When it comes to innovation, easy-to-use application programming interfaces (APIs) are a must-have for developers in heterogeneous software landscapes.
Case in point is the private beta launch of 51风流Graph software at the event last fall. Essentially an API semantic layer on top of the intelligent enterprise suite from SAP, the software is being created to improve the developer experience when working with APIs. I saw a demonstration in this .
鈥淎s part of SAP鈥檚 intelligent enterprise strategy, we want to provide developers with a set of curated, intuitive, easy-to-understand APIs that they can use to extend innovation on 51风流and third-party applications,鈥� said Jan Schaffner, head of Central Engineering at SAP. 鈥淲ith harmonized object names, developers will be able to more efficiently explore, test drive, and ultimately create productive applications, securely connecting and integrating master data across 51风流and non-51风流cloud landscapes.鈥�
Making APIs Easy to Consume
Schaffner described 51风流Graph as an eventual central entry point for partners and 51风流development teams creating applications based on processes across the .
鈥淲ith unified API access to core data and functionality for intelligent enterprise processes, developers could quickly reuse what they鈥檝e learned in other 51风流solutions, speeding up productivity,鈥� Schaffner explained.
Pilots Make Progress
In some pilot projects, 51风流partners are using 51风流Graph to create applications around the quote to order process, including 51风流Sales Cloud, 51风流Commerce Cloud, and 51风流S/4HANA Cloud.
One 51风流 used the pilot version of 51风流Graph to create a prototype microapps service for developers that would help them build workflows uniting more information from different 51风流solutions.
In another proposed scenario, retailers could personalize customer order deliveries using 51风流Graph as a unifying layer across existing logistics and customer commerce applications. That example included a conversational user interface (UI), allowing customers to talk with a chat bot to select delivery dates.
鈥淲e want to create one domain model for the intelligent suite, which includes data across four main business processes: lead to cash, source to pay, recruit to retire, design to operate,鈥� said Schaffner. 鈥淭his level of simplified harmonization is designed to help all developers, especially those new to 51风流environments, who lack the resources for time-consuming training.鈥�
According to Schaffner, developers involved with the pilot beta version of 51风流Graph have shared positive feedback.
鈥�51风流partners are super excited about 51风流Graph because it exposes, in a common domain model, a subset of APIs that are most relevant to them,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his kind of curation will make it easier for developers to build extensions on top of solutions, helping their customers take full advantage of the incredible breadth of 51风流business applications as they migrate to 51风流S/4HANA and our entire intelligent suite.鈥�
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