How Aico Achieved SAP Certification: The Journey and the Benefits

The Beginnings: Building the Foundation

The story starts back in 2017, when Aico was still a part of Attido, before the spinoff in 2019. We already had a working SAP Journal integration, which used SAP standard BAPIs. But we noticed that our customers were struggling with their reconciliation processes.  

Developing New Solutions

If you're familiar with SAP, you know that it features an open/cleared item concept, but it doesn't include reconciliation out of the box.

We also had a closing automation tool, primarily used by our customers as a centralised list of manual tasks. Additionally, customers asked if Aico could:

• Run SAP reports

• Attach those reports to our closing tool templates

Based on Aico's technical background, we concluded:

• Aico is built using .NET and runs on Windows servers.

• To meet our customers' needs, we developed ABAP solutions to address specific challenges.

• Our first ABAP function modules followed the naming convention Z_AICO_, clearly indicating that they were created and used by Aico.

Addressing the Challenges

In the beginning, the Z_AICO_ naming convention worked well, and many customers still use these functions today. However, a few challenges emerged:

1. Potential Code Modifications: Although it never happened, there was a risk that someone from the customer side could update our code in their environment.

2. Code Development Standards: Customers often have their own SAP Z-development standards. Even though we followed SAP’s ABAP guidelines, some customers wanted tailored changes that weren't suitable for others.

To address these challenges, we registered our own /AICO/ namespace, which remains in use today. This namespace offers a significant advantage — the ABAP code can only be changed if the namespace license details are added to the SAP system.

How We Distribute ABAP Packages:

1. Package Creation: We create a transport in our own SAP environment.

2. File Preparation: Two different transport files are downloaded to our laptop.

3. File Compression: We zip these files into a single archive.

4. File Delivery: The zip file is sent to the customer.

5. Customer Import: The customer’s BASIS team imports the files into SAP and performs a few importing tasks.

Deciding to Pursue Certification

When we started using the /AICO/ namespace for new customers, I realised we should apply for SAP certification. However, we had many other priorities at the time. One major project was certifying our company for ISAE3402, which demanded company-wide attention.

With a small team, it was essential to prioritise projects to prevent heavy workloads and long hours. Eventually, our patience paid off — we secured the budget and time to kick off the SAP certification process.

The certification process is well-documented in SAP’s official materials, but we encountered a few noteworthy points:

1. High-Quality ABAP Code:

   • Our ABAP code was technically sound and in great shape.

   • The S/4HANA 2021 version introduced a few new requirements, but they were easy to address.

2. SAP JAM Environment:

   • SAP is actively promoting their JAM environment, a secure social collaboration platform.

3. System Resource Demands:

   • Even an empty S/4HANA 2021 system consumes a significant amount of memory.

   • The HANA database requires either a SUSE or Red Hat Linux SAP server.

Aico's Benefits of SAP Certification

Finally, you might want to know what the certification benefits are to SAP, the customer and Aico.  

The primary benefit of SAP certification is that it ensures the system continues to work correctly, even when third-party solutions are integrated. This approach mirrors how Microsoft tightened policies to reduce the blue screen of death (BSOD) issues caused by faulty vendor code. Similarly, by controlling vendor code quality, SAP adds real value to its ecosystem and protects customers from potential disruptions.

Why SAP Certification Matters for Aico

With official SAP certification, Aico can confidently demonstrate that:

1. Development Principles Are Met:

   • Aico strictly follows SAP’s development guidelines.

   • All SAP technical tests have been passed with flying colours.

2. Installation and Uninstallation Are Easier:

   • If your SAP SPAM level is over 0058, you can easily install the Aico package through the SAINT tool with just a few clicks.

   • Uninstallation is also streamlined — previously, removing Aico required creating custom transports to remove packages. Now, it’s much simpler, although only a handful of customers have ever needed to uninstall Aico.

Strategic Advantages for Aico

Achieving SAP certification wasn’t just about compliance; it was an opportunity to:

• Strengthen Customer Trust: The certification serves as a solid selling point, reassuring customers that Aico’s solutions meet SAP’s rigorous standards.

• Enhance Skills and Processes: The certification process encouraged us to improve our documentation capabilities and testing procedures.

Aico's Joining to an Elite Group

Personally, I think that it is always cool to do something a bit exclusive. At the time of writing this blog, only two other Finnish SAP-related products are certified. Even globally, there are only around one thousand products on the certified product list. That is quite a small amount when you think that there are hundreds of millions of people who use SAP regularly. There are over 245 million Cloud base users, so this is a real achievement for Aico and something that will be of great benefit to our customers. 

GLOSSARY

ABAP – Programming Language of SAP. 

BAPI – Business Application Programming interface. This means SAP standard function modules can be called outside of SAP with remote function calls (RFC) or other methods.  

BASIS – Business Application Software Integrated Solution. It is the technical component of SAP administration. 

ISAE3402 – International Standard on Assurance Engagement 3402. Quality certificate.  

Reconciliation Financial process – where you need to explain on a monthly/quarterly/yearly basis why certain line items are still open, or why an account balance is not zero. 

SAINT – Tool SAP Add-on Installation Tool. T-code SAINT in SAP. 

SAP – This acronym comes from the original German name of Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung. Nowadays, the company name is just SAP SE. 

S/4HANA Suite for HANA – modern SAP ERP based on an in-memory database.