Breaking the Wait-and-See Cycle: Why SAP Users Need an Orchestration Layer Now
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Key Takeaways
⇨ SAP customers are advised to stop waiting for S/4HANA migrations and instead implement agile orchestration layers, such as Appian, to improve productivity and streamline processes across departments.
⇨ Traditional ERP and SAP BTP solutions are limited in handling cross-system complexities, while Appian's orchestration capabilities provide seamless integration with various third-party platforms, enabling faster development and greater efficiency.
⇨ Organizations should focus on immediate innovation by piloting decoupled workflows for multi-system integration, thereby maintaining a clean core and enabling business units to operate without hindrances from outdated systems.
Many SAP customers are trapped in a holding pattern. They are continually told that their forthcoming SAP S/4HANA migrations will eventually unlock enterprise-wide agility and streamline disjointed processes. However, business units like supply chain and finance cannot afford to pause innovation for multi-year timelines while they remain buried in manual work and disconnected spreadsheets.
In a recent article, Gregg Aldana, VP of Global Solutions Consulting at Appian, argued that organisations must abandon this wait-and-see approach and actively deploy agility layers today.
Beyond the Borders of BTP
According to Aldana, while SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and Fiori are exceptional for contained, SAP-centric workflows, they are not designed to orchestrate the entire enterprise.
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Modern workflows inevitably spill over into third-party ecosystems like Jaggaer, Coupa, and Workday, creating complex multi-departmental friction that traditional ERP modules struggle to manage. To overcome this challenge, Aldana explained that Appian is a supercharger that handles cross-system complexity without requiring expensive, developer-heavy multi-month cycles.
Orchestration Strategy Dimensions
Rather than forcing unique business processes into standardised ERP modules, Aldana noted that IT leaders must evaluate how different platforms handle ecosystem demands. This strategic alignment determines whether a company successfully maintains a clean core or devolves into millions of dollars in change requests.
He broke down this evaluation into a four-step process that involves studying the primary use case, the organisation’s ecosystem reach, and the solution’s development speed. The following table illustrates an example of this evaluation:
|
Capability Dimension |
Traditional ERP Modules |
SAP BTP & Fiori |
Appian Orchestration |
| Primary Use Case | Ledger of transactions and standardised processes. | Customising native SAP UI and contained workflows. | Cross-system, multi-departmental orchestration. |
| Ecosystem Reach | Strictly within SAP boundaries. | SAP-centric extensions. | Seamless integration with SAP, SharePoint, Workday, etc. |
| Development Speed | Slow, requiring expensive ABAP customisations. | Moderate, often requiring multi-month dev cycles. | Fast, utilising low-code tools and pre-built connectors. |
Protecting the Clean Core and Empowering the User
For SAP Center of Excellence (CoE) leads who have spent the last decade saying no to business requests in the name of system stability, this architectural shift changes the conversation. They no longer have to force the procurement team to use an unintuitive SAP screen just to keep the database clean.
By utilising a flexible orchestration layer like Appian’s Intelligent Data Fabric, enterprises can keep their core systems pristine while delivering the exact intuitive experiences their business units demand.
The prescription is clear: SAP professionals must identify the single multi-system workflow causing their users the most spreadsheet-induced headaches and pilot a decoupled orchestration layer for it. Aldana concluded that innovation shouldn’t have to wait for the next major SAP upgrade.
Read the full insights from Gregg Aldana, VP of Global Solution Consulting at Appian, here.
What This Means for Mastering SAP Insiders
Applying Aldana’s concepts to the diverse Asia-Pacific market reveals unique opportunities for regional SAP professionals to drive immediate value:
- Organisations must manage cross-border regulatory fragmentation: APAC is not a monolith; navigating diverse e-invoicing mandates, tax structures, and local compliance requires immense agility. Instead of baking local rules into the SAP core—which complicates future upgrades—organisations can build localised compliance workflows within a flexible, decoupled orchestration layer.
- Unify disparate supply chain ecosystems. Given that the region serves as the world’s manufacturing and logistics hub, APAC supply chains are notoriously complex. Therefore, a low-code orchestration layer that connects core SAP data with localised third-party logistics tools can provide end-to-end visibility without extensive ABAP customisation.
Accelerate SAP S/4HANA adoption amidst legacy sprawl. Many APAC enterprises grew rapidly through regional mergers and acquisitions, resulting in highly fragmented, highly customised ECC landscapes. By shifting custom workflows from the legacy ERP to an orchestration layer today, Mastering SAP Insiders can significantly shrink their custom code footprint and accelerate the eventual move to SAP S/4HANA.
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