Two of the three biggest challenges faced by organisations transitioning to S/4HANA are data migration and integration. For years, Precisely has offered its Automate SAP Data API as a solution that can assist organisations with that process. Precisely has now announced a major update to the solution which will make it even easier for organisations. The update contains the ability to streamline mass data uploads and improvements to API reporting.
The integration challenges have also been worsening. In 2024, 61% of organisations identified integration as their primary challenge, up from 39% in 2023. As application sprawl continues, integration is becoming increasingly complex as organisations become global entities. But software solutions can vary by region.
Extracting, transforming and loading the data into S/4HANA can become a costly project. Already faced with the cost of maintaining legacy SAP solutions as SaaS license costs kick in, organisations must look for efficient solutions for data-intensive processes such as mass uploads to S/4HANA.
Automate 25.0
The latest release, version 25.0, adds support for bulk uploads. Thus, enabling users to process multiple records in a single request. This new functionality enhances efficiency by allowing asynchronous processing through a dedicated queue with robust tracking and status features. The bulk upload option is seamlessly integrated with the existing single upload feature. Thus, giving users flexibility in how they submit data.
Automate 25.0 sees enhancements that leverage the no-code/low-code capabilities of Automate Studio and Automate Evolve. Automate Studio leverages Excel to automate complex SAP business processes and make mass data changes quickly and easily. The new version of the API ensures a stable and reliable integration between SAP systems and other enterprise applications.
The API reporting capabilities have also been improved. The API Metering Report now includes cumulative data for Digital Access APIs and SAP Data APIs, tracking the total count of API types consumed. Using that data, there are two new summary reports: API Metering – Summary View and API Usage – Summary View. These enable users better visibility of cumulative data insights. The update also improves a log of digital and SAP API usage for analysis.
In addition, for customised installations, the API supports custom columns, enabling users to add custom data fields to their workflows. Further enhancements on the support of custom columns are also included.
There are several administrator updates, including:
- In Automate Evolve, three new administrative roles are added: Group Admin, License Admin, and Operations Admin
- Support for client credential authentication in SCIM lookup
Benefits of the new release
Precisely called out four key benefits the latest release delivers:
- Seamless integration – simplifies end-to-end process automation between SAP ERP and other enterprise systems.
- Enhanced visibility – improves tracking, reporting, and measurement of data movement between systems for better governance and compliance across use cases.
- Increased business agility – enables automation tools (such as RPA bots) to easily organise mass data uploads across any number of SAP ERP environments.
- The optimised total cost of ownership (TCO) – no-code/low-code development for Automate Studio scripts helps to reduce complexity and supports citizen developers.
Tim Fujita-Yuhas, Vice President of Product Management – SAP Process Automation at Precisely, commented, “With these enhancements to our Automate SAP Data API, we continue to empower customers to take control of their end-to-end process automation strategies.
“Our deep expertise – built on over 20 years of experience automating SAP ERP processes – gives us a unique understanding of the challenges SAP teams face when automating complex, data-intensive workflows. We’re proud to help our customers simplify complexity, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and accelerate their digital transformation like never before.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean?
Organisations looking to Rise with SAP and implement S/4HANA that have integration and migration issues should consider Precisely Automate and Precisely Evolve. The familiar Excel interface of Automate, coupled with the latest release of the API, could ease the challenge of integration and migration. Bulk updates and expanded support for custom fields will be welcomed by many as they look to complete their transformation projects.
Organisations wanting to find out more can find Precisly at booth 260 at the SAPinsider event in Las Vegas this week (March 18 – 20).
