What are the differences between SAP Fiori vs SAP UI5 vs SAP Mobile Platform

[Former Member]

Experts,

Recently ( 2 years ) there so much talk about these SAP Fiori, SAP UI5 and SAP Mobile Platform around user experience (UX) .

My question might be a basic question, What are the difference between all these three, when I went through SAP Fiori introduction video in open.sap.com, I see this can be used for mobile apps but sooner I came across SAP Mobile Platform which by name itself suggest that SMP also can be used for mobile application.

So my question is what technology/platform that I need to use for which area. in other words which one of these three is suitable for SAP FI?

Which one of these is best for SAP WM/EWM? Is there any suggested matirx/decision chart available by business area?

Thanks,

Amara.

[nageshcaparthy · Accepted solution]

Hi Amara,

To add to Jocelyn,

Fiori/UI5 apps are typically Broswer based solutions and does not support offline scenarios, application usage analytics, push notifications etc...

We use SMP Mobile Platform when a company needs some of these advanced features and access to mobile native features like bar code scanning, camera, push notifications etc.... as said if you use SMP, you may build your own applications based on ui5, iOS, android etc.. to achieve these features.

If you are looking for Fiori apps with advanced features, SMP provides libraries such as Kapsel to build your apps much easier.

SAP Kapsel Plugins For Cordova - Slideshare

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-65386

Based on the required features, you may decide which apps / platform is required and best suitable for your requirement.

Refer to Fiori apps library for FI and EWM apps.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Nagesh

[Jocelyn_Dart · Accepted solution]

Hi Amara,

Just noting that many of the advanced features Nagesh has kindly pointed out are also available as cloud services using HCPms, including the Kapsel plug-in via the Hybrid Application Toolkit. 

There are some delivered apps that use SMP such as SAP Mobile Work Manager and SAP Mobile Inventory Manager, and are not available as a cloud offering.

However if you are simply looking for native features and your organisation is interested in moving to the cloud then it is worth considering HCPms as an alternative. By utilising HCPms - a cloud offering - you avoid having to install a SMP server on-premise. 

If Cloud is not a possibility for your organisation yet, then SMP will give you the equivalent features.

That said, there is a LOT you can do with online apps using Fiori and SAPUI5 alone.  So unless you have an urgent use case for native or offline features in your apps, you might want to start with simple online apps first, and leave the advanced features until some future time.   You can always add SMP or HCPms later.

Rgds,

Jocelyn

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Very nice points Jocelyn and Nagesh.

So what I understand from your points is...

SAP Fiori is a methodology.

SAP UI5 is a technology.

SAP Mobile Platform is also a technology.

Depending on the set of requirements, like if we need features of offline and native then we need to go for SMP and on other hand if we need an application that just needs to be executed with more of data interactions with backend systems without the need of resources ( camera/speaker/push notif )  on mobile device then we need to go for Fiori. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Also coming to  "HCPms, including the Kapsel plug-in via the Hybrid Application Toolkit. ". Is this some thing that we can use this to bring our ITS applications on to Fiori app? or

is there a way to pull ITS application through SMP and combine native features with out redeveloping ITS application entirety in SMP/UI5..

Thanks,

Amara.

[Jocelyn_Dart · Accepted solution]

Hi Amara,

Almost correct...

Fiori is a design paradigm - not a methodology.

Agile is a methodology that we generally recommend for UX projects... so that the designers, developers, testers, and everyone else work fast and communicate efficiently to get the job done.

And if you need features such as offline or native then your choice is either HCPms (Cloud) or SMP (On-Premise)... these will let you extend a Fiori app to include the offline or native features.  Or you can write a completely separate offline or native app as well.

I'm not an expert on SMP so can't answer your last question, but I would suspect that the answer is no.  ITS is now a very very old technology and depending on how your app was written is likely to have used a stateful transaction process.  Fiori and other modern user interfaces use a stateless process. This makes more efficient use of resources and reduces risks such as reduced likelihood of data loss.

I wouldn't consider it appropriate to mix ITS technology in the same app as Fiori or any native or offline app as the paradigms are too different.  However you can provide a link to an existing ITS app by it's URL.

Rgds,

Jocelyn

[Former Member]

Hi Srinivasa

1. Fiori:SAP Fiori is the design language that brings great user experiences to enterprise applications. Based on user roles and business processes, SAP Fiori simplifies doing business. SAP Fiori is a paradigm shift away from monolithic ERP solutions towards light-weight apps tailored to the users’ tasks. To accelerate the transformation of the world’s digital economy, SAP is applying this design language to leading technology platforms.

2. SAPUI5: is html5 based Ui framework which contains APIs to build  apps.

3.SAP Mobile Platform is a platform to build and deploy mobile apps.

[Jocelyn_Dart]

Hi Amara,

Fiori is the design principles, and the design style guide that underpin the new apps. You find these here:

https://experience.sap.com/fiori-design-web/

An app is said to be a Fiori app if it follows the design principles and uses elements in from the design style guide in the intended way. Official delivered Fiori apps can be found in the Fiori Apps Library Fiori Apps Library  However we generally refer to customer or partner built apps as Fiori apps if they also respect the design principles and style guide.

The Fiori Apps Library explains what technology is needed for each app.

The primary technology used for Fiori is SAPUI5.

There are free openSAP courses on both Fiori and SAPUI5 where you can learn.

Build Your Own SAP Fiori App in the Cloud – 2016 Edition - Bob Caswell, Yoram Friedman, Oliver Graef...

Developing Web Apps with SAPUI5 -

SAP Mobile Platform was an older on-premise approach that predated Fiori and SAPUI5. While still viable, there are additional server, licence and resource/skill requirements that make it a less attractive option for most customers.  Some of the additional functionality that were previously only available via SMP - such as offline apps and push notifications - are now available using Fiori/SAPUI5 in conjunction with HCPms (HCP mobile services) at a subscription price.

You can also find out more about the differences on openSAP Developing Mobile Apps with SAP HANA Cloud Platform - Jeff Gebo and Dhimant Patel

Good luck!

Rgds,

Jocelyn