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SAP Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP) Developers – Why So Expensive?

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SAP Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP) Developers – Why So Expensive?

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the business world that how important it is for business entities and employees to display flexibility. Without an efficient and effective IT infrastructure, digital processes, websites, or apps, our economy would come to a standstill and that is what we as a community want to prevent from happening. With more and more companies investing highly in digitizing all their business processes, the business community today is in need of more developers having good knowledge and understanding of both IT and business. This is where ABAP steps in as it is a programming language that helps in simplifying the development of SAP-based business applications. It is supported on SAP NetWeaver (Server like a platform for SAP business applications) as well as the applications that run on it. Therefore, it can be said that the ABAP developer is an important link between software development and business processes as it connects both with each other.

Experts in the SAP World

An ABAP developer is an integral component of an entity’s SAP system, which is used for carrying out standard processes like raising an invoice, generating a purchase requisition, raising goods received notes (GRN) and goods delivery notes, and many more. Therefore, it is important for a developer to understand an entity’s business operations for developing a business solution that fits the needs and requirements of the entity.

The ABAP developers’ are able to connect all the stakeholders of an entity with each other and this helps them in standing out from many other personnel as a key business resource for a business entity. This is mainly due to their ability to not only understanding business logic but also translating it into technological applications. This ability of ABAP developers not only helps them in streamlining procedures and processes in all the SAP modules in a more efficient manner but also enables them to guide businesses safely into their digital future. However, due to the complex nature of the SAP NetWeaver and the different business solutions it supports; most of the ABAP developers are expected to specialize in a specific area, and once they do that they will stop being considered as your typical ABAP developers.

Essential Skills Needed to Become a Successful ABAP Developer

In addition to having technical knowledge and expertise in the field of IT, and a good understanding of business structures and processes, “experience” also plays an important part in helping one to become a successful ABAP developer. In the end, it is all about knowing various important terms, tools, and concepts relating to SAP systems in order to be able to address issues arising in SAP, SAP NetWeaver, or the business applications which the entity uses for carrying out its tasks. For example, if one wants to integrate a lock mechanism in a specific program, without additional maintenance effort or programming, you need to have knowledge about the concept of general SAP lock. Therefore, it is important for a developer to have detailed knowledge about the SAP. This detailed knowledge comes with time and experience and is one of the main reasons why it is difficult to find ABAP developers having good technical knowledge together with several years of work experience.

Moderator between Technology and Processes

ABAP is used for developing solutions and programs in a very narrow business context and for understanding interrelationships with technical areas within the SAP system. Especially with the forthcoming transfer of business processes to (cloud-based) ERP business systems such as SAP S/4HANA, the firms providing SAP consulting services would need detailed knowledge of ABAP to provide support to its customers that are using different SAP business applications.

In addition, one of the most important tasks which an ABAP developer is responsible for carrying out includes the development of applications that help in mapping custom business processes and procedures within the SAP system or development of interfaces that are used for connecting ABAP stack and external functions with each other. The same is applicable to the design of labels and forms for, for example, purchase orders, quotations, or invoices and their retrieval together with the development of programs related to the transfer of information and data from old systems to new SAP business solutions.

ABAP and Digitization

Digitization of business processes poses a number of new challenges, both to business entities and consultancy firms facilitating digitization through the use of ABAP developers, such as new languages like NoSQL, NodeJS, MQTT, or React that have become part of the workflow, and software interactions that are now not only limited to the SAP universe. Nevertheless, ABAP’s strength still exists in the mapping of business processes and logic. It does not matter which interface people use for digitization, in the end, the data comes from the backend and must be processed accordingly. This “backend area” is the responsibility of the SAP system that is supported by the ABAP.

New approaches to rapid application development (RAD) have opened doors for more opportunities for ABAP developers which they can make use of when developing different business applications. Nowadays developers have a number of different platforms available to them which they can use to obtain invaluable information when developing different programs and solutions without having to exert much learning effort. RAD platforms accelerate and simplify the development of business applications, but in the end, the ABAP developer’s expert view of different levels of coding is integral to making the application efficient and effective.

Digitization creates both opportunities and challenges for businesses. The scope of an ABAP developer is versatile and dynamic. The process of learning for an ABAP developer never stops. It is impossible for a person to have complete technical knowledge regarding all the aspects of the SAP environment. This is one of the reasons why most of the ABAP developers’ go for specialization. While it can be difficult for developers to go beyond the confinements of SAP systems, new and modern RAD tools are helping developers in the development of SAP UI5 applications.

However, it’s important to note that ABAP supported SAP ERP system will remain one of the most integral elements for businesses wanting to digitize their business operations and processes. Currently, many business entities and SAP consulting firms are looking for ABAP developers for programming interfaces, transfer of processes to SAP S/4HANA, and implementation of ABAP developments.

 

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