ALE vs XI

[Former Member]

Hi All.

We are currently in 4.6c version and are looking to upgrade to Netweaver.

We have two SAP HR systems currently talking through ALE.

Now, my question is that do we really need XI to communicate between the two systems both of which are SAP ?

Can't we continue with the current ALE technology even in the Netweaver ?

Also, one of the SAP Sales' person said that XI is going to replace ALE soon, and that ALE support shall soon end. Is this statement true? Is XI really set to replace ALE?

In a nutshell, is it advisable to revamp our existing ALE process and use XI when we upgrade to Netweaver?

Thanks in adv.

Samant

[Former Member]

Thanks $udhir and Shravan

[Former Member]

Thanks again.

But you did not answer to my comment :

" But as far as I know about XI, i guess it is best to use it when we are integrating SAP and non-SAP system. For IDOC-to-IDOC communication between two SAP systems, ALE is still a good choice owing to its great tracking facility viz WE05 and others.

Please correct me if I am wrong. "

Isn't ALE still a better choice for SAP-to-SAP system if there are not many systems involved ( i.e. when we don't need the convenience of sending one idoc to many systems using bpm).

And Sudhir, your comment abt SAP sales guy was truly hilarious...

Sharavan, points will soon ensue

Thanks again

[Former Member]

Yes ALE is best suited for SAP to SAP (point 2 point communication). I believe in the same, but in most of my implementations it is the management's decision.

regards

Shravan

[Former Member]

Thanks Sudhir and Shravan.

We need to convince customers into using XI. But as far as I know about XI, i guess it is best to use it when we are integrating SAP and non-SAP system. For IDOC-to-IDOC communication between two SAP systems, ALE is still a good choice owing to its great tracking facility viz WE05 and others.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

What, then, can be the selling point of XI besides that it has got adapters which can do conversions, and its Central monitoring tool?

Thanks in adv.

Samant.

[Former Member]

BPM is the added functionality of XI. Using BPM you can collect/split messages, can receive and send to multiple systems (on the whole you can integrate multiple systems with one process).

For ex: If you need to distribute Customer Master data for 5 various systems, you dont need to create one IDoc per system, instead you will create one IDoc in the source and send it to XI then distribute to the 5 systems.

There are more use cases.

Now where are my points ?

regards

Shravan

[Former Member]

<i>Now, my question is that do we really need XI to communicate between the two systems both of which are SAP ?</i>

Nope, but usually it is the management's decision to follow which route to take.

<i>Can't we continue with the current ALE technology even in the Netweaver ?</i>

Yes, certainly you can.

<i>Also, one of the SAP Sales' person said that XI is going to replace ALE soon, and that ALE support shall soon end. Is this statement true? Is XI really set to replace ALE?</i>

He is a true Sales Guy. They cannot take out ALE out of SAP. It is core technology to distribute IDocs to other Systems, it does not matter the receiving system is a SAP or non-SAP.

<i>In a nutshell, is it advisable to revamp our existing ALE process and use XI when we upgrade to Netweaver?</i>

For this, I wouldnt touch the existing interfaces unless they need an added functionality like distributing the data to multiple systems. Again this will be management's decision in most of the companies.

Hope this helps.

regards

Shravan