SAP’s cloud-based solutions (e.g., SAP Cloud ERP, S/4HANA) allow SAP documents to be stored even in an on-premise CMIS repository, provided the repository complies with the CMIS 1.1 standard and is capable of accepting SAP document models.

CMIS 1.1 (Content Management Interoperability Services) is an open standard developed by OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) to ensure interoperability between different document management systems. The protocol aims to enable standardized storage, management, and sharing of documents across various platforms and systems.

While this sounds good from a marketing perspective, integrating systems that support the CMIS protocol (Microsoft SharePoint, IBM FileNet, Alfresco, Nuxeo, etc.) with a cloud-based SAP is not as straightforward. The implementation of the CMIS standard can vary across systems, and handling SAP document models can pose type-mapping challenges. Our team, in collaboration with local SAP experts (Kontron SAP team), developed a CMIS integration solution for both the Alfresco Community and Enterprise systems, enabling full cooperation with the SAP Cloud ERP system.

The integration is comprehensive (direct, or Cloud Connector based) and even allows for the creation of multiple SAP databases within an Alfresco repository. This is particularly useful in corporate environments where multiple SAP systems need to be managed or where different business units require separate databases (with their own repositories).

This solution also enables the collAIgue – Alfresco – SAP integration, where documents received by Alfresco are automatically pre-processed and sent to SAP with pre-filled metadata. This process significantly reduces manual data entry errors and accelerates business processes. The solution is particularly advantageous for documents requiring extensive metadata, such as contracts, invoices, or other business documents.

The Alfresco DMS functionality provides additional opportunities through integration:

• Integration of scanners, OCR of scanned documents, classification, and transfer to SAP
• Receiving, pre-processing, and transferring emails to SAP
• Publishing documents generated in SAP via Alfresco DMS (e.g., mass email distribution, portal functionality)
• Content search in documents generated by SAP
• Simultaneous storage and association of SAP-relevant and non-relevant documents in the document management system
• Transferring the results of collaborative document editing in PDF format to SAP
• Products of workflows initiated in Alfresco are transferred to SAP

The solution also ensures that documents arriving from SAP are easily manageable in the Alfresco system and can be redirected back to the SAP system if needed. This two-way communication allows documents to be tracked at every stage of their lifecycle and easily synchronized between databases.

Starting with the Alfresco SBE 24.2 version, SAP integration will be included in every release, with maintenance handled by our team.