SAP Mobile Platform News
SAP has announced that SAP Mobile Platform 3.1 is scheduled for the end of maintenance on 30.11.2022 (refer to note 3072779).
With the introduction of SAP Business Transformation Platform (BTP) Mobile Services, customers are looking to migrate their existing applications from on-premise SAP Mobile Platform (SMP) to SAP BTP Mobile Services. Reduced ownership costs, complexity, and maintenance are some of the advantages associated with the cloud-based offering. We are seeing customers adopt SAP Business Transformation Platform as the robust foundation for creating a mobile strategy with SAP BTP Mobile Services.
Based on this scenario, SAP recommends the adoption of one of the following approaches:
- Running custom-built apps on SAP Mobile Platform:
- On-premise SMP customers are encouraged to migrate their existing applications to SAP BTP Mobile Services.
2. Running standard Agentry based SAP apps like SAP Work Manager or SAP Inventory Manager on SAP Mobile Platform:
- Upgrade to the latest version of SAP Work Manager and SAP Inventory Manager on SMP. Mainstream maintenance will be extended to 30.07.2024 for customers using Work Manager 6.6 or Inventory Manager 4.4 applications.
- Upgrade to SAP Work Manager and SAP Inventory Manager cloud edition.
- Move to newer solutions like SAP Asset Manager.
Options analysis for these alternatives is provided further down in the blog.
Like with any other product reaching the end of maintenance, clients can always request Customer Specific Extended Maintenance. However, that comes at an additional cost and is time-limited.
As a specialist SAP Gold partner for mobile solutions, we have helped many customers deliver on the options above. Get in touch to find out more
Let’s take a closer look at the SAP BTP Mobile Services implementation options.
What is SAP Mobile Services?
Before we discuss the cloud migration alternatives, let’s talk about what SAP Mobile Services has to offer. A typical combination of solutions created for an enterprise using SAP Mobile Services could look something like this – see the image below.
Reference – help.sap.com
With a wide array of service offerings, creating an architecture for cloud-based mobile applications is not an easy task. Various aspects such as application-specific security patterns, technology to match business use-case for push and offline app usage, support for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) scenarios, supported device OS must be considered. Additionally, the choices must complement the existing landscapes and standards of respective enterprises.
SAP Mobile Services provides reusable services meeting the distinct needs of an enterprise.
Reference: help.sap.com
For a more detailed options analysis of the options above refer to our blog here: Developing Mobile Apps for the SAP backend – Your Technology Options
Besides the usual advantages offered by any cloud migration, SAP Mobile Services has features which can provide many functional improvements upon traditional on-premise mobile platforms. For example, Document Service offers access to a repository of files or parameters to turn offline store full sync on/off. The new parameter controls the full schema sync capability on and off, replacing the previous, tedious manual process.
How to Migrate from SAP Mobile Platform to BTP Mobile Services
The migration approach depends on the type of application. Here is an overview of the migration strategy based on app type.
| Application type | Replacement in SAP Mobile Services | Migration Effort | Migration Strategy |
| SAP Mobile SDK | SAP SDKs | Low | Adapt |
| Agentry based applications – Work Manager / Inventory Manager | Migrate to Agentry cloud edition | Low/Medium | Adapt |
| Upgrade to Work Manager 6.6 or Inventory Manager 4.4 (for customers running older version) | Medium/High depending on enhancements | Upgrade | |
| Move to newer solutions like SAP Asset Manager or SAP Field Service Management | Medium/High | Re-implementation | |
| Move to a certified partner solution like myJobCard | Medium/High | Re-implementation | |
| MBO Applications | Native Mobile Development Kit | High | Re-develop |
Migration is easiest in scenarios where SAP Mobile Platform SDK has been used to create a Mobile Application, especially the ones using the OData stack. The apps can be mostly reused and often developers just need to roll out a new version of the app with SAP BTP SDKs which points to Mobile Services. This paves the way for any functional improvements using the new features of SAP Mobile Services like cloud authentication
If you are using Agentry-based applications, you may want to consider moving the Agentry part of the app to SAP Cloud Platform as well as migrating to SAP Work Manager, cloud edition, or SAP Inventory Manager, cloud edition. This will result in an architecture where the local Agentry server will be replaced through an Agentry-as-a-Service component on the SAP Cloud Platform. Since the back-end add-ons and the application stay the same, this migration is typically a low-hanging fruit. You can also keep all your front-end customisations. This can get more complex, depending on the number of enhancements in the middleware and backend.
If you are running on an older app version, you need to upgrade to the latest version of the respective app – this will render the effort from medium to high, depending on the number of enhancements.
There is also an option to implement a partner solution like myJobCard available from SAP Store.
If you run MBO based apps, the migration path is usually to re-develop the mobile solution and migrate the MBO to OData Services. Migration of MBO based apps is a great opportunity to adopt new technologies like the SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS or the SAP Cloud Platform SDK for Android.
So, what’s next?
Mobile application development technologies and techniques for SAP are always evolving and we’ve spent the past decade on this ongoing journey, helping our customers succeed.
As a specialist SAP Gold partner for mobile solutions, we have helped many enterprises deliver on the options above. Click here to get in touch and find out more
