What is the difference between SkyMobile and SAP MI?
Important:
Whilst SAP NetWeaver Mobile (MI) technology is more suited to supporting the mobile components of large u201Cpackagedu201D enterprise solutions, SkyMobile is better suited to deploy specialised complimentary mobile productivity systems out to the point of business. The SkyMobile Framework was developed specifically for SAP as a complimentary add-in component. It requires no extra infrastructure, other than that which SAP supports. The following notes must be reviewed with this context in mind, since Sky does not position SkyMobile as a competitor to MI, but rather as a complimentary architecture that provides extended data capture and device integration capabilities.
SkyMobile runs inside of SAP ERP/CRM/APO/BW providing better transaction management, multiple user interface options, built-in peripheral device and multi-media support and inter-product integration. There is no doubt that NetWeaver Mobile (MI) will provide good mission critical mobile applications on a grand scale, but if customisation or a highly specialised mobile application is required, the SkyMobile Business Framework may offer a better cost effective alternative. A current limitation of SAP Mobile is that the NetWeaver MI component runs outside of SAP ERP, CRM etc. and it does not provide any interface management framework within the SAP ERP or CRM environment. Thus any end-to-end management of asynchronous transactions is not possible.
Limited end-to-end transaction management for SAP:
One of the primary limitations of MI is that it essentially runs outside of SAP and provides no extended transaction management capability within the ERP/CRM/APO/BW environment. This means that any asynchronous business transactions submitted to SAP will not be properly monitored through to completion and, even worse, they are assumed to be successful. Asynchronous transaction processing and sequencing is essential for the effective performance of mobile applications. The result of this is that failures may go undetected for extended periods of time and, considerably more business and IT manpower is required to monitor the system and correctly reprocess failed transactions. All that is provided is a basic log of transaction failures which is viewable within the NetWeaver application server environment.
High customisation costs
SAP NetWeaver MI mobile solutions are designed to be packaged mobile components of enterprise solutions. If customisation is required, this is viewed as a repair to the original application and you generally require specialist MI skills and extensive java programming. Therefore if the packaged MI solution is a good fit, then great u2026 otherwise carefully investigate the costs to customise as these can be very high.
Limited specialised user interface options and devices
SkyMobile offers the same level of support for Windows, Windows Mobile, and Web browse user interfaces that NetWeaver MI does, as well as VT220 text terminals, SAPGUI, Microsoft Smartphone and Blackberry devices. This MI limitation is not important if native Windows and web browsers are the only user interface to be supported. SkyMobile provides for a broader range of device and operating system options and also enables the reuse of legacy hardware. What devices and operating systems are currently supported?
Limited support for peripheral devices, data capture and multi-media
NetWeaver MI provides no, or very limited, support for peripheral devices and machinery. The SkyMobile mobile business framework incorporates built-in support for any serially connected device, such as card scanners, weighbridges, proximity detection systems, RFID management systems, PLC devices, printers etc. To do this in MI, you need to program and integrate your own solutions, which as discussed earlier is a costly exercise. Also, mobile applications are increasingly requiring integration with multi-media, such as attachments, pictures, drawings, video etc. whilst this is possible with MI, largely through programming, it is very costly to implement as is not seamless.
Inter-application integration
NetWeaver MI provides limited, support for inter-application integration e.g. if a GIS application is required to launch the mobile application and position on a specific function e.g. maintain a work order. SkyMobile has a powerful XAI component (external application interface) which allows for easy seamless bi-directional integration between it and other applications e.g. email, calendaru2019s, GIS, office tools etc.
Article obtained from Sky Technologies FAQ
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.