PUBLIC
Comprehensive Real-Time Integration
Using Event-Driven Architecture
October 2024
Table 3
4
Legal Notice
Event-driven architecture (EDA)
of contents 6 EDA in the Enterprise
8 Leverage SAP Integration Suite to
Explore EDA in the Enterprise
9 Event Mediation
10 EDA-enabling of SAP Cloud
Applications – Boosters for
Your EDA Journey
12 Summary
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
1. Event-driven architecture (EDA)
Modern enterprises embrace event-driven archi- EDA solutions are typically based on multiple
tecture as part of their digital transformation. They connected event brokers, which mediate the
look for solutions that enable their IT landscape communication of event messages between
to operate in real time and they seek to build flex- event publishers and event consumers. An event
ible and responsive systems that can easily adapt broker decouples applications and services in a
to changing business demands. Processes in the system landscape by taking responsibility for
digital world are data driven. Meshing up multiple matching consumer subscriptions to published
applications along the networked value streams events and routing events asynchronously from
and processes requires the ability to share signifi- publisher to consumer. This results in higher
cant changes in business processes and business throughput and resilience since the publisher
data in real time, while also ensuring the auton- does not need to know the consuming applica-
omy of processing for individual business func- tions and does not have to wait for a response or
tions. The business world is asynchronous. The be dependent on a consumer’s uptime. Asyn-
ability to connect cloud services, legacy systems, chronous communication therefore ensures
IoT devices, and other data sources with an event- greater scalability, high throughput, low latency,
driven approach enables enterprises to take and resilience because publishing applications
advantage of the capabilities of each system, can simply “fire and forget”. This also results in
while also allowing them to operate more effi- loose coupling, as a customer can easily add con-
ciently and effectively. sumers without changing code or configurations
inside the publishing application. The resulting
Event-driven architecture (EDA) is a well-known enterprise-wide concept is called an event mesh.
approach for designing and building decoupled,
hyper-connected software systems and it’s rap-
idly gaining popularity in the world of enterprise
integration due to its reliability, scalability, and
cost-effectiveness. EDA architectural patterns
focus on the seamless flow of events and the
resulting reactions and notifications triggered by
these events. Events could include things like
changes to data or business events like orders
being placed, changes to orders, or changes to
delivery dates.
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
Along with APIs, events are a method of facilitat-
ing real-time process integration for intelligent
enterprises. SAP cloud applications increasingly
support event-driven architecture concepts.
It’s frequent for SAP applications to act as event
publishers (as systems of records), but, as event-
driven concepts become more popular, they can
also act as event consumers. For example, SAP
S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition supports hun-
dreds of business events that are published on
the SAP Business Accelerator Hub, which can
be used for building event-driven side-by-side
extensions.
SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP)
plays a significant role in enabling for the move
to a clean core, extending applications in a cloud-
native way, and connecting data and business
processes. SAP Business Technology Platform
features SAP Integration Suite and SAP Integration
Suite, advanced event mesh1 (advanced event
mesh for short) to support the connectivity of
real-time business processes across applications
and data sources.
EDA enables a clean core by leveraging the data
from all applications to build new extensions
and applications on SAP BTP without having to
change the core. SAP Integration Suite and
advanced event mesh can help customers apply
EDA in a way that allows them to maintain a
clean core while achieving real-time business
processes.
Footnote
1. See SAP Integration Suite, Advanced Event Mesh | SAP Help Portal.
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
2. EDA in the Enterprise
In today’s enterprise IT landscape, there is a con- Advanced event mesh serves these enterprise
siderable mix of SAP and third-party applications use cases. Enterprises use advanced event mesh
and technologies, deployed on different hyper- as a distributed multi-broker event mesh to dis-
scalers in public or private cloud environments, tribute, manage, and monitor events across broad
in dedicated (on-premise) datacenters, or at the enterprise landscapes—for example, across het-
edge. Medium to large businesses need a way to erogeneous cloud, edge, and local environments
manage event integration across all their systems, comprised of SAP and third-party applications,
from local operations to the entire company. This services, and technologies. Advanced event mesh
requires a centralized system that provides visi- provides distributed event processing and routing
bility and control over the health, subscriptions, across multiple interconnected brokers in the
and activity tracking across different locations, mesh. The mesh architecture allows for flexible
cloud providers, data centers, applications, and deployments of interconnected brokers on
technologies. Advanced event mesh is designed hyperscalers in the cloud or in local customer
to help meet these requirements. environments, for example, co-deployed with
on-premise applications. Advanced event mesh
supports different sizes of brokers and different
mesh topologies to scale the mesh according to
event levels, serving almost any need with great
resilience. At the same time, the event portal in
the central control plane provides central mesh
design, operations, and monitoring (including end
to end distributed tracing) across the full event
lifecycle.
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
3rd Party Cloud
Applications SAP Cloud On-Premise /
3rd Party Cloud Private Landscapes
Applications Applications
Including SAP S/4HANA cloud and
SAP Business Technology Platform applications
3rd Party Cloud SAP S/4HANA
Applications
SAP ECC
3rd Party Apps
SAP Cloud Application
Event Hub
SAP Integration Suite,
advanced
event mesh SAP Integration Suite
advanced event mesh
SAP Cloud Application
Event Hub
Figure 1 - EDA in the Enterprise
As shown in figure 1 – EDA in the enterprise, The ability to expand the event mesh by adding
advanced event mesh acts as a backbone to help new brokers is a key quality of the multi-broker,
enterprises integrate third-party applications, multi-environmental decentralized advanced
on-premise applications (including SAP S/4HANA2), event mesh architecture. This architecture
and SAP cloud applications, either directly for enables scale and agility, as projects across an
selected applications or through the SAP Cloud enterprise can grow the mesh independently,
Application Event Hub3 (See SAP Note for more without affecting other parts of the system.
information4).
Use of advanced event mesh requires a dedi-
cated license, typically consisting of multiple
event broker entitlements.
Footnote(s)
2. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition can only be connected via SAP Integration Suite, advanced event mesh or SAP Integration Suite event mesh capability.
3. See SAP Cloud Application Event Hub | SAP Help Portal, formerly known as SAP Event Broker for SAP cloud applications.
4. See SAP roadmap item
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
3. Leverage SAP Integration Suite to
Explore EDA in the Enterprise
Enterprises are currently in different stages of The Event Mesh capability will be used if an
EDA adoption. There are enterprises who are just enterprise just wants to implement small volume
starting to implement a broader EDA strategy or event integration scenarios across SAP and third-
just want to implement some initial EDA scenarios party applications. Event Mesh capability enables
across SAP and third-party applications. enterprises to expand even if they start small:
either Event Mesh capability will be bridged into
The new Event Mesh capability of SAP Integra- advanced event mesh, or it will be fully migrated
tion Suite5 (“Event Mesh capability” for short) is into advanced event mesh as a broker when a
an event broker which will enable implementation customer is ready to expand their event-driven
of starter or small volume EDA scenarios across processes9. This enables agility and scale at the
SAP and third-party applications. It will enable a same time, while also optimizing costs.
“start small and expand” EDA strategy; organiza-
tions will be able to start small with the Event
Mesh capability and transition to advanced event
mesh as their event-based traffic grows6. The
Event Mesh capability will be comparable to the
existing SAP Event Mesh7, but it will be bundled
into the SAP Integration Suite, standard and pre-
mium editions8.
Footnote(s)
5. See Event Mesh capability | SAP Help Portal and SAP Note 3461547
6. See SAP Roadmap Explorer: Bridging Event Mesh with SAP Integration Suite, advanced event mesh).
7. See SAP Note 3461547 for more information on Event Mesh capability with SAP Integration Suite
8. See SAP Note 2903776 - SAP Integration Suite – Service Plans and Upgrade Paths - SAP for Me
9. See SAP Roadmap Explorer: Bridging Event Mesh with SAP Integration Suite, advanced event mesh).
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
4. Event Mediation
While EDA has become more popular in today’s The Cloud Integration capability of SAP Integra-
enterprises, it should not be approached as a tion Suite plays a vital role in EDA as well, mainly
standalone discipline. Instead, EDA should be in the following two scenarios:
embraced to as part of a holistic approach. • For providing event mediation functionality
Enterprises are not looking into using EDA in such as mapping of event structures and data,
isolation—they’re looking into it to achieve a enriching event payloads (for example, catching
full-fledged integration platform that addresses a narrow business notification event and calling
all types of process integration10. Therefore, back to the event publisher to enrich with more
enterprises are leveraging SAP’s EDA technology data), or for event enabling legacy applications
services in conjunction with SAP Integration Suite (using existing APIs or interfaces).
to establish a rich hybrid integration platform. • Acting as an event bridge between third-party
event brokers or applications and SAP EDA
technology services (SAP Cloud Application
Event Hub, Event Mesh capability of SAP
Integration Suite, and advanced event mesh).
The Cloud Integration capability of
SAP Integration Suite will be connected to:
• Advanced event mesh via the advanced
event mesh adapter for SAP Integration Suite;
• The Event Mesh capability of SAP Integration
Suite and SAP Event Mesh via the AMQP
adapter
• SAP Cloud Application Event Hub11
Footnote(s)
10. This may include but is not limited to event-driven and API-based integrations, mediation capabilities including mapping and transformation, full lifecycle
API management, service composability, adapters, or support for business partner, business network and government integration, API and event portal.
11. See SAP Cloud Application Event Hub | SAP Help Portal, formerly known as SAP Event Broker for SAP cloud applications.
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
5. EDA-enabling of SAP Applications –
Boosters for Your EDA Journey
In addition to the robust platform for EDA, SAP For older releases of SAP S/4HANA and for SAP
also offers mechanisms to enable events in SAP ECC releases (since NW 7.31) the SAP Applica-
applications and out-of-the box event integration tion Interface Framework (AIF) supports the
for selected scenarios between SAP applications. development of custom events and customer
interfaces for SAP Business Objects, IDoc Inter-
5.1 Event-Enabling of SAP Applications faces, and BAPI/RFC Functional Module inter-
SAP delivers a continuously growing set of stan- faces. It also provides connectivity to advanced
dard events to support a modular cloud ERP with event mesh.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud and the SAP suite of appli-
cations. Available standard business events from
SAP S/4HANA and other SAP applications can be
found on the SAP Business Accelerator Hub.
For SAP S/4HANA, most of these events can be
adjusted and extended to make them fit cus-
tomer use cases perfectly. Some customers have
a need for events beyond the standard events, to
enable additional business processes and push
context information from the core. These custom-
ers can leverage the ABAP RESTful Application
Programming Model (RAP) to extend SAP stan-
dard events and define derived events, or to
define their own custom events. These events can
be notification events with a narrow payload as
well as data events with richer payload. All
derived and custom events are made available
via the Enterprise Event Enablement component
of SAP S/4HANA that natively connects to SAP
Integration Suite, to the Event Mesh capability of
SAP Integration Suite, or to advanced event mesh
or, in the cloud only, to SAP Cloud Application
Event Hub.
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
5.2 Exchange Events With SAP Cloud 3. Exchange events with Integration Suite EDA
Applications and mediation offerings for third party and on-
premise integrations. SAP Cloud Application
The SAP Cloud Application Event Hub service Event Hub will provide a central access point
will provide access to all business events in the for events from SAP cloud applications and
SAP intelligent enterprise suite in the cloud. Sup- move events back and forth between SAP
ported SAP cloud applications will be natively cloud applications and advanced event mesh,
connected to SAP Cloud Application Event Hub the Cloud Integration capability of SAP Integra-
without additional configuration required. SAP tion Suite, and the Event Mesh capability of
Cloud Application Event Hub will support three SAP Integration Suite12.
major EDA scenarios:
1. Customer and partner (extension) applications SAP Cloud Application Event Hub is an SAP BTP
built on SAP BTP. Applications built on SAP service entitled with all SAP BTP Enterprise
BTP, (for example, applications using Cloud Agreement (SAP BTPEA), Cloud Platform Enter-
Application Programming (CAP) can use the prise Agreements (CPEA) and pay-as-you-go
SAP Cloud Application Event Hub for event- (PAYG) accounts of SAP BTP. Usage of SAP Cloud
based integration with SAP cloud applications Application Event Hub is free, up to a limit, for
to achieve real-time integration while adhering moving events to and from SAP-branded cloud
to the clean core concept. applications as well as to and from applications
2. Pre-built event integrations between SAP built by customers and partners on SAP BTP.
cloud applications. SAP cloud applications use
SAP Cloud Application Event Hub to imple-
ment SAP event integration scenarios with pre-
built event subscription rules (for example,
between SAP Subscription Billing and SAP
S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition). Customers just
need to activate these event subscription rules
to run the prebuilt SAP scenarios as part of
their E2E business processes.
Footnote
12. More information on integration between Event Mesh capability in Integration Suite, standard and premium editions and SAP Cloud Application Event Hub can be
found here. More information on the integration between SAP Integration Suite, advanced event mesh and SAP Cloud Application Event hub can be found here.
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Comprehensive Real-time Integration using Event-Driven Architecture
6. Summary
SAP Integration Suite, advanced event mesh
supports an enterprise-wide EDA strategy across
SAP and third-party applications in hybrid,
heterogeneous landscapes with flexible broker
deployments and high(er) requirements towards
scalability and resilience.
The Event Mesh capability of SAP Integration
Suite enables a “start small and expand” EDA
strategy across SAP and third-party applications
which starts with the implementation of some
low-to-moderate volume EDA scenarios and
allows a transition to advanced event mesh to
meet growing demand.
SAP Cloud Application Event Hub enables an
EDA for SAP cloud applications and for customer
and partner extensions on SAP BTP. It will
become the central EDA access point for SAP
cloud applications and will connect to the
advanced event mesh, to the Event Mesh
capability of SAP Integration Suite, and to the
Cloud Integration capability of SAP Integration
Suite.
The Cloud Integration capability of SAP Integra-
tion Suite will connect with all the three services
above to provide event mediation capabilities.
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