Implementing Collaborative Processes (SAP Library - Enabling Application-to-Application Processes)

Implementing Collaborative Processes

Every type of business software is based on a real business process, which is automated to accelerate business processes and reduce costs. SAP NetWeaver PI concentrates on processes involving the exchange of messages between different systems. Examples of such processes and tasks are:

● Order processing involving different systems

● Providing products on internet marketplaces.

● Implementing B2B processes with a business partner by using the internet

● Setting up a new software system that needs to exchange data with existing systems

Processes of this kind that have not yet been automated are referred to in this documentation as collaborative or cross-component processes. SAP NetWeaver PI enables both top-down and bottom-up implementation of such processes.

Process Integration Scenarios

A total solution generally implements several cross-component processes, which you can handle separately. Using the ES Builder you can graphically design a process integration scenario. that documents a cross-component process.

The elements of a process integration scenario reference the design objects (integration processes (see below), interfaces and mappings) required for the collaborative process directly. However, this graphical description does not merely serve as a point of entry for the cross-component process. The associations described in the process integration scenario are also used to generate and check configuration objects automatically in the Integration Directory.

Integration Processes

Like process integration scenarios, you can define integration processes graphically in the ES Builder. They can be executed on the Integration Server and can handle the following tasks, among others:

● Executing a central process involving multiple systems on the Integration Server

● Forwarding a message to a receiver following receipt or confirmation of other messages

● Collecting several messages to send to a receiver as one message

An integration process can receive asynchronous messages, and can send asynchronous or synchronous messages. Furthermore, you can also define a sync/async bridge to connect a synchronous caller business system with an asynchronously called business system. You can control this process by using logical conditions. The most important difference from normal message exchange is that the integration process status stays the same until the integration process is complete (in other words, integration processes are stateful).