The inevitability of technological advances necessitates staying abreast of the evolving pace. In the recent times, we have handled requirements from customers to replace SAP Ariba Integration Toolkit (ITK) with cloud-based solution as SAP is ending Ariba ITK support on Dec. 31, 2023.

SAP Ariba ITK – a Java based on-premises legacy solution allows buyers to integrate Ariba with any ERP system to exchange master and transactional data via CSV file upload and download.

With SAP ending its support, customers using SAP Ariba ITK will need to migrate to a supported solution to avoid any disruption to their integrations.

Choosing the right solution approach to transition from SAP Ariba ITK needs understanding of  customer’s landscape and complexity of data mapping.

What are the solution options available to replace SAP Ariba ITK?

A) SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for spend management and SAP Business Network

SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway for spend management and SAP Business Network – formerly known as Cloud Integration Gateway provides an accelerated way to connect SAP ERP to Ariba solutions through one gateway.

Cloud Integration Gateway is integration-as-a-service (IaaS) solution powered by SAP Integration Suite. It provides standard out-of-the-box integrations between SAP Ariba solutions and SAP S/4HANA, SAP ERP, SAP Concur or SAP Fieldglass.

SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway provides a self-service portal that allows users to configure and integrate to SAP Ariba application and transact with partners seamlessly, providing tools for data transformation, real-time or batch processing, prebuilt connectors, ensuring data accuracy and monitoring the integrations.

Who can use this solution?

This solution can be used for integrating SAP ERP with SAP Ariba and SAP Business Network solutions, not applicable when you have a third-party integration involved.

Main steps involved with SAP Integration Suite, managed gateway approach are:

• SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA side – Need to download and install CIG add-on from SAP Download Centre on SAP Marketplace.

• On Ariba application side – Enable CIG settings.

• On SAP ERP Side – Configure global settings to connect to Ariba solution.

      Install CIG Certificate in ECC, create RFC destination, port, logical system.

• On the Ariba CIG portal – Create and set up Integration project, configuring and maintaining settings for master and transactional data.

B)  BTP’s pre-packaged solution for replacing Ariba ITK

BTP’s SAP Integration Suite provides a pre-packaged solution for replacing ITK. The content is available on SAP’s API Business Hub and Discover tab of SAP Integration Suite. It is a community content conforming to all SAP API Business Hub standards and SAP Cloud Integration best practices.

Who can use this solution? 

This solution can be used to integrate SAP ERP, non-SAP ERP, or third-party applications with SAP Ariba solutions.

Pre-requisite

• SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) server should be available.
• Site ID and Datacentre location of SAP Ariba realm.
• Shared secret configured in SAP Ariba Realm (Integration Toolkit Security page in Ariba Administrator)

The above needs to be configured in the pre-packaged flows to upload and download CSV files from ERP to Ariba Solutions and vice-versa.

SAP Integration Suite and CIG can be used together as well for Integrating SAP or non-SAP Systems with SAP Ariba solutions.

C) Custom integrations using SAP Integration Suite

For complex message mappings and transformations involving RFC Lookups, data enrichment, BPM, BRM, we can develop custom flows. Scenarios where-in CSV file from ERP needs transformation before being uploaded to SAP Ariba solutions and in similar download events, would need custom interfaces to be developed using Cloud Integration capability of SAP Integration Suite.

Pre-requisite 

• Site ID and Datacentre location of SAP Ariba realm.
• Shared secret configured in SAP Ariba Realm (Integration Toolkit Security page in Ariba Administrator)

By harnessing the capabilities of SAP Integration Suite, we can achieve efficiency, agility and cost-effectiveness, seamlessly integrating both SAP and non-SAP applications with SAP Ariba solutions.