Whether you’re a Global 500 organization or a business running a single SAP application environment with one development system, how you manage change has a direct and measurable impact on your SAP operations, system stability, and delivery speed.
Businesses are under pressure to deliver more for less and faster than ever before. This demand doesn’t stop at front-end application and services. It also extends into your SAP back-end systems, where complexity risk, and governance requirements are often highest.
The challenge: siloed tools and fragmented SAP change processes.
Maintaining momentum is difficulty, regardless of size or industry. Over time, many organizations have adopted a wide range of disconnected tools to manage an SAP application’s lifecycle, including spreadsheets, ITSM solutions, project management and development tools across an SAP application’s lifecycle.
The result is a siloed SAP change landscape.
- Test managers focus on verifying code quality
- Development team leads aim to deliver rapid, low-risk SAP changes
- Operation teams are nervous about what is entering production
Without integration, these groups operate with different objectives, limited visibility, and inconsistent data.
The cost of siloed SAP change management
For many organizations operating tools in silos quickly leads to:
- Project delays and release bottlenecks
- Data handling errors
- Manual rework and duplicated effort
- Unplanned downtime in production
At the core of the problem is the absence of a single source of truth for the development and maintenance of an SAP application’s lifecycle.
Organizations that eliminate silos and integrate technologies and processes to control end-to-end delivery of SAP change are able to operate at the speed of business and unlock real value from their SAP investments.
What can we learn from these organizations?
Lesson 1: Adopt an SAP DevOps approach
SAP DevOps is widely recognized as the most effective way to deliver SAP change faster, safer, and at a significantly lower cost.
Historically, many organizations questioned whether SAP DevOps could work in SAP environments, given their complexity, need for governance, documentation, and risk management. However, as DevOps practices matured, the benefits became clear.
What is DevOps for SAP?
An SAP DevOps strategy improves efficiencies by eliminating organizational silos bringing development and operational teams together to collaborate across an application or service’s lifestyle.
By removing siloed activities:
- Smaller, incremental SAP changes can be delivered more frequently
- Teams are free to focus on innovation and business value, rather than rework
Lesson 2: Create a single source of truth for SAP change
The elimination of siloed tools and processes to enable the accelerated delivery of SAP change across an application’s lifecycle is a core principle of SAP DevOps.
The goal is decentralized authorization and centralized information, enabling a single delivery mechanism for SAP DevOps initiatives. This enables product and process teams to work on their tasks while accessing SAP change information such as status, approvals and test results from one location.
A consolidated platform provides:
- A reliable and auditable single source of truth for all SAP change
- Full history and visibility of ITSM tickets testing and results, and code review in a central location
How integration enables this practice.
Many organization use agile project management tools such as Jira to plan, track, and release software. Integrating these tools with an SAP change management solution allows teams to work they want while quickly accessing information relating to SAP change from one location.
For example: A Rev-Trac Jira integration
With a Rev-Trac Jira integration, SAP using organizations can work the way they want. Jira teams can plan and control the build and delivery of SAP changes.
- Jira tasks are automatically updated as SAP transports move from development through QA to production
- Manual tasks and data duplication are eliminated
- SAP change status is always visible and accurate
Lesson 3: Use automation and orchestration to scale SAP DevOps.
Automation is essential for delivering frequent, reliable SAP change to achieve DevOps goals.
As SAP change accelerates, so does the need to integrate with:
- ITSM solutions such as ServiceNow
- Project task/tracking tools like Jira
- Automated testing platforms
- Code review technologies
A fully automated and unified platform integrating ALM tools increases DevOps success by:
- Reducing manual effort
- Lowering operational risk and cost
- Enabling more frequent and reliable SAP change
An SAP change automation and orchestration engine allows SAP teams to design and implement end-to-end workflows that manage SAP change from request through to go-live, with approvals, testing, and documentation requirements enforced at every step. The unified DevOps workflows can be as simple or sophisticated as required to meet business needs.
How Rev-Trac supports SAP DevOps
Rev-Trac is an automated SAP change management platform built specifically for SAP environments. It enables organizations to deliver faster, safer and more controlled SAP changes.
Rev-Trac integrates bi-directionally with:
- ALM tools and ITSM tools, including ServiceNow
- SAP’s native service desk
- Tricentis Tosca and SAP ABAP Test Cockpit (ATC)
These integrations establish a single source of truth for SAP change, ensuring:
- Elimination of manual errors and duplication
- Automated updates between tools
- Accurate, real-time data synchronization – data is automatically replicated to a Rev-Trac Request (and vice versa)
The result is significantly improved visibility, predictable delivery, and stronger governance across your SAP landscape.
The Bottom Line
Transforming how SAP change is delivered is not trivial. It requires changes to culture, processes, and technology integration.
Organizations that decentralize authorization and centralize information around a single source of truth are seeing measurable results:
- Improved collaboration
- Realization of SAP DevOps
- Reduced manual effort and data duplication
- Minimal unplanned disruptions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is SAP DevOps?
SAP DevOps applies DevOps principles to SAP environments, enabling faster, safer SAP change delivery through automation, integration, and collaboration across development and operations teams.
Why is a single source of truth important for SAP change management?
A single source of truth ensures all SAP change data, including approvals, testing and results, transports, and ALM tool records, is accurate, auditable, and accessible from one place, reducing risk and duplication.
Can SAP DevOps work in complex SAP environments?
Yes. With the right automation, governance, and orchestration, SAP DevOps is highly effective even in large, complex SAP landscapes.
How does automation support SAP DevOps?
Automation reduces manual effort, enforces quality gates, and enables consistent SAP change delivery, making frequent and reliable releases possible.
How does Rev-Trac support SAP DevOps?
Rev-Trac automates and orchestrates SAP change processes and integrates with ALM and ITSM, testing, and code review tools to provide end-to-end visibility and control.
To learn how integrations can accelerate DevOps outcomes and deliver competitive advantage, get in contact with one of our SAP change management experts.
