SAP PI/PO to SAP Integration Suite Migration – How to navigate the challenges with Int4 Suite?

Overview of the migration

Migrating from SAP PI/PO to SAP Integration Suite is a project that needs great preparation and execution. Like with every journey – even the seemingly well-known routes can pose their own challenges to you. 

This article focuses on the most common challenges and solutions or approaches that you can use to overcome them. The written form was created from the webinar regarding the PI/PO to SAP IS migration hosted by Michał Rohnka and Mateusz Nowak. Find the full video below:

Having said that, let’s see the main challenges:

Most common challenges of Migration Projects

According to some sources, testing can be the most time-consuming activity in the whole Integration Platform Migration project. And it’s not because Enterprise Companies test so much – it’s because they tend to test slowly. At Int4 we created a suite of products to allow Enterprise SAP Customers to speed-up this important part of the project, without sacrificing quality. And here are some of the most common challenges that our customers solve with Int4 Suite while running their Migration Projects. 

Challenge #1 – How to minimize the risk to the business?

Migrations such as SAP PI/PO to SAP Integration Suite are migrations of your middleware platform. And if your middleware is not working, your business is not working. These kinds of projects can have a great impact on the company’s ability to perform the most crucial business operations such as selling, buying and shipping.

The number one priority in these kinds of projects is to make sure that non business processes are affected in a negative way. And fast, reliable testing is an essential part of minimizing this risk.

Challenge #2 – How to meet a demanding time schedule and desired business outcomes?

There’s no doubt that in today’s world, organizations need to move fast and stay agile. But despite that, no company can forget about the quality of the systems. While it’s important to perform this project in a timely manner, the real question is how to do it while delivering on the business outcomes that are expected.

Challenge #3 – How to deal with dependencies on functional and business teams?

In order to properly test, you need to engage your internal teams in this project. And it’s not easy to do this. Because for example the PI/PO to IS migration might not be of the highest priority to your business team.

Challenge #4 – How to mitigate being dependent on external applications and B2B/EDI partners?

If coordinating your internal resources wasn’t enough, without modern tools such as Int4 Suite, your project will usually be dependent on third parties. And once again – your project will usually not be a priority to them. Exchanging emails, calling back and forth and trying to coordinate these resources isn’t easy and can frequently generate project delays. See just how much impact these External Dependencies can have on your project by watching the video below:

Can you somehow reduce the impact of dependencies and avoid project delays?

We’re glad you’re asking! Within the Int4 Suite, there’s a product that might come in handy for you in the SAP PI/PO to SAP Integration Suite Migration project – and that would be Int4 Shield, with Integration Platform Migration being its’ common use case.

Int4 Shield allows you to generate test cases based on real, historical data and then repeat them for regression testing purposes. With Int4 Shield, you can simulate third-party systems or EDI/B2B partners to remove the External Dependencies and regain full control over testing.

Scope Definition is crucial for successful PI/PO to IS Migration

Scope of the project is crucial – both for planning and tracking progress of the project. Good project scope definition helps you deliver the project in time, which is vital from the financial standpoint. But like with most things – there’s a price. Defining the scope isn’t easy. Especially if there’s no reliable and up-to-date interface master list.

How to quickly produce the list of integrations?

List of all PI/PO system integrations can be easily produced by Int4 Shield. This will be a great initial input for the scope definition. Although not everything will get migrated 1:1, the list of all integrations is a great starting point. By generating such a list without much manual work, you’ll greatly reduce the amount of time and effort needed to properly define the scope.

Quick Test Preparation

When you have the scope, you need to prepare test cases. Because testing is a must. And good test preparation is crucial for non-disrupted business continuity. And to achieve that you need two things:

Number one – you need extensive testing coverage. So each interface should be tested at least once. And that’s a bare minimum. And number two – you need reliable messages to test with. Dummy messages with only one variation is not enough. Because it doesn’t minimize business risk. 

And how can you achieve that without spending weeks or months on test case creation?

Int4 Suite lets you reuse your existing messages (the ones that your system has exchanged in the past) and reuse them as test cases. 

In this way you’re using the best possible messages to test – real ones. Because your current SAP PI/PO data is the best source of truth for migration.

Furthermore, with Int4 Shield you can migrate your SAP PI/PO test cases to SAP Integration Suite with a click of a button.

SAP Integration Suite Testing

Int4 Shield is also useful for the purpose of testing the SAP Integration Suite.

First of all, when you are going through your migration project, you need to know the overall progress of the project. That’s why Int4 Suite gives you access to daily reports. The second thing is that you follow the Continuous Test Driven Development as long as you face any defects. And the third thing is that you should automate repetitive tasks as much as possible. All that is possible with Int4 Shield. 

What are the benefits of using Int4 Shield in your migration?

Int4 Shield gives you more control over the testing, increases you confidence in the system and allows you to increase testing coverage. 3C – control, confidence, coverage.

From the business perspective, Int4 Shield can significantly lower the risk to the business by increasing testing coverage, while simultaneously reducing the cost of the migration. The reduction of the costs happens in few ways – so we’ve created a whole course to calculate how much Int4 Suite could save for your Enterprise. Here’s a sample video:

If you’d like to learn more about how your SAP program or project could benefit from using Int4 Suite, simply schedule a free demo session: