SAP’s Cloud-Focused Strategy and Data Management
SAP’s cloud-focused strategy has led to the pioneering and adoption of several excellent and innovative solutions in various important areas, including:
- Procurement
- SAP S/4HANA
- Planning
- Human resources
- Customer services
However, the organisation previously didn’t have anything to help you improve your data management aesthetics. Thus, by introducing SAP BTP DMS, they’ve tried to bridge that gap and assist you in tackling a continuous data flow.
But What is SAP BTP DMS?
How does it work?
Does it offer any other benefits apart from the obvious one?
In this article, we have tried to answer these questions more elaborately. So, be sure to read till the end and let us know if you are confused about anything.
What is SAP DMS?
If you use an SAP-based framework for your organisation, you’ll find two types of DMS in your system. One of them is available on SAP S/4HANA’s side, a cross-application component that offers e-asset and document management capabilities.
The DMS from S/4HANA is also used to manage the regular documents of a business. And it’s only available to someone who’s authorised to use it. Hence, it tends to be quite secure too.
The Role of SAP BTP DMS
The short answer — to get a cheaper and more accessible place to store your documents. Yes, it’s certainly possible to store whatever documentation you’re producing within S/4HANA. But, if you store a massive amount of data, it might affect your core SAP performance.
However, this issue won’t affect the performance of the SAP Business Technology Platform.
As the tool is based on OASIS industry standards, it can be used by almost any business in any country. It also comes with various features like:
- Versioning
- Access control
- Hierarchies
- Document management
These can improve your data structure and control data flow efficiently. The SAP DMS is currently available in two different options altogether:
- Application Option (a type of SaaS offering)
- Document Management Service
How Can It Improve Your Business?
Helping you manage your organisational documentation is undoubtedly a benefit from SAP BTP DMS. However, it’s not the only way it can be helpful for you. Additionally, it can also offer assistance with:
1. Virtual Copies
With SAP BTP Document Management Service, you can easily create and keep a virtual copy for whatever document you are using. There’s no risk of getting overloaded with data.
2. Business Work Distribution
With the tool, you’ll get a place to keep all of your business-related documentation in a single place. You can also offer data access to people according to their business roles.
3. Version and Change Management
If someone with access changes the data available in your system, you’ll get a notification on it almost instantly. Besides, who and when the change has been made can also be seen.
4. Security
The selective data access system can offer decent security regarding your data. But SAP has also included additional tools to keep your documents even more secure.
5. Easy Search
With the availability of advanced document search functionality, you’ll easily search and find whatever you’re looking for with a single click. Be sure to list down the keywords of the documents you currently have stored there to make your job easier.
What Business Issues Can SAP BTP DMS Solve?
While SAP BTP DMS can make your data management job easier, it will not be a sloth in solving other business issues. Here are a few of them:
1. Documentation Storage
- Offering a secure storage option within the SAP content server
- Providing storage of technical, engineering, and other forms of documentation
- Converting documents automatically for storing and viewing
2. Document Classification
- Simplifying document search through characteristics and classes
- Using the classification system of SAP to describe documents in different categories
3. Access Management
- Can offer authorisation control settings with different SAP authorisations and roles
- Documents access control setting alongside SAP authorisations and roles
4. Document Management
- Tracking the status of different tasks
- Managing different document revisions and versions
- Document distribution
- Learning about the change history (who did it and when it was done)
The Available Features of SAP BTP DMS
As mentioned, there are two different options to choose from and use regarding SAP BTP DMS. Here’s what you need to know about them and their features.
SAP Document Management – Integration Option
The Integration Option of SAP BTP DMS can enable you to build document management and improve your business’s productivity. It also comes with a reusable UI component that’s easy to use and integrate within an organisational structure. Here are some other benefits it can offer:
- Use the Repository option to store your organisation’s attachments and documentation effortlessly.
- Bring your own CMS-compliant cloud-based or on-premise repository to connect SAP DMS and leverage the benefits of the service.
- Organise the available content with folder and file hierarchy and status management. Versioning can also be quite helpful in maintaining data flow.
- It’s easy to embed in your application and can be used in almost any document management scenario. Being UI5-based, it can be reused.
- Leverage the available APIs to create a customised layer of document management in both cloud-based and on-premise environments.
SAP Document Management – Application Option
The Application Option is a standalone yet ready-to-use application that offers excellent document management capabilities for your organisation. While it performs similar tasks as the Integration Option, it acts within the application instead of the services.
- Personalise your document list and sort it based on document-related attributes.
- Restructure your document hierarchy for better organisation and faster access.
- View images, vector graphics, and PDFs efficiently using in-built viewers.
- Support other file extensions offered via download options.
- View and edit core or basic documents supported by the repository and manage metadata effectively.
How to Get Started with SAP BTP DMS
The process of doing so includes two primary use cases from the perspective of business requirements:
- Connect SAP HANA in your system and use DMS as a front-end layer.
- Connect SAP HANA in your system and leverage DMS as a content server.
However, you first need to create your SAP BTP account and subscribe to the SAP BTP DMS from there. Here’s how:
- Log into your account in SAP BTP and create a DMS instance.
- Click on it and start creating a service key.
- Navigate to the ‘Role Collections’ segment and click on ‘+’ (available on the top right corner).
- Give it a name (e.g., DMS_ADMIN).
- Select the ‘role collection’ button again and click on ‘edit’ to include the corresponding roles.
- Go to ‘users’ and choose the user (or yourself) you wish to grant access to DMS. Assign the ‘role collection’ to the DMS_ADMIN you previously created.
Once done, you can access SAP BTP DMS API without any limitations.
Final Summary
SAP DMS is a brand-new part of SAP BTP and can be challenging to implement in an organisational structure initially. If you are having trouble, it’s best to consult someone who’s an expert in this aspect.
Also, before they begin working on your system, make sure to ask them about the roadmap they will be following. This way, you will know precisely what to expect.
