Adapter Overview
Tidal Workload Automation Adapter for SAP offers a powerful SAP scheduling solution designed for those who want the efficiency, visibility, and control offered by an enterprise-wide, heterogeneous job automation solution. The adapter makes the process of scheduling SAP jobs simpler and readily accessible through Workload Automation itself. SAP users can add this adapter to their Workload Automation solution and manage their SAP jobs in the context of other enterprise jobs, leveraging powerful enterprise scheduling capabilities that include exception-based management, scalability, role-based security, and enhanced manageability.
Tidal Workload Automation for SAP provides users control over batch, ad hoc, and on demand jobs, and it ultimately helps improve efficiency. The adapter enables users to increase the productivity gains of SAP jobs by setting dependencies to and from other platforms and programs, including non-SAP applications and leading third party databases. This means that all SAP jobs can now be part of larger business process workflows and can all be managed through a single pane of glass. As a result, application automation, job management, and detailed reporting can be consolidated under one enterprise-class solution that will increase staff productivity, decrease downtime, and increase service level agreement (SLA) performance metrics.
More About This Adapter
How Tidal Workload Automation Adapter for SAP WorksTidal Workload Automation Adapter for SAP interfaces to CCMS using SAP XBP technology. And it integrates with SAP Business Information Warehouse (BW) and SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization (APO) using the InfoPackage and Process Chain application program interfaces (APIs). Both interfaces are SAP-certified, meeting its rigid specifications for integration and security.
The adapter uses an automated installation with customizable options to meet specific requirements. No scripting or manual intervention is required, nor are changes to SAP instances. Once the adapter is configured, users can define and maintain the details of SAP jobs from within the Workload Automation web-based management console. Workload Automation can also launch and monitor jobs already created within SAP.
The full functionality of this heterogeneous automation solution is accessible to SAP users, who can leverage powerful capabilities such as extensive, informative alerts about job abnormalities or the unavailability of resources or machines, real-time status information from a single console, and the ability to interact with current and future jobs as needed.
Figure 6. Tidal Workload Automation Job Definition dialog box automatically presents SAP data to the user, eliminating the need to remember and type in step names and parameters.
The adapter tailors SAP environment information and access that staff requires to schedule SAP jobs are available through the Workload Automation interface.
Broad SAP Job Coverage – The adapter enables automation of schedules for all SAP process types: advanced business application programming (ABAP) programs, external programs, external commands, InfoPackage, and BW process chains.
Multi-level Job Control – Users can monitor, set dependencies in, and interact with child processes as well as parent processes. Logs and output are grouped to show parent-child relationships.
SAP Integration Certified – The adapter simplifies incorporating existing SAP jobs into Workload Automation and allows SAP users to control their jobs through the following capabilities:
- Supports multiple SAP instances and environments
- Imports SAP job steps directly into Workload Automation
- Enables point-and-click selection of SAP job variables through an easy-to-use graphical interface
- Supports cross-application, cross-platform job dependencies
- Utilizes Workload Automation and user-defined variables in ABAP variants
- Triggers job streams based on SAP events
- Transfers immediate knowledge through seamless integration with SAP by displaying familiar SAP job names, valid commands, and job steps from Workload Automation screens
- Delivers the same print and archive parameters as the SAP GUI using pick lists
- Links SAP and Workload Automation events to create enterprise-wide event-driven launch dependencies
- Integrates the SAP job interception function seamlessly with Workload Automation queue management to balance production jobs with user-submitted jobs
- Integrates SAP BW process chains and InfoPackages with drill-down functions to customize business intelligence (BI) processes
- Combines SAP and non-SAP real-time job status information
- Creates user-defined, filtered, real-time browser-based views of past, present, and future SAP jobs Uses automatic alert notification for SAP job processing, machine, authorization, and job status problems
- Offers granular calendar options for scheduling SAP jobs
- Captures and displays error messages on SAP runs, providing more informative error messages and logging
- Handles the heaviest SAP processing loads with a multi-threaded adapter
Tidal Workload Automation Adapter for SAP makes it possible for IT to standardize on an enterprise scheduling solution and enjoy the benefits of a single point of control and a comprehensive view of enterprise-wide job scheduling. These benefits include reduced costs, increased efficiency, and improved performance. Companies can realize those benefits by using this solution to:
- Leverage SAP investments to create a comprehensive business automation solution that has broader, integrated workflows with unlimited dependencies and steps by connecting SAP applications to other platforms, business applications, and other SAP instances
- Consolidate SAP application automation under one corporate-wide job scheduling solution with one staff and one run book
- Reduce training and operational support staff to one application automation environment
- Improve efficiency and productivity with more granular automation and management functions than found in the native SAP CCMS
- Decrease downtime by providing monitoring and sophisticated alert mechanisms for SAP components and events
