Why now is the best time to start developing SAP Fiori® apps (for startups, freelances and even student)

Every day, thousands of startups, freelancers, students and others around the world begin developing apps for Android or iOS. It's no wonder when you look at the numbers: According to App Annie's "State of Mobile 2020," over $120 billion was spent in app stores in 2019, which is over twice what was spent in 2016. And every single one of the thousands of people per day is trying to get a piece of the pie. The problem with this is that it's very easy to develop and publish new apps. The technologies are taught in schools, universities, and on YouTube, and the developer tools are becoming easier and more convenient to use. The result is that it's extremely hard to stand out from other apps and developers. Almost every idea and solutions to many problems have already been released

The good news is that there are more markets than just the Play Store and App Store. For many small startups and freelancers, it is obvious to develop solutions for a B2C marketplace, they can also put themselves in the role of customers. However, beyond that, there is a completely new, similarly sized world: B2B. Most students and freelancers are directly put off by words like ERP, SAP, Oracle and the like. However, right here, right now, there is an opportunity.

In B2B, and especially in the SAP world, the "long tail" of app developers is almost non-existent. There are some large companies that generate most of the revenue (as in B2C also with Facebook, Tencent, Google and co) and some medium-sized companies. However, the so-called "long tail" is (still) missing here, i.e. the small companies that offer specialized solutions and are also satisfied with sales that do not to pay 10 developers from day one.

Of course, the question now arises as to why this "long tail" does not currently exist. Maybe it is not financially worthwhile? Or companies do not buy solutions from students or 5 person companies in the B2B area? Maybe. However, I believe that it was mainly technical hurdles that made it so difficult to get started that only medium and large companies were able to do it.

Below I present six reasons why this has changed and why now is the right time to develop Fiori apps for SAP as an independent, small company or even just as a side project.

1. Switch to tablets and smartphones in companies.

In offices, smartphones and tablets are now so common that we almost take them for granted. However, in many areas of business, such as manufacturing, logistics or yard management, this is not yet the case. Printed order forms, pagers and even fax machines are still in use in 90% of large industrial companies. However, the change is just beginning there as well. Truck drivers can announce their arrival via a smartphone app and already transmit their data, production employees receive error messages directly on their smartphones, and logistics foremen receive current statistics displayed in real time on a tablet. This change offers two major opportunities: First, companies are forced to redevelop existing solutions (e.g., developed in SAP GUI for desktop PC) in a different technology (Fiori). Second, the new hardware also offers new opportunities. Many simple apps do not yet exist in this environment, so there are still many low-hanging fruits to be picked.

2. Simpler interfaces to ERP data

Until now, you have to be an expert and know exactly which tables store which data in header and detail tables, when they are written and when you are allowed to access them. But here, too, things have changed in recent years. There are predefined APIs that return certain data without having to worry about the details of the ERP system. With SAP Graph, SAP has even started a project to offer a single API for all data.

3. Known programming techniques and tools

Until now, SAP applications required proficiency in the "beautiful" but archaic ABAP programming language. That alone put off most programmers. Why learn a new, old programming language, understand strange UI (Dynpro) concepts just to create a simple application at all? Fortunately, that has changed as well. While ABAP is far from obsolete and won't be for a long time, SAP is moving in a new direction. The SAP Cloud is built on CloudFoundry and even in on premise SAP HANA systems there is a kind of "Mini CloudFoundry" (XSA). The advantage of this? Applications can be developed in JavaScript (Node.js), Python, Java, etc. The programming environment is Visual Studio Code, version management is done in Git, database access and authentication is outsourced to ready-to-use services for which there are API interfaces. These are familiar, modern tools and technologies for most developers. If I now mention that the user interfaces can also be developed in React with a ready-made UI library that takes care of the "enterprise look and feel", it should be clear once and for all that the development of SAP Fiori apps is technically state-of-the-art. Existing know-how can be used, no need to learn outdated programming languages and concepts.

4. Easy access to SAP systems

If you were a student or freelancer 10 years ago and wanted to try out developing a program for SAP for your side project, you probably would have failed quickly: On which system should you develop? Just installing an SAP system with a database poses financial, legal and technical challenges for most individual developers and small companies. This has also changed in the meantime. In the SAP Cloud Platform, a trial account can be created within minutes. Including access to the latest HANA databases, development environment and whatever else is needed. If you don't want to go to the cloud or need full access to the system, there is also an easy way nowadays: With the SAP HANA express edition you can install a SAP HANA system locally with up to 32GB RAM. This runs smoothly, even on a MacBook (in a VM).

5. Topic is actively promoted by SAP

It is clear that all the new systems, technologies and tools presented are also highly valued and strategically important to SAP itself. These topics are currently being actively promoted and developers receive a lot of support, not only in form of tutorials but also of useful tools. There are frontend libraries like Fundamental UI or generators of entire projects. Meanwhile, many tools and libraries are published by SAP in GitHub. There you can see that many projects are developed further on a regular basis. So it is a good time to jump on the bandwagon. A new niche has opened up, SAP wants it to be filled and supports developers and companies in this endeavor.

6. Predictable revenue and continuity

The last point is not really a technical point and is not directly related to the current development. However, it is still important, which is why I want to mention it here. In B2B and especially in the SAP ecosystem, customers are usually very loyal and can stay with you for several years or even decades. In contrast to many private users, it is not a matter of a few percent more cost per year, but rather continuity, support and speed in problem solving that is required here. Even if this sounds more expensive at first glance than selling an app to an anonymous buyer for 10€, it is worth it in the long run. You have a long-term, predictable income. You build a relationship with the customer and can get a lot of valuable feedback on your own application (and thus adapt it more specifically to customer requirements).

If you happen to be looking for a new job, side project, or a new direction for your company, I hope this article has helped you get your eyes on SAP Fiori. It's easy to get started on the technical side, admittedly it's not easy to find your first customer, but it's worth it.