Skip to Content
Product Information
Author's profile photo Oliver Graeff

SAP Fiori frontend technology running with Citrix technologies

Citrix is one of SAP‘s global technology partners with a long term collaboration. After working with customers leveraging SAP Fiori technologies together with Citrix technologies, I would like to summarize my main insight and recommendation.

Many SAP customers use the classic SAP GUI frontend technologies. Most processing happens on the backend, while on client-side a light-weight frontend is all what is needed. With SAP introducing SAP Fiori, this picture changed: Many customers renew their user experience with SAP Fiori, which is SAP’s simple, consistent and modern design system extending to all SAP solutions. Most prominently, SAP S/4HANA is delivering its innovations with the SAP Fiori user experience.

SAP%20Fiori%203

SAP Fiori 3

SAP Fiori also means a new architecture and respective technologies like SAPUI5, which are used to implement this experience. Customers move their classic SAP GUI apps to this new SAP Fiori architecture, which also means that app frontends now run in a browser. While this is a general trend and has many advantages like easier integration for example, it often also means that there is more data processing happening on client side, e.g. in the JavaScript engine of the browsers.

Citrix and SAP collaborate for many years on delivering solutions which enable best suited access to SAP systems. Using Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktops, the respective browsers are supported for SAPUI5, giving customers control of virtual desktops, applications, licensing and security when accessing SAP systems from any device. With this, many customers provide access also to systems like SAP S/4HANA with the SAP Fiori user experience. Now what does the move towards the Fiori frontend architecture mean for scenarios where customers use Citrix solutions?

Using Citrix solutions brings benefits also in conjunction with a SAP Fiori web-based frontend client. This happens on both sides, the user’s endpoint as well as the central Citrix platform:

  • Choice: The Citrix Workspace App is the endpoint used on a wide range of platforms like Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and web browsers. The architecture separates the execution of business apps from the endpoints. This enables the support of existing clients and older operating systems and can remove the need to upgrade thin clients.
  • Security: A centrally managed Citrix platform with a web browser for SAP Fiori contributes to an improved security: Limiting the scope of where an organization’s data is kept is a frequent concern. Even though the web browser is a critical piece in security attacks, endpoint security investments can be minimized, e.g. for unmanaged endpoint devices.

What we see with our customers is that the mentioned shift of data processing from the SAP backend to the SAP Fiori app running in a browser puts additional requirements to the Citrix session serving the browser. The amount of additional compute power depends on many factors and is different with every customer. This is why Citrix recommends a consultative approach to size the environment appropriately.

For more details please see white paper ‘Citrix Delivery of SAP Fiori’ published recently.

Assigned Tags

      6 Comments
      You must be Logged on to comment or reply to a post.
      Author's profile photo Sergio Ferrari
      Sergio Ferrari

      Good point Oliver, thanks for sharing.

      To get the best-of both, I also see customers adopting more and more SAP Business Client for Windows that typically start with the Fiori Launchpad then it opens a SAPgui transaction in new Tab and a SAP Fiori App in an additional Tab (DIAG +HTTP).

      Anything to share about SAP BC for Windows in a Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktops environment?

      BR,

      Sergio

      Author's profile photo Sandro Beyerer
      Sandro Beyerer

      Hello Sergio.

      Of course you can use the SAP Business Client in a Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktop environment, too.

      There are no special recommendations for the SAP Business Client, just follow the recommendations of the embedded UI frameworks with regards to Citrix (SAPUI5, SAP GUI for Windows).

      While there are no known limitations, the SAP Business Client automatically restricts some minor visualizations (like window shadows or Drag&Drop previews) to non-remote desktop environments to avoid environment-specific problems with performance and memory.

      Best regards,

      Sandro

      Author's profile photo Stephan Heinberg
      Stephan Heinberg

      I think, Fiori Launchpad is the Anti-Citrix! Why should a browser run inside a Citrix window?

      Author's profile photo Dnyandev Kondekar
      Dnyandev Kondekar

      Does SAP support Citrix Enterprise Browser? I Checked S4HANA 2021 PAM and it is not listed in supported Web Browser.

       

      Thanks,

      Dnyandev

      Author's profile photo Oliver Graeff
      Oliver Graeff
      Blog Post Author

      Hi Dnyandev,

      Citrix Enterprise Browser is the new name for Citrix Workspace Browser (see here). It is part of part of Citrix Workspace app and is Chromium-based. In SAPUI5's Browser and Platform Support we have not listed it explicitly, but you see footnote 1) saying 'The specified browsers are also supported in virtual environments, such as Citrix and VMware.'

      Best regards,
      Oliver

      Author's profile photo Dnyandev Kondekar
      Dnyandev Kondekar

       

      Above the PAM screenshot for S4HANA 2021.