SAP AG has announced a free mobile developer license, a new SAP Mobile Apps Partner program, and additional support for integrating the software development frameworks from Adobe, Appcelerator Titanium, and Sencha with the SAP mobile platform. With the new programs, SAP seeks to encourage the developer community to create new mobile apps for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) environments.
There are two main categories of developers that SAP is targeting with the new programs, David Brutman, senior director, Developer Relations at SAP, tells 5 Minute Briefing. “We have a very vibrant developer ecosystem – the traditional SAP ecosystem of hundreds of thousands of developers that have huge experience in developing business applications. One goal is to open the door for those developers and up their skill level in the mobile space to make it very simple for them.”
The second goal, Brutman says, is to make it easier for mobile developers – who may have experience developing consumer apps, but who are not necessarily part of the SAP ecosystem – to develop mobile apps for the enterprise. “There is definitely a business case for the developers, but it is a huge shift and change. Developing apps for consumers is very different from developing enterprise apps.”Only a few consumer apps really succeed, but there is great demand for bringing those consumer-oriented practices to the enterprise, Brutman notes.
According to SAP, its mobile developer offerings are designed to be simple and accessible, with an open platform that integrates easily with third-party tools and supports industry standards without the need for upfront investment. Throughout the process, developers have access to support through the developer center on SAP Community Network and the developer community, a one-stop shop to learn about and develop applications using SAP platforms.
The offerings include a flexible, tiered engagement model with
- A free 30-day trial to enable developers to evaluate mobile offerings from SAP. The trial includes a complete hosted landscape, including SAP mobile platform and the SAP ERP application with no local installation needed.
- A free developer license on Amazon Web Services (AWS), enabling access to a hosted developer environment through AWS and a software developer kit (SDK) local download. There are no developer fees so users only pay for cloud hosting.
- SAP Mobile Apps Partner program, an offer which provides comprehensive technical and commercialization support, including the option to list packaged apps on SAP’s apps marketplace, which will allow developers to monetize apps directly via SAP Store.
“We are trying to bring the consumer-like experience to enterprise apps but what happens under the hood is actually very different in terms of security, authentication authorization, in terms of how you deploy these apps to a company landscape, and naturally other components which relate to device management and so on,” says Brutman.
The new offerings are a “great way” for SAP welcome these new developers and offer them the technology integration and also provide them with education about what enterprise apps are all about, Brutman adds. By increasing the level of developer participation, SAP is looking to scale the numbers and increase the volume of applications. “ It is not only for our success but also for the customers’ sake. We are in a position where we provide the technology but we are inspiring the ecosystem for the good of the entire system - the customers, us as a key vendor, and the developers and partners.”
SAP presented a webcast, “News From the Lab,” featuring an overview from SAP’s developer relations team as well as insights from Adobe, Appcelerator and Sencha, that covers the mobile developer programs and what they mean for the mobile developer community.
The webcast is also available for on-demand viewing. To register, visit: http://bit.ly/Q2DEul.