automatically in the background.
There is a list of available scenarios which you will see once you have subscribed to the service in your BTP account or on the CIAS help page.
CIAS uses the SAP BTP workflow functionality in the background to guide you step-by-step through the setup / configuration of the scenario which you have selected for integration. E.g., scenario “Configuring ABAP Env to use the Custom Code Migration App” has a total of 30 steps. Once you have generated the workflow (entered your system data + generate) you will have a workflow with all the steps that need to be carried out to configure the scenario in your landscape by the administrators of the respective systems. In this example, 9 steps are automated, and 21 steps need to be done manually.
I have also recently released a blog that describes the start of a scenario configuration in detail.
CIAS is available as a service in your BTP subaccount Services section. You can subscribe and use CIAS without additional costs.
I hope this answers your questions. If not, please feel free to contact me directly and we can have a call to clarify further.
Stefan Jakobi thanks for your reply.
On the trial account I at least did not find "Cloud Integration Automation Service" and found the "SAP Build Process Automation",
But I believe the answer already gave the insight that the
opt out the solution for me currently.
But I will keep it in the selection of products to be checked for other cases than I am checking out currently.
Not sure though if the Workflow Management in SAP Build could help here especially when the first events would be triggered from ERP end.
Best regards,
Volker Lehari
Hello Volker,
Thanks for getting back.
Unfortunately Cloud Integration Automation Service is not available in the BTP Trial account.
And yes, CIAS offers "ready made scenarios" which can not be changed.
I am not familiar enough with SAP Build, so I can not answer this question.