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S4 Explorer Discover your SAP S/4 HANA content
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S4 Explorer
Solution Overview
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Customer problem
In the past few years, we have seen a steady adoption of S/4 HANA, both as greenfield and as brownfield or bluefield implementations. While working on S/4 HANA projects for our customers, we identified the following challenges:
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Finding the right business content, such as standard apps and reports, takes considerable time because there is so much of it (currently over 70.000 views).
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While the S/4 HANA virtual data model (VDM) offers a robust and secure foundation, its many stacked layers can make it hard and time-consuming to identify the appropriate spots for extension and customization.
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Providing end-users confidence about the origin and lineage of field items in reports and Fiori apps is extraordinarily time-consuming with standard tools. Even then, the amount of information born from such an analysis is typically so overwhelming that it can become useless.
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For many SAP professionals familiar with the ABAP-based architecture of previous generations SAP systems, it is not always straightforward to apply this experience to the CDS-based concepts of the new S/4 HANA architecture.
We feel these challenges are not adequately matched by the standard tooling provided by SAP, such as the Fiori-based View- and Query Browser apps, and the ABAP perspective for Eclipse.
To overcome these challenges, we have created S4 Explorer.
EPAM Solution
All the aforementioned challenges can be overcome with S4 Explorer. The only thing required is to install the S4 Explorer on your S/4HANA server, which runs as a Fiori app. S4 Explorer enables IT professionals like architects, consultants, developers, and system administrators to quickly find and understand existing S/4 HANA objects. Several main features achieve an enhanced understanding of your S/4 HANA system; smart search capabilities, visual exploration, column lineage, data preview functionality, catalog explorer and collaboration opportunities.
S4 Explorer enhances productivity by enabling you to effortlessly locate essential information, concentrate solely on the relevant details, and access them precisely when necessary. Unlike conventional SAP tools such as the Eclipse ABAP perspective or the View Browser Fiori app, S4 Explorer avoids a cumbersome procedure of navigating through multiple objects, often involving the extensive reading of CDS source code, only to realize that the desired content is located elsewhere. These standard tools either lack the necessary features or provide them at the cost of time-consuming steps.
We believe others may benefit from a tool like S4 Explorer as well. Whether you’re a consultant, a Fiori App developer or an enterprise architect, S4 Explorer helps you get a clear view into your S/4 HANA system. S4 Explorer helps you to be more productive, more accurate and more efficient.
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Key Differentiators
Smart Search
Quickly find OData Services, CDS Views, CDS table functions, using intuitive and powerful search operators.
Visual Exploration & Column Lineage
Visualize and navigate complex CDS objects and OData services as compact and insightful diagrams.
Export, Share & Collaborate
Export and share diagrams, data previews and search results to MS Excel, HTML and SVG.
Benefits
Productivity improvement
Time efficient navigation and object tracking through single access-point
Improved user experience
Easy to use, friendly and intuitive Fiori user interface
Low-Code
Low coding skills required
Features
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Smart Search: With S4 Explorer's Smart Search functionality, you can promptly locate various elements such as OData Services, CDS Views, CDS table functions, and more. You have the flexibility to search based on the element's name, type, package, application component, or any of the 20+ additional facets.
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Visual Exploration: S4 Explorer provides a more efficient approach to comprehending the structure of CDS objects and OData services, eliminating the need to read through CDS code or XML. The tool generates condensed and informative diagrams that enable users to investigate the connections between objects. This can be accomplished by navigating through the diagrams, drilling down and exploring further, or by examining dependencies between different objects.
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The column lineage feature lets you precisely track the origin of a field and understand the transformations it undergoes throughout its journey.
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Data preview: Apart from its comprehensive and visually appealing metadata, S4 Explorer also enables you to query and preview data. This allows you to conveniently confirm if the objects you are assessing include the information your users require.
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Export, Share, Collaborate: With S4 Explorer, you can export a range of outputs, including diagrams, data previews, & search results, to different formats. The tool supports MS Excel for metadata and data, plain text for CDS source code, and both HTML and SVG for diagrams.
Use Cases
Efficiently Navigating SAP S/4HANA's Virtual Data Model with S4 Explorer
Problem Statement
Navigating through S/4HANA’s code-based virtual data model (VDM) proved highly time-consuming.
Amongst others, classic field names in SAP tables, e.g., “MATNR”, change names in the VDM, e.g., to “Product”, which can only be discovered upon opening up all the layers of a VDM to trace lineage. This VDM stack has numerous layers in many models.
Solution Proposed
Use S4 Explorer to cope with SAP’s code-based virtual data model (VDM) with additional features like Visual Exploration, Smart Search, Column Lineage, Data Preview and Graphical Analysis.
For tracing field origin and alterations, the S4 Explorer can create data lineage figures and tables. This saves a significant amount of time, facilitating a comprehensive overview of your research.
Achieved Results
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Up to 50% of man-days saved on analysis and developments.
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Regret-prevention on customizations for Embedded Analytics.
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Improve understanding between business and IT.
Questions & Answers
Can I try S4 Explorer without installing it?
Posted on May 2, 2023 by Olivia
Unfortunately not, you can request a personal demo or request a trial period.
Posted on May 3, 2023 by SolutionsHub Support
What user types benefit from this tool?
Posted on March 16, 2023 by Kate
S4 Explorer enables IT professionals like architects, consultants, developers, and system administrators to quickly find and understand existing S/4 HANA objects.
Posted on March 17, 2023 by SolutionsHub Support
How many users are allowed with standard licensing?
Posted on March 1, 2023 by Jeff
The number of users allowed to use the S4 Explorer with standard licensing is unlimited.
Posted on March 2, 2023 by SolutionsHub Support
View All Questions
Have a question? We are ready to help you.
type
license type
categories
Integrates with
SAP S/4HANA
Tech Requirements
- SAP S/4HANA (on-premise and private cloud edition, any version)
- SAP UI5 via CDN
- Google Chrome (any modern version)
- Microsoft Edge (any modern version)
- Firefox (any modern version)
- Safari (any modern version)
Version
Updated on Apr 26, 2023
Documentation
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