When working with integration with some systems you end up having to adopt the systems approach to integration. It often happens that you should code something that allows you to send a file a one point or work on some other integration issues.
The good thing is that SAP PI can do all kinds of work to make the legacy system interact as it always has been. It is possible to do different coding or saving files locally on the PI system or write a unix script to upload the file using SSH. There are all different kinds of ways this can be done, all depending on how the systems work.
The bad thing about this flexibility is that the integration becomes difficult to understand and change for other developers. You would normally not look at a file adapter to see which scripts it has been running. This is the kind of information that needs to be documented in the support guide.
The reasons for not changing the legacy system interface are:
- That you don’t want to invest more money in the continuously development of the legacy system.
- It is a third party application that you don’t have the code for or can change
- It is a service provided to your organization, and you don’t have the buying power to make them change their integration policy
For those reasons it is really nice that SAP PI is able to work to become better at the integration. It is often cheaper in development to make the change in SAP PI. The only reason where I have seen this is not true is if the receiver has created a .NET webservice without creating a proper WSDL. They cannot be consumed to use with SAP PI.
What the ROI on this kind of adaptation are is a bit uncertain.
If you need help to figure out how do make changed in your SAP PI system then contact Figaf for consulting advise on how you can change your interface to match the legacy system.
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