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Figaf 2.11 is out, enabling DevOps for SAP PI and CPI

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Now we are able to deliver Figaf IRT 2.11, it will enable automation of SAP Integration never seen before. It contains 150 tasks or bugs and 55k new lines of code. So it is a massive improvement we have worked on. It contains two main areas.

  • Transport and governance system
  • Migration of SAP PI/PO if you are still missing to migrate to 7.5

Transport and governance process

When we have talked with clients of the Figaf tool and our integration with CTS+. It seems like only 50% of the customers were using it. I could configure it on our system without much knowledge in 4 hours. So it should be possible for all SAP users to use it.

My these on why CTS+ it has not been implemented as much is that it is not adding much value, and is just complicating the process. You cannot really see what is in the transports and once you have imported the directory you anyway needed to perform manual steps to configure it.

That is the reason I’m stoked we have created our own transport approach. It is really simple to configure and make it possible to improve the delivery of SAP Integration. This is the way transports are supposed to be handled in the modern world.

The process is as follows, in most cases:

  1. Create a Ticket that links to the business requirement or failure created
  2. Add the objects that you have changed
  3. Figaf will then know what objects need to be tested and can test the flows
  4. You can create transport with all the objects.
  5. You then configure what channels will be like on other systems in the landscape
  6. A user can then approve the transport and allow you to transport in the landscape
  7. You can import the transport in the landscape, and it will then configure the communication channel
  8. You can create an Excel report of the change and upload it to Jira, Service now

You can see how this enables DevOps for SAP PI/PO in this video.

Migration of SAP PI/PO

The new release also enables users to help optimize the migration process. A lot of users still need to perform migration projects. It is quite a labor-intensive process that you need to perform. That is why it would make sense to automate the process. If you are looking for a migration project, recommend to check out the migration option. I have created a video of the process

Roadmap

There are still areas that we would love to improve, depending on what customers see as most important. Like how to perform validations on the QA system. Does it require running the test on that platform, or are there other functions that could make sense. A lot of the configuration on how transport should be imported is now possible it just requires users to figure out what they need to be.

For the migration support of Classical scenarios is also on the which list, but will require we can work with a customer to enable it.

If requested we can incorporate it with CTS+ so it will still run your transports and Figaf would handle configuration and documentation.

Get Started now

You can start using the Figaf tool for free. Just go to Figaf.com/IRT and signup. Then you will get a free license key you can use for the migration.

Get Figaf IRT

Get assistance to help get your SAP PI/PO migration started

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This week we are releasing our SAP PI/PO Migration tool as a service in the Figaf IRT. Quite a number of customers are looking for a way to migrate from their old 7.31-7.4 system to a 7.5. It is quite a labor-intensive process. That is why we think it would make sense for users to automate the full process, making it a lot easier for the customer to perform the migration.

Why is it different from the SAP Migration tool

The Figaf tool will help manage the full migration process. Not just a copy of directory objects like ICO or communication channel. You simply select the ICOs you want to migrate to a Wave or release. For the ICOs selected Figaf will then:

  • Reuse the Test case you ready have for it
  • Migrate the repository and directory content to the new environment. It is possible to set up the mappings of parameters. Password will in most cases be copied
  • Test the migrated objects to ensure everything work as expected.
  • Create a transport for the new environment
  • Run the transport thru the new environment and configure all channel including passwords
  • Manage the process for the ICO

So it is not the same, it is a tool that will help you perform the migration faster and ensure you are able to test the affected interfaces.

Currently, only ICOs are supported, but it can be expanded for Classical scenarios if requested.

Try it out

The migration tool is a part of the Figaf IRT application. So in it, there is the option to perform migrations.

You simply sign up on Figaf.com/IRT, and then can you get started and migrate 10 interfaces your self.

Requirements to get started

To get started you need the following.

  1. Go to Figaf.com/IRT and signup. Then you will get access to download the latest build, get a license key and view installation information
  2. Computer when Figaf can run. It comes with a build-in database so you can just start the application and run it on your laptop. This is the preferred way for Proof of Concepts or tests of it. If you want to deploy Figaf to a bigger group of developers there is a number of different options for it too servers.
  3. On the old SAP PI landscape you need a developer that has to assess to the Directory API, and then normal development configuration. It should be possible to perform file export from the development system
  4. On new SAP PI landscape SAP PI/PO 7.5 a user needs that can import, configure communication channels and use the write API. In most cases, a standard user can handle this.
  5. Access to get user management, so it is possible to adjust to create system users and add roles if possible.
  6. If you want the best test you must be able to deploy an SCA file with a module on all systems, configure it and create a user for it.

Getting started offer

We want to help you get started, so you can start planning your migration and use the Figaf tool. There is on 13 months to end of support of 7.1-7.4.

We offer a free 2-hour getting started session with one of our developers. We will help configure Figaf IRT on your laptop or a server if you have one, so you can see how the migration works in your landscape. We will help you with the first migrations. You will share your screen via Zoom and then we will help you set it up.

Register by sending an email to support@figaf.com, with information about your landscape, timezone, and availability. Then we will try to plan a meeting to help you get started on your migration. Limited sessions are available.

What is the idea with the migration tool

How fast a migration can be performed

In this video you will see the tool in action. It 17 minutes you will get introduced and will be able to see how it is possible to move multiple interfaces.

Figaf Automatic Migration Demo

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Over the last 2 months, we have been working on making full automation of the migration tool. It is probably the longest we have worked on a release. I had expected it would be a lot faster but once we got into the different areas we could see there process we could improve.

There are still a large number of customers how are still not on 7.5 for all their integrations. They will need to be using a lot of effort in migrating. We want to be able to save them time.

The migration is handled in waves/releases that each can contain a number of interfaces/ICOs. Once you have assigned an ICO to a migration task then it will guide you through the process. There is two processes and you will get tickets to handle them both in the Figaf Tool.

  1. Migrate the content from old Dev system to new Dev system
  2. Development to move from new Dev system to production.

What is the goal with the tool

The Figaf tool will handle all transports, testing, and configuration from an easy to use approach. Check the video below to see how smooth it works for the process of migrating 3 interfaces at once time.

There are still some gaps that we need to solve for the process to be maximumly automated, but we are moving towards it. It is a great leap compared to what existed earlier. It also gives a much better view of what you have migrated for each process.

Signup now to get access to the first release once we are ready.

Get Figaf IRT

Join webinar

We have a webinar on the October 24 to share and show more of what the tool can do. We hope that you will join us to learn more.

Sign up here.

Automatic Migration of SAP PI/PO

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SAP PI migrations are important if you are not on 7.5, you have 16 months to complete it.
For the last year, we have been building components that could help in the process. Now we are taking steps to bundle it all together so you as a user will get full support of the process.

Today I held a webinar to show what we have been working on, and get feedback if it was the correct direction. We did not get to show the full process, but it is not long before we can show it.

The goal is to be able to handle the processing of the full migration process automatically. There will be areas where you need to take and handle the processes your self.

  • Create test cases on your old landscape
  • Migrate Repository and Directory to the new landscape
  • Configure channels and ICOs in full landscape
  • Run testing in the new landscape
  • Manage the process

You can watch the replay of the presentation webinar

Want to try it

If you think this is interesting then your first step is to try out the Figaf IRT testing part of the application. You can try it for free on https://figaf.com/IRT. You will anyway need to create test cases on your old SAP PI system.
We currently support 7.31-7.5 and have a number of different ways to create and run tests. All are pretty easy to setup.
Download it for free now.
Then in a few weeks, we will show the first version of the tool.

Download and try Figaf for free now

Here are the slides

Making Seeburger Migration faster

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3 years ago I saw the challenges of migration Seebuerger Message Mappings on SAP PI to use B2B Add-on. It was a different structure that people needed to use and it would cause a lot so problems to get it working.

I got an idea for a project to make the process automated. I found a developer that could create a Proof of Concept for it and it did work. We could take a Seeburger Message Mapping on our SAP PO system and update the mapping to use B2B Add-on. It was not a really pretty operation in the beginning and it did strike as a PoC. SMT was working and customers could try it. We have been able to convince some customers to use it have they have used it convert 300+ mappings using the tool. They have just started using the tool, so they have 1000 more planned.

You can see a video of the tool here to see what it can do.

What is new

Now it was time to a version 2.0. We had learned quite a lot about the tool worked and what customers problems were with it. We have made improvements to the following areas

  1. Licensing. Before users needed to get us to sign licenses request before they could convert the tool. It was not a really easy process that caused a lot of manual wor on our and the customer’s side. So now we just give users a license they can use when they start the application. Then it will count each license. Customers can then see the licenses they have used in a document
  2. Test driven approach: The original application was developed as a PoC that was then extended with bug fixes. It meant that we did not have a good way of testing how a change would impact, so it was a lot of manual testing to try to figure out how it can be improved. We had taken some examples that we got bug reports from and created test cases based on it. After it, we could rewrite our code to be simpler and every time validate that we did not cause more problems. So we could rewrite the code so it was easier to add rules and functions.
  3. VDA: 28 days ago one of our customers was trying to convert a VDA mapping. It failed because our algorithms did not know how to convert the mappings. It is now possible to convert VDA. We have also got a request for Tradacom, and it will not take that long to implement, with the current architecture
  4. UI: We had just created a simple application that could help convert mappings. It was not optimal and difficult to use. We now went for a UI5 approach just like with our Figaf IRT tool. It is not possible to search for mappings and schemas, so the conversion process should be a lot faster.

You can see how the UI has changed to be a lot easier to use.

Old UI
New UI using OpenUI5

I want to try

If you have Seeburger Mappings and want to convert them fast then try the Seebuger Migration tool. The first 10 conversion is on us.

Get Seeburger Migration Tool