The SAP Mobile Platform (SMP) is a powerful environment for building, deploying, and managing mobile applications that connect seamlessly to SAP backend systems such as SAP ERP, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP CRM. While SMP provides a rich set of prebuilt components and frameworks to accelerate mobile app development, many enterprise scenarios demand custom mobile application components tailored to unique business requirements.
This article discusses the process, best practices, and technical considerations for developing custom mobile application components within the SAP Mobile Platform ecosystem, enabling developers to create highly adaptable and efficient mobile solutions.
Standard SAP Mobile Platform components offer robust functionality, but enterprises often face the need to:
- Address specialized user interface designs
- Implement unique business logic or workflows
- Integrate with non-standard backend systems
- Extend data handling and synchronization capabilities
- Improve application performance and offline experience
Custom components empower developers to tailor mobile applications precisely to these business needs, providing better user experience and operational efficiency.
Mobile user interfaces must be intuitive and responsive. SMP supports native, hybrid, and web-based app development. Developers can create:
- Custom controls/widgets tailored for specific user interactions
- Advanced navigation patterns beyond standard menus
- Dynamic forms that adapt to business logic
- Interactive charts and visualizations integrated with SAP data
¶ 2. Custom Data Models and Adapters
SMP’s OData provisioning allows interaction with SAP backend data. When default data services do not meet requirements, developers create:
- Custom data models representing unique entities or business objects
- Adapters or connectors to integrate with proprietary or third-party systems
- Complex data transformation and validation logic
Embedding business rules and processing workflows into mobile apps ensures consistency and automation:
- Implementing validation and decision-making rules on the client or server side
- Custom synchronization logic to optimize offline and online data flows
- Event-driven triggers responding to user actions or backend events
Beyond standard authentication, some applications require custom encryption, certificate handling, or biometric authentication integrated with SMP security frameworks.
¶ Step 1: Define Requirements and Architecture
- Gather detailed business and technical requirements.
- Decide on app type: native (iOS/Android), hybrid (Cordova), or web-based.
- Determine which components need customization vs. out-of-the-box.
- Use SAP Mobile Platform SDKs and development tools.
- For native apps, use Android Studio or Xcode.
- For hybrid/web apps, use SAP Fiori SDK, SAPUI5, or other JavaScript frameworks.
- Design UI components with responsive layouts and accessibility in mind.
- Implement custom data adapters using SMP’s SDK APIs.
- Code business logic using Java, JavaScript, or platform-specific languages.
- Incorporate security features adhering to corporate policies.
- Unit testing of components individually.
- Integration testing within the full mobile application.
- Performance and usability testing on multiple device types.
- Security penetration testing where applicable.
¶ Step 5: Deploy and Monitor
- Package custom components as part of mobile app builds.
- Use SMP’s management tools for deployment, version control, and updates.
- Monitor usage, performance, and errors to iteratively improve components.
- Reuse and Modularize: Build reusable components to reduce redundancy.
- Follow SAP UI Guidelines: Ensure consistency and usability across SAP mobile apps.
- Optimize for Offline Usage: Design components to handle data latency and sync gracefully.
- Use Asynchronous Operations: Avoid blocking UI threads to maintain responsiveness.
- Secure Coding: Prevent common vulnerabilities such as injection or data leaks.
- Document Thoroughly: Maintain clear documentation for future maintenance and enhancements.
Consider a mobile app for purchase order approvals requiring a unique workflow not supported by standard SAP components. A custom UI component with step-by-step approval status, comments, and dynamic next-step options is developed. It interacts with a custom backend adapter to fetch and update data, implements offline caching for field use, and enforces corporate security policies with custom authentication modules.
This component enhances user productivity and ensures business process compliance beyond standard SMP capabilities.
Developing custom mobile application components within the SAP Mobile Platform enables organizations to address specialized business challenges, enhance user experiences, and unlock the full potential of enterprise mobility. By leveraging SMP’s flexible architecture and development tools, developers can craft tailored solutions that integrate seamlessly with SAP backend systems while supporting diverse device environments.