Getting to Know SAP PO and SAP CPI

Back in the day, connecting SAP to other systems used to be complicated and expensive. But now, with so many types of software on the market that need to be connected with each other, integration services are crucial and widely sought out by all modern businesses. SAP provides us with two middleware integration options: SAP PI/PO and SAP CPI.

SAP PI (SAP Process Integration) and SAP PO (SAP Process Orchestration) are widely used by companies as on-premise integration platforms. However, with the widespread use of cloud-based solutions, SAP designed SAP Cloud Platform Integration (SAP CPI) as a cloud-based solution. SAP PI / SAP PI/PO and SAP CPI are integration platforms that enable automating and organising business processes by integrating different applications, systems and data sources. In other words, both offer similar functions as middleware, but they have significant differences between them.

What Exactly is Middleware?

Middleware is a software used for different applications and systems to communicate with each other. It acts as a bridge between different tools, databases and technologies and creates seamless integration. Middleware enables an application to perform services beyond its default capabilities. These services can range from data management to application services, authentication systems, messaging tools and more. Now that we got the broad definition out of the way, let’s talk about what middleware means for SAP.

In the simplest sense, SAP middleware enables applications to exchange and integrate with other applications, operating systems, or networks. SAP’s first middleware product was SAP Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI): an on-premises solution for integrating SAP systems to other SAP or non-SAP systems. XI then evolved into Process Integration (PI) and later Process Orchestration (PO).

With the world’s swift transition to the Cloud in the past decade—and cloud applications such as SuccessFactors, Ariba, and Salesforce gaining more momentum by the year—SAP provides us with Cloud Platform Integration (CPI), a middleware for integrating SAP systems with third-party applications. CPI shares the same principle and inherits many features from PO, except it’s cloud-based and adopts a pay-as-you-go fashion.

SAP PO and SAP CPI both have unique advantages; the “right choice” varies according to your organization’s existing system, your priorities, and your budget. Personally, we don’t have a favorite. Let’s introduce them both.

What is SAP Process Orchestration (SAP PO)?

SAP PO has been around the block. From XI to PI and now to PO, this middleware has been widely adopted in the world for its seamless integration with SAP, comprehensive set of adapters, and user-friendly graphical interface. These convenient features among others allow you to do the following with minimal effort and coding:

• Create synchronous and asynchronous communication for integrating your SAP ERP to other SAP/non-SAP systems,
• Build end-to-end integration scenarios and iFlows,
• Register SAP back-end systems in the System Landscape,
• Integrate heterogeneous systems across your IT landscape,
• Monitor your all your interfaces’ run-time step by step.

SAP PO is a solid, reliable platform with over 15 years’ worth of updates and a large developer community that continues to add new functionalities to the software. Its customer satisfaction rate is high; it provides good point to point connection, connector, extensive monitoring and error handling tools. For now, its road map extends to 2030. SAP PO is the go-to software for organizations that handle a large amount of internal integration traffic.

There are three types of SAP PO licensing plans: by machine processors, by number of transactions or by number of users. Your licensing cost will depend on the functionalities your business needs and you can request a quote through the SAP website.

Migration from SAP PO to SAP Integration Suite 

SAP Process Integration (SAP PI)

SAP PI is an enterprise integration platform that provides seamless integration between SAP and non-SAP systems. The purpose of SAP PI is to provide a seamless data flow between internal software and external systems of enterprises.

SAP PI enables to creation the following integrations;

• B2B Integration (Business to Business Integration)
• A2A Integration (Application to Application Integration)
• SAP and non-SAP systems
• Asynchronous and synchronous communication
• Business process management between components

SAP Cloud Platform Integration (SAP CPI)

Cloud Platform Integration (CPI) is SAP’s cloud-based middleware that integrates cloud and on-premise applications with third-party SAP and non-SAP products. The service enables processing messages both within your organization or with different companies in real-time without requiring additional hardware.

SAP includes a set of prebuilt adapters with its Cloud Platform Integration, which allow you to easily leverage the following integration scenarios:

• Integrating application-to-application (A2A) and business-to-business (B2B) processes and data,
• Integrating applications and data sources from SAP and non-SAP systems,
• Integrating applications and data sources from on-premise and cloud-based applications,
• Integrating data in synchronous and asynchronous scenarios.

Furthermore, SAP provides the SAP Data Services Adapter (SDK), where developers can create additional adapters to CPI using XML and Java technology. There’s also a variety of prepackaged integration packages available for customers. Simply download and configure the integration package that will suit your needs. This feature significantly reduces your integration time and reduces the need for in-house development. SAP delivers notifications for standard updates in the integration, allowing you to use the latest features and improvements at no additional effort.

SAP Cloud Integration payment plan comes in two options: consumption-based pricing and subscription-based pricing. The first model gives you access to all Cloud Platform services and tracks how many “cloud credits” you use each month. You get charged according to data volume and API calls and can monitor your usage real-time to get an overview of each project’s cost. With the second model, you choose a subscription limit and get a fixed rate every month. Adding new services or increasing usage limits requires modifying your contract through your SAP representative or by visiting the SAP Store.

If you’re in need of adapters for your organization, we provide extensive SAP CPI consultancy services, including development of custom additions to meet your company’s needs. For information on our out-of-the-box CPI adapters, feel free to see the drop-down menu under the ‘Solutions’ tab on our website.

Comparison of SAP Integration Suite Service Plans

SAP PI / PO vs. CPI: What is The Difference Between CPI and SAP PI – PO?

SAP PI PO and CPI, although very similar, have different features, different use cases and different integration capabilities. The difference between SAP PI PO and CPI is as follows:

Features of SAP CPI

• Cloud Based Integration: SAP CPI is a cloud-based integration platform. It is easy to deploy, requires minimal maintenance and has easily scalable features.
• Prebuilt Content & Pre-built Connectors: SAP Cloud Integration Platform offers prebuilt connectors and prebuilt integration content for businesses to quickly complete integration projects and reduce development costs.
• User Friendly Interface: SAP CPI has a user-friendly interface that allows all users without any technical knowledge to easily create integrations.
• Rich Set of Features: SAP cloud integration platform offers rich features such as API management, data integration, microservice support. These features are not available in PI/PO.

Features of SAP PO/PI

• On-Premise Deployment: SAP PO PI is an in-house integration platform that can be installed in-house and provides integration with other in-house systems. It is preferred by businesses using old systems that cannot be moved to the cloud.
• Advanced Features: SAP PI - PO has advanced features such as Business Rules Management (BRM) and Business Process Management (BPM) that automate complex business processes and enable businesses to define their own business rules.
• Flexibility: SAP PI PO is a customisable platform for the specific integration needs of different businesses.
• Strong Support for SAP Environments: SAP PI PO integrates SAP applications with non-SAP systems. It has pre-built connectors for SAP and integrates with SAP NetWeaver without any problems.

Conclusion

If you haven’t yet migrated from PI to PO 7.5, it’s time to do so. Old releases are no longer supported by SAP. Most Java stacks have experienced end-of-life at the end of 2020, so many SAP customers should be upgrading to more recent NetWeaver versions. For those of you who are running on PO 7.5, we would advise creating any new integrations in the Cloud and –depending on your IT landscape— operating a hybrid model or making a gradual migration to a fully cloud-based system.

Whether you’re considering migration or just getting started with SAP, we’re here to help! Streamline your IT processes with MDP’s 10+ years of experience placed at your disposal. We offer consultancy services for SAP PI/PO and SAP CPI. Setup or migrate to either platform with minimal down-time and effort, benefit from our dedicated technical support staff, and let us maximize your user experience with custom-fit extensions developed for your needs.

Talk to us about your business needs to make the most out of your IT use.