SAP PI/PO Migration

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There many companies working on migration or planning a migration of their SAP XI/PI to SAP PI/PO 7.5 systems. Over the years I have created a number of resources that make a lot of sense if you are in the process of considering a migration. Here is one place that you can find all my favorite resources on the topic.

Timeline

One of the drivers for migration is that the support of everything but 7.5 will end in December 2020. That is currently in 20 months time. Not a long time if you need to plan a project, get funding and running the upgrade. I would assume that the minimum time for a migration is 6 months once you got people working on the project. If you need to get the funding you know your companies budget process, so you better get started.

As I read the note 1648480 extended support will not be possible for the Java stack.

Options for upgrading

There are a number of options that you can use when upgrading your landscape. Product manager of PI/PO Alexander Bundschuh has written a list of the different options (13) that you have depending on where you are at the moment. What options for Upgrading SAP PI/PO

My recommendation is to go for a single stack system because the dual stack is not developed anymore. It will also improve your next upgrade because of a simpler architecture. You will have to covert your ABAP Mappings.

Your different options

There is also the option to migrate to SAP CPI, which is the cloud based tool for Process Integration. It have some areas where it can replace a PI and BPM solution, but there are patterns that are not fully optimal yet. It will no doubt be the place where SAP is focusing their development, so you will se a number of improvments there.

If you are not planning to use PO functions like B2B Add-on, BPM/BRM then it is probably best to keep at current license but move to an AEX, Java only version of your system. The only reason they would be to run CPI content on your PO system. If you have a few ccBPM probably consider moving them to CPI or Cloud Workflow.

If you are using B2B Add-on or want to run CPI content locally the PO is the way to go.

There is the concept Stack split that I have heard some customers use. The idea is to upgrade your 7.31 dual stack system to 7.5 with dual stack. In 7.5 they cannot share a system ID so one of the systems will get a new System ID. You will then be able to delete the ABAP system. So you only have a single stack system. It does require that you are using ICO’s for all your integration. I’m not sure if this is a supported process and how it works. Maybe your consultants know how it works.

Outlook

SAP PI/PO 7.5 will be in maitance until 2024. SAP have annonced there will be a new version of SAP PI/PO in 2022. The goal of this version is to support a newer Java version and latest Databases. Release will depend on when they become avabile from vendors.

There is a roadmap for the SAP PI/PO you need to search for Process Orchestration and then login to see the roadmap.

From what I can see on the roadmap it does not look like BPM and BRM function will be improved. You probably need to find another solution for BPM process. It could be the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow or CPI that will allow you to run it. The place where you will see most development is on running CPI content on SAP PO.

Process

The process for migration is pretty simple. It is just something about planning what to do. It does make a lot of sense to get an understanding of how you want to migrate so you can get started and know how it will work. I think it will give you some information to start the migration from. It can be improved and need to be adapted to your model. There are two areas that you need to focus on.

  • Planning: In this, you try to understand what you should be doing with regards to migration. This is where you need to figure out how to upgrade certain elements. This should be considered before you scale up the team. In this phase, you will also be able to see how you automate the solution.
  • Execution: In this part is about making the migration as fast as possible and keep the risk low. Here is where you make a migration of a single interface, test it and then move it to production.

You can read the full post and see all slides and the replay at the link bellow.

7 steps to a SAP PI to PO migration

Automization of the process

We have been making a lot of tools for the SAP Platform and they do make a lot of sense to apply in any migration project. The more you can automate the easier the process will be. Here are some of the things you can consider for your project.

Understanding your current integration

To understand what part of your current integration and message mappings, we have created a free tool that allows you to see what is going on. It can give you information about which message mappings you have used and how many times they have been executed in the last month. It can also give you information about which modules you have and how they are used. It is a free part of the Figaf IRT application so it is just to try it out, so you can plan your migration.

What is the test coverage of your SAP PI message mappings

Seeburger Migration

If you have Seeburger and are considering what options you have for migration then we have a path for it. We have created an automated tool that can take your Seeburger Message mapping and convert it to a B2B Add-on mapping with a few click. You can then save many hours in the migration process. You just select which mapping you want to convert and which B2B structure you want to use. Then the application will take care of the rest. It will cost you a fixed fee per mapping.

You can read more on the application at Seeburger Migration tool or at how the seeburger migration works.

Testing your migration

If you are doing any upgrade or change of your landscape it is really useful to perform test to validate that it works correct. I have in some cases seen that after an upgrade somehting on the mappings had changed behavior. It is therefore a good idea to be able to test that nothing is affected.

You have the following options to Test SAP PI.

  • Manual testing which requires a lot of resources
  • SAP PIT a free tool from SAP to test from 7.5 sp14.
  • INT4 Iftt a ABAP tool made for testing interfaces. It is good for testing result in the ABAP tables
  • Figaf IRT a tool build to make it a lot easier to test SAP PI/PO.

Comparison the two testing tools, I would recommend the Figaf tool because it make the testing a lot faster to create and allow you to test your first upgrade. It also contains more patterns for testing and are able to test modules which is important with B2B Add-on.

Automation of the migration process

SAP have a tool that allows you to migrate channels and ICOs. It is a part of the PI system and you just link the two systems together and can then migrate scenarios or channels.

If you find that it lacks some part for processing and want a faster way to do the migration. We have a good understanding of the SAP PI Directory and Repository data model, so we will be able to create an automation for your. Reach our to info@figaf.com, to book a meeting on how we can help.

Anything missing

Is there something missing let me know.

If you any questions on your migration, sent a email to info@figaf.com.

Make better regression test cases with Figaf Seeburger Migration tool

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The Figaf Seeburger Migration Tool (SMT) allows you to migrate your existing Seeburger BIC solution to a native B2B Add-on solution. It helps to update your message mappings to use the new schemas created with the B2B Add-on. It makes your migration process a lot faster and has reduced risk. Some of the benefits of using the tool look as follow:

  • The new solution from SAP has a lot of advantages making it a lot more flexible and supports the newest schemas. It includes all EDIFACT, X12, Tradacom and EANCOM messages that you want to be using, so you don’t need to pay for each message.
  • It is also simpler to transport since they don’t require the use of the BIC to make the one to one mappings
  • It contains all the same adapters with some new features
  • The price of the solution is also included in your standard SAP PI price so you don’t need extra licenses to make sure you can communicate with EDI for your partners. So you can save money on the maintenance of the Seeburger solution.
  • You have the option to use the Trading Partner Management solution making it a lot easier to maintain many partners and the information from them

When facing the migration there are some challenges that you must figure out how to solve.

  • Schemas are different so everything needs to be remapped
  • Test nothing happens with the output messages.
  • Budget and planing

Do you want to try a package with 10 free mapping? Then check out https://figaf.com/tools/seeburger-migration-tool/

Blogs about Seeburger Migration

Do you want more information about SMT? Then please check out the blog posts below:

SAP PI Migration webinar

Migrating Seeburger to SAP B2B Add-on the fast way

Migrate from Seeburger to SAP PI B2B Addon webinar

SAP XI/PI dual stack to SAP PO/PI single stack migration

 

SAP PI Migration webinar

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So, on January 15. 2018 I held a webinar I webinar about SAP PI Migration. In the webinar, I talked about my 7 step plan for migration of SAP PI to a single stack. The 7 steps look as following:

  • Goals
  • Current integrations
  • Pattern mappings
  • Resource consumption
  • Migration phases
  • Development
  • Testing

The plan covers an initial assessment on your landscape and an idea of where you want to move your landscape.

Here you can watch the replay on the webinar:

If you want to know more you can also take a look at the blog post 7 steps PI PO migration, which was published on September 25., 2017.

You can also take a look at the slideshow: SAP PI/PO migrations – How to save time and lower risk on your projects:


Lastly, when you are interested in migration, you might want to take a look at this:

  • Seeburger Migration Tool The Figaf Seeburger Migration Tool (SMT) allows you to migrate your existing Seeburger BIC solution to a native B2B Add-on solution.
    It helps update your message mappings to use the new schemas created with the B2B Add-on. It makes your migration process a lot
    faster and have a reduced risk

SAP PI/PO Used message mapping

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Update (April 9., 2019) I have added some cool new features. Take a look at the blog, I published April 9., 2019: What is the test coverage of your SAP PI message mappings.

One thing that I have been helping with is to help to understand, which mapping is used at the customer location. For instance in a migration project or upgrade project where they need to get away from using the Seeburger Message mapping to the B2B Add-on from SAP.

With the Figaf IRT tool, we already have a link from Message Mapping to ICO, so it would make a lot of sense to use that information to create a report. Then we only needed to understand what was used on your system and join the data.

What does a report look like? Check out the link below.

Operation mapping usage Sample Report

This is released in the beginning of January 2019, and is now a part of the Figaf IRT tool. It will be free to use the feature for now.

If you want to know more, please sign up for the free webinar, I will hold Tuesday 15, January 2019 at 16.00 CEST / 10.00 EST: Create a succesful SAP PI/PO migration in 2019.

Or just get the IRT tool now

https://figaf.com/IRT

Migrating Seeburger to SAP B2B Add-on the fast way

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We have lately seen a large interest in the Seeburger to B2B Migration because SAP PI/PO customers are seeing as a way to bring down cost and optimize. There is a number of factors that allow users to achieve this

  • The new solution from SAP has a lot of advantages making it a lot more flexible and supports the newest schemas. It includes all EDIFACT, X12, Tradacom and EANCOM messages that you want to be using, so you don’t need to pay for each message.
  • It is also simpler to transport since they don’t require the use of the BIC to make the one to one mappings
  • It contains all the same adapters with some new features
  • The price of the solution is also included in your standard SAP PI price so you don’t need extra licenses to make sure you can communicate with EDI for your partners. So you can save money on the maintenance of the Seeburger solution.
  • You have the option to use the Trading Partner Management solution making it a lot easier to maintain many partners and the information from them.

When facing the migration there are some challenges that you must figure out how to solve.

  1. Schemas are different so everything needs to be remapped
  2. Test nothing happens with the output messages.
  3. Budget and planing

1) Schema changes update from Seeburger

One of the issues is the schema structure between the Seeburger and the SAP PI B2B Add-on is different on some different levels. The root element is different but there is also some different naming of groups and fields. In the Swing tool you have the option to remap some fields, but then you need to take manually account of all the fields in all mappings. And if it is not done consistently then you can end up with problems.

I always want to optimize as much manual labor as possible as that is what we are doing with our Seebuger Migration Tool. Simply select the message mapping and the new target XSD and it will convert it for you.

We currently have the free introduction package that contains 10 mappings for free. It is normally 100 USD pr mapping. So it is a really good way of getting started with the migration. That way you can prepare your self for the migration project and understand the complexity and what you otherwise need to move.

In the video below you can see how to get started, requesting licenses that you get to select 10 off for free. Then run the migration. Running the migration for a message mapping takes a few seconds.

Get the free migration tool

 

2) Testing the migration

For any migration, it makes sense to test that nothing vital has changed. It is really crucial for EDI because the importance for the business, you cannot afford to be down for a period of time.

Even if the mappings are validated there is still a lot of components that you need to ensure is not messing up the flow. We recommend using the Figaf IRT SAP PI/PO test tool. You can use it for free for up to 10 Interfaces, so you can use it to validate the migration tool work. The Figaf Testing tool is build to make it really easy to fetch test messages from your production system, and then be able to use them on your development system for testing with. If there is any difference you know there could be something wrong. IRT has support comparing XML, EDIFACT, X12 and other formats.

If you purchase the migration tool for your full conversion we can find a good offer on the test tool.

 

3) Budget and planning

It is pretty difficult to get any budget for a migration project. In most cases, you will halt development for a period of time to perform the migration. It is more fun to spend the money o new development that helps the business. The biggest reasons for a Seeburger to B2B add-on from a financial perspective is that you can avoid the maintenance of the Seeburger application and use the license you already have. The support and maintenance of the new system may also be faster but it will not likely be something that will make it selling criteria.

I have created some blog post that covers more details on how to perform migrations in and make it easiest. They are focused on general migration but it will be the same concepts that are required for the other migration.