SAP PI/PO is the on-premise integration platform that manages message traffic between SAP and non-SAP systems from one hub. Mainstream maintenance ends at the end of 2027 and extended maintenance at the end of 2030.
SAP PI/PO refers jointly to the two names of SAP's on-premise integration platform: SAP Process Integration (SAP PI) and SAP Process Orchestration (SAP PO). Instead of connecting to each other one by one, systems hand their messages to this middleware layer, where routing, transformation and monitoring happen in one place.
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The difference between SAP PI and SAP PO
SAP PI is the integration engine: message routing, mapping and adapters. SAP PO combines that engine with two components: SAP NetWeaver Business Process Management (SAP NWBPM), which models and runs processes, and SAP Business Rules Management (SAP BRM), which manages business rules. According to SAP, SAP PO runs on AS Java only and is installed as a single system.
The product family has three installation options:
Installation
Stack
Contents
SAP PI, dual usage type
AS ABAP and AS Java
Integration Engine and ccBPM on ABAP, Advanced Adapter Engine on Java
AEX (Advanced Adapter Engine Extended)
AS Java only, since SAP NetWeaver 7.3
Adapters, mapping and routing
SAP PO
AS Java only, single system
AEX, SAP NWBPM and SAP BRM
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How a message moves through SAP PI/PO
SAP PI/PO keeps design and configuration apart. Data types, interfaces and mappings are designed in the Enterprise Services Repository (ESR). Which sender's message goes to which receiver, over which channel, is configured in the Integration Directory. Systems are registered in the System Landscape Directory (SLD).
SAP PO components and the path of a messageA message from the sender system passes inside AEX from the sender adapter to the ICO, then to the receiver adapter and the receiver system.
Sender channel
The message arrives at an adapter in the Advanced Adapter Engine. The adapter converts it from the sending system's protocol into an XML-based SAP PI/PO message.
Routing and mapping
An integrated configuration (ICO) object defines the receiver, the mapping to apply and the channels in one place. Mappings are written in the graphical editor, in XSLT or in Java.
Receiver channel
The receiver adapter converts the message back into the protocol and format the target system expects and delivers it.
Monitoring
Every message shows up in the message monitor. A failed message can be resent or cancelled from there.
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Adapters: which systems SAP PI/PO talks to
SAP's connectivity documentation groups the SAP PI/PO adapters: File/FTP, JDBC, JMS, SOAP, HTTP, Mail and REST for SAP and non-SAP systems; RFC, IDoc and proxy for SAP applications. The SFTP adapter and the PGP encryption module come with the secure connectivity add-on. B2B protocols such as AS2, OFTP and X.400 are in the B2B add-on.
SAP PI/PO adapters: four groupsThe grouping follows SAP's connectivity documentation: the first group covers files, databases, messaging, web services and mail, and the B2B add-on covers B2B protocols.
SAP systems using ABAP proxies connect to AEX through the SOAP adapter with the XI 3.0 protocol. That is why the XI adapter, listed separately for older dual-stack systems, does not appear as a separate adapter in a Java-only installation.
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Maintenance schedule and SAP Integration Suite
SAP PI/PO maintenance follows SAP NetWeaver 7.5. Under SAP's maintenance strategy, mainstream maintenance for SAP PI and SAP PO 7.5 ends at the end of 2027; extended maintenance is available until the end of 2030 on the same terms as Business Suite 7. Mainstream maintenance for 7.4 and older releases ended at the end of 2020 with no extension option.
SAP's cloud integration platform is SAP Integration Suite. SAP Learning's migration course names this maintenance schedule as the main reason to move from SAP PO to SAP Integration Suite. SAP Integration Suite also provides tools that assess SAP PO scenarios and migrate part of them.
