ERP, CRM, production, e-commerce, logistics and finance applications keep the same customer, the same order and the same invoice in different formats. An integration consultant designs, builds and hands over in an operable state the flow between these systems. They also write code, but most of the job is reconciling business processes, the IT team's constraints and security requirements in one design.
What an integration consultant does
Needs analysis and solution design
Maps the flow with the process owners and chooses the interface type: IDoc, RFC, REST, SOAP, OData, EDI or events. Documents whether the flow runs synchronously or asynchronously, and how errors and retries behave.
Development
In SAP PI/PO, designs the mapping in the ESR and configures the flow in the Integration Directory; in SAP Integration Suite, builds the iFlow. Writes mappings with the graphical tool and XSLT, with Java in SAP PI/PO and with Groovy in SAP Integration Suite.
Security and compliance
Manages certificates and keys and sets up authentication with OAuth or client certificates. Stores passwords as security material, not inside the flow. Builds KVKK (the Turkish data protection law) and GDPR requirements into flows that carry personal data.
Testing and go-live
Runs tests from the sending system to the receiver, and moves content between development, test and production with CTS+ or SAP Cloud Transport Management.
Operations and improvement
Monitors errors and performance in production and finds the root cause of recurring problems.
In SAP Integration Suite, every scenario the consultant builds is an iFlow: the flow that receives a message, processes it and sends it on.
What an integration consultant should know
- Platforms: SAP PI/PO and SAP Integration Suite; design tools, adapters and monitoring.
- Formats: EDI (EDIFACT, X12), IDoc, XML, JSON, CSV.
- Protocols: REST, SOAP, OData, JDBC, SFTP, AS2.
- Security: certificates, OAuth, token handling, encryption and PGP.
- Infrastructure: networking, firewalls, load balancing, high availability, SAP Cloud Connector.
- Business processes: how order-to-cash and procure-to-pay flows map to SAP.
- Communication: explaining technical decisions clearly to business teams.
At which stage of a project they come in
An integration consultant adds the most value at the start of a project. If the interface list is not drawn up while the scope is set, integration testing gets squeezed into the weeks just before go-live, and the teams behind the other systems may not be ready by then. In our projects we draw up the interface inventory in the discovery phase, together with the process design.
We describe how we work in SAP integration consulting on the SAP integration consulting and architecture page, and per platform on the SAP PI/PO and SAP Integration Suite pages.
A talk on SAP integration
The talk first covers the history of the SAP integration layer and the differences between SAP PI, SAP PO and SAP CPI (new name: SAP Integration Suite, Cloud Integration). It then turns to the core components of the integration layer and the pros and cons of connecting systems without middleware. The last part is about building expertise in the field and ends with a Q&A.