Get insights and updates about cloud ERP and RISE with SAP, SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, and more enterprise management capabilities with SAP blog posts.
It has been four years since we announced Browser Access for SAP Business One. It was our answer to your expectation on having a web experience added to your favorite Enterprise Resource Planning software. During these four years many changes have taken place in the market; from a business, user experience and technology perspective. Due to these changes, we are currently reviewing our product and portfolio strategy and are evaluating the possibility to stop further investments into the Browser Access as of SAP Business One version 10. This would allow us to focus our efforts on key areas to help move SAP Business One even closer to the cloud experience than ever.
There are many reasons why we are considering this change. Let me just briefly explain some of the most important ones:
There is a significant number of limitations relative to the regular SAP Business One client,
Existing technology, both at SAP and in the market, is much better from the cost and scalability perspective in comparison to where we were some years ago.
It would take additional efforts on SSP side to make extensions compatible and by this attractive for end-users.
There is significantly lower usage of Browser Access at customer and partner side than we expected it to be when we released this component to the market.
What’s instead?
As you know from the SAP Business One Roadmap, we are putting significant effort on the cloud both from user experience and technical perspective. Just a word on key items:
With version 10 we intend to provide a new native web client, based on SAP Fiori and SAPUI5 technologies. This will allow you to manage customers, items as well activities around sales ordering processes directly from the web.
Understanding the business side and cost structure for providing cloud services we have already delivered enhancements to improve management experience of SAP Business One. From the recently delivered items let me just highlight improved extension management, import and export of SAP HANA schemas or integration of Microsoft User Principal Name, which allows e-mail-based authentication into SAP Business One Cloud hosted installations. However, this is not all. At present our development is working on changes in resource pull sharing as well as advance stability, security and high availability, all of this to make SAP Business One Cloud more attractive and cheaper in operation.
These innovations are available through two programs:
SAP Business One Cloud hosted by Partners – available in all regions with basically unlimited combinations of provided software and services.
SAP Business One Cloud hosted by SAP – standardised deployment of SAP Business One, empowered by Industry Packages to give you and your customer easy access to the best ERP solution for small and midsize companies.
I hope that the roadmap which we have built as well as planned enhancements which we are working on will show you our commitment to deliver requirements which you are raising.
Replacement or other options for bringing SAP Business One with cloud experience?
Of course, we understand also that potential unavailability of Browser Access in SAP Business One version 10 may bring some difficulties. Therefore, let me share some ideas on how to overcome these.
Our customers are expecting full access to SAP Business One from any location at any timevia web browser when possible. The Value-Added Resellers would like to ensure that all add-ons are running without limitations as they were published via regular remote desktop. Solution Service Providers want to lower testing efforts and have the guarantee that whatever works in the on-premise environment will behave the same in the cloud environment. Many cloud operators that I know of are currently using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Not so long-ago Microsoft has delivered a Web Client for users to allow access to published application straight from the browser. More information on that option you may find on the vendor’s documentation page: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-desktop-services/clients/remote-desktop-web-client-admin
There are also other options in the market allowing to access remotely published application via HTML5 interface by Citrix and Ericom, just to name a few.
What is most important for Cloud Providers is the fact that there is no additional hardware required to facilitate the new way of accessing SAP Business One in the cloud. And for the user to get access to the cloud application, there is no need of installing additional software on their machines. Moreover, the 3rd party technologies are supported from the infrastructure perspective, so lower than only application level, which allows to ensure better scalability and security for customer data.
Before implementing one of the available solutions,partners should check with their local contact about pricing and licensing of the available solution.
After successful partner review, SAP Business One Cloud hosted by SAPwas recently empowered for HTML5 access.
More information?
Heading to the 2019 SMB Innovation Summit in Orlando (Jun 18 – 20) I would like to give you an opportunity to meet and discuss any possible outstanding questions. Please feel free to contact me via message or e-mail or schedule a meeting via Meet-The-Expert Session, by blocking calendar at: https://tasman.site/clientes/sap/mte/.
You are also invited to my session planned for Jun 18 at 5:05 p.m. in Curacao 3-4 room (please check final agenda as the room may change).
Please note that the decision to remove the Browser Access in SAP Business One 10 is not finalized. I am looking for your honest feedback in this blog, via e-mail or in-person if you either prefer to keep the Browser Access or support the idea of moving into a new direction.
