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As an SAP customer we expect that all our deployed SAP products and services will have the same look and feel and behave harmoniously, whether on cloud or on premise. Of course, the integration of a very broad collection of SAP products on cloud, on premise, self-developed, or acquired on different technology stacks, is a big challenge which can’t be purely solved with a user experience design tool. It also requires data modelling, integration and so on.
For user experience, SAP Fiori has grown to become the most powerful design system for enterprise software. It’s changing the experience of the SAP user as a single, consistent, consumer-grade, role-based design for all SAP applications.
Although the concept of Fiori hasn’t changed over seven years since its inception, the implementation is constantly evolving. Since 2019 we’ve been in the latest wave of Fiori 3, with more features and advancements to come. Here we take a look at its evolution and what’s coming next.
A user experience that reduces cross-product navigation
The Fiori 3 launchpad of today integrates your content from different apps into a single dashboard or home page with tiles for your business applications. Currently when you open a business application outside the launchpad you will jump to another window.
What SAP Fiori 3 launchpad and the SAP Work Zone will do when launched however is to integrate your content from any SAP application into a centralised single screen, reducing cross-product navigation. It will provide a universal inbox with data from different systems for efficient processing, consolidate your users’ tasks in a single place, with notifications across devices that inform users of changes as they occur so they can respond immediately.
From the beginnings of a user experience to today
SAP Enterprise Portal was the first SAP product that solved the integration of multiple on-premise applications by providing a central user experience. Of course, in today’s terms it is regarded as heavy technology and not great for mobile working, but it’s still live and supported reaching end of life in 2027.
The subsequent launch of SAP Fiori initially gave customers access to around 25 apps focused on the most common business functions. The Fiori launchpad soon followed as the entry point to those and even more Fiori apps, providing on premise customers access to multiple systems, either via embedded inside the product or as a sort of hub add-on.
At this point in the evolution cloud enters the game and the idea of single access disappeared as products started to have their own ‘homepage’ which looked and behaved like the Fiori launchpad, for example SAP SuccessFactors.
But to work efficiently users really needed to be able to work from one central place. And this is where we’re at today. The latest version of SAP Fiori launchpad connects to cloud products (if you work on premise systems, you’ll still be using the existing launchpad). If you want to connect both then you’ll need to invest in SAP Cloud Platform, the integration and extension platform that connects your landscape.
Find out how ETEX achieves better pricing control for mobile field sales teams with SAP Fiori as the user experience and SAP Cloud Platform for secure connectivity.
What’s new in Workspaces
The SAP Work Zone will combine Workspaces with the Fiori launchpad as a central entry point for any SAP application. Workspace will be a collaborative shared space providing native mobile apps, flexible layouts, knowledgebase, document and content integration and workflows, and much more.
How to get Fiori
If you’re considering a move to SAP S/4HANA then you’ll need the Fiori launchpad. If you have questions about how to deploy Fiori depending on whether your systems are on premise, cloud or hybrid, then contact one of our S/4HANA experts.
If you use multiple SAP products but you’re not on SAP S/4HANA, you may have questions about how to provide a seamless cross-product experience to your users, then our SOA People Extension Centre can help!
Our Extension Centre gives customers an easy and optimised way of delivering SAP Fiori into their organisation in a fast and efficient way. Our methodology is based on the experience of SAP specialists who have delivered SAP Fiori projects over and over again and have tried and tested processes, best practices and naming conventions.
