Agent Framework (FS-FND-AF)

Today, complex business processes are handled by dividing labor. It takes place across systems and in different applications. For the participating applications and systems to react successfully to process changes with their own follow-up activities, they must receive information about events relevant to business processes (for example, unscheduled repayments or account opening) in other participating applications and systems.

You use this component to control and ensure the data supply for all participating applications centrally, uniformly, and fully automated. The advantage of this is that the receiving applications can react to an event (for example, unscheduled repayment or account holder change) immediately with follow-up activities. The receiving application does not have to obtain the required information for an event itself. The agents make up the core of the Agent Framework. The component performs the management, scheduling, execution, and monitoring of these agents. For more information about agents , see Agent.

If you want to use this component, you must implement the application component Change Notification Service (CA-GTF-TS-CNS) before you can do so.

The Agent Framework uses the Change Notification Service (CA-GTF-TS-CNS) and adds to it. For more information about the interaction between the Change Notification Service and the Agent Framework, see Change Notification Service and Agent Framework.

The Execute Agent report uses the application component Parallel Processing of Mass Data (CA-GTF-TS-PPM). For more information, see Parallel Processing of Mass Data (CA-GTF-TS-PPM).

If you want to schedule the execution of an agent as a background job, you can do so in the following ways:

• Using component-specific, simplified scheduling

• Using the application component Background Processing (BC-CCM-BTC)

• Using SAP Central Process Scheduling by Redwood

For more information about the different types of agent scheduling, see Execute Agent, Background Processing (BC-CCM-BTC) and the SAP Developer Network (SDN) at https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/nw-scheduling.

The Agent Framework enables cross-application and cross-system reading, preparing, and forwarding of event data by agents. This is for the purpose of further processing by the receiving applications. The agents process the data they receive, then prepare it by reading all relevant information from the database, and finally forwarding it to the ordering parties (the receiving applications). You can start agents automatically or with a delay after the event takes place.

If communication problems arise between the agent and the receiving application, the Agent Framework sets the status to Contains Errors. This creates the prerequisite needed for the agent to re-process the incorrect events.

To monitor the processing of these events by the agents, the application log for the execution of agents is available. For more information, see Display Logs.

The agents in the Agent Framework are outbound agents. This means that your order is completed as soon as the event data has been transferred to one or more receiving applications in the context of Process Integration (PI). You do not have to wait for a reply from the respective application. They communicate asynchronously. Inbound agents and synchronous communication are not part this component.

In banking, unscheduled repayment is one possible type of event.

When the repayment amount is credited to the borrower's loan account, the following application components need this information:

• Collateral Management (FS-CMS): This application has to collateralize a small receivables amount. Because of this it may not be possible to release the collaterals.

• Business Analytics (FIN-BA): This application must include the small remaining debt in the business evaluations and reports the bank has to make to the German Federal Bank and to the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority according to the German Banking Act

• Facilities (FS-MCM-FAC): If this is a revolving credit and the loan is part of a facility, the application may have to reduce the utilization of the line of credit. In this way, the open limit amount is again available to the customer.