The time of agile change

Digital upheaval and disruption describe the current spirit of the times. Some industries, such as hotel bookings or cab services, are currently being completely turned upside down by digital platforms, while others are only experiencing a minor impact. Nevertheless, every company is forced to react quickly to the changing expectations of customers and employees.

In view of this profound upheaval, agility in companies is increasingly becoming a decisive factor for survival on the market and many IT teams are under great pressure. Even SAP specialists are not exempt from this.

However, in order to offer real agility for companies, "systems of record" such as SAP must be updated at the same pace as the "systems of engagement" used for customer interaction (i.e. websites, mobile apps, etc.) - a task that seems impossible in traditional approaches. This problem can only be solved by further developing existing development and testing methods. Thanks to agile Software development and DevOps For SAP, you can make the best possible use of today's possibilities.

What are agile Development and DevOps?

Agile Development and DevOps are modern methods that replace the traditional Development of cumbersome SAP projects can finally be forgotten. The aim of these two approaches is to respond more quickly to the needs of the company, reduce costs and significantly improve quality.

The fast delivery of Software-The ability to manage change is a decisive factor for greater agility in the company. The requirements for agile Software development and DevOps are divided into many small stories that can be delivered (transported) at lightning speed without having to define a specification in advance. This means that quick adjustments can be made using direct feedback loops. New requirements can be met more easily, and what does not work becomes visible in the early stages of the work process.

Agile development

Agile Development constantly provides new, functioning solutions by means of iterative sprint cycles, always in line with the needs of the company. Agile Software development is a relatively formal approach that aims to optimize the Development and to tie quality assurance more closely to operational activities. Many common uses such as Scrums or Kanban already exist.

One drawback, however, is that IT operations teams are sometimes left out of the loop, resulting in a backlog of tasks for new development activities that cannot be transitioned to production systems. Not only do these undelivered changes not add value, they also create a lot of clutter in the IT landscape. DevOps is one approach to tackling this problem.

DevOps: A new approach

DevOps is not a strictly defined method. This approach involves a wider range of stakeholders in the product lifecycle, including the testing, operations and IT security teams. The aim is to achieve continuous testing, integration, delivery and provision of stable, high-quality software. Software.

The implementation of DevOps varies from company to company, but some common principles apply, such as the transition to agile Software developmenta high degree of interdisciplinary collaboration and communication, the use of tools to maximize the automation of Processes and faster feedback loops. Agile Development is a prerequisite for DevOpsbut the reverse is not the case.

Agile Development and DevOps for SAP

The reasons for agile Software development and DevOps for SAP are obvious: they enable rapid delivery of the added value created and increase agility within the company. The reasons for the traditional, large-scale SAPDevelopment cannot be denied, but due to the current economic climate, the disadvantages of this previous working approach increasingly outweigh the advantages.

Agile Development and DevOps make it possible to react quickly to immediately visible defects. The rapid delivery of formulated requirements enables immediate feedback and constant improvement. Risks and impact can be reduced - splitting releases into smaller batches allows important functions to be delivered quickly and easily. Temporary workarounds can also be avoided - a lean working approach makes solutions more efficient and cost-effective. Involving all stakeholders in the day-to-day processes ensures improved visibility and allows priorities to be constantly monitored.

Risks and uncertainties that are unavoidable with large-scale deployments can be almost completely eliminated, which in turn frees up time to create new functions and further added value for the company.

SAP is different

Are agile Software development and DevOps even usable for SAP? At Basis Technologies, we sometimes hear that agile Software development and DevOps cannot be used for SAP. It is often said that the associated Risks exceed the permissible level that SAPDevelopment cannot be split into smaller parts due to the far-reaching integration and the high number of dependencies, and that distributed teams or teams made up of many different experts are not suitable for agile Software development can be used.

In reality, however, all of these challenges can be overcome with the appropriate adjustments to the corporate culture, the Processes and the tools used in order to take advantage of the many benefits of these working approaches.

There are still examples for which a waterfall project in SAP is more suitable - e.g. in some "greenfield" installations - but even these projects can be optimized by integrating elements of agile Software development be carried out more effectively. In fact, agile Software development and DevOps SAP is being used to an ever greater extent because greater agility in companies is now a fundamental prerequisite for survival in a competitive environment.

Both DevOps as well as the agile Software development are already delivering tangible benefits to numerous companies in a wide range of sectors. And despite its short existence, DevOps has already been adopted by leading international brands such as Facebook, Walmart, Sony Pictures and Zalando.

Conclusion

As technology advances, customer expectations continue to rise. New business models are turning previous ways of working and industries upside down and forcing existing companies to change. In such an unpredictable environment, the need for more flexibility within the company is likely to grow. Agile Software development and DevOps already provide many IT teams with the means to deliver changes quickly in order to meet customer needs and stand out from the competition in the market. SAP systems should play a key role in this Process are no exception.

Agile Software development and DevOps provide the means to ensure that the lengthy and cumbersome SAP release cycles do not hold up the entire operation. At Basis Technologies, we firmly believe that there is no reason for companies to forego the benefits of these approaches.