Open Source is more than marketing

Pure marketing is not enough

IT thrives on trends and hypes, and SAP users must also embrace these developments: DevSecOps, AIOps, GreenOps or containerization are just a few examples. In the context of mission-critical SAP applications, it is important to proceed in a mindful and informed manner. Most innovations such as AI/ML, IoT, Industry 4.0 or Big Data will have a lasting impact on the future, also in the SAP world. And these innovations have one thing in common: the open source basis. 

Almost all software vendors and stakeholders in the SAP ecosystem therefore rely on open source today. But innovations and open source can no longer be imported like an update or a new component. Care must be taken when selecting a solution or a partner; after all, not everything that recently appears under the open source seal of approval is open source. Even a pure open source promise is not enough. It is much more important that all the basic principles of open source are valid and lived.

In many areas, there is still a need for action. Many add-on products and industry solutions around SAP - for example, in areas such as enterprise information management, HCM, document processes, archiving solutions, or more specialized integration platforms - have been established and in use for years, but in many cases without any open source basis. The rule here is often traditional software architectures and development methods that are no longer up-to-date and, above all, not cloud-capable. Modernization is the order of the day here and is of course also promised to customers.

But what are the principles of open source software? It is developed in a decentralized and collaborative manner and is based on the commitment of the community. The software is often more flexible, secure and durable than proprietary products because it is not designed by a single programmer or company, but by communities. All contributors in the open source ecosystem also actively contribute to projects and communities.

Even if open source stands for high flexibility and interoperability in principle, its use is not always a trivial matter. Especially for productive use in your own development and operation, you need more than just a download from the open source community. Proven policies for secure and sensible open source use offer support here. Of course, there are also countless so-called frameworks that simplify the modernization of the application landscape. But here, too, caution is advisable. There are many frameworks that are backed by only very small communities and for which continuous further development is therefore not guaranteed.

This is not fundamentally a disadvantage and is also a typical feature of the open source culture. For mission-critical applications, however, such frameworks are problematic and it requires experience and routine in the evaluation. On the other hand, carefully curated "enterprise-ready" solutions based on open source are therefore also available - especially with regard to the infrastructure and technology basis - which have been supplemented with support services, certifications and SLAs. In relation to SAP, this concerns, for example, the Linux operating system, Ansible automation, API management or the layers of a hybrid multi-cloud architecture.

The modernization of the SAP world continues unabated. However, open source is not always in where it says it is. Consequently, when selecting a partner, you should always pay attention to their open source competencies, experience values, project successes and roadmap - question the CTO! After all, a resilient and stable IT landscape is essential, especially for business-critical SAP systems. The motto should be: Eyes open when choosing software and partners. Open source washing alone is not enough.