Dear community, there’s something to hear again. Episode 16 of the German-language “We love forms” podcast, which I do together with Frank Engert from Softway AG, is ready for your ears. Since the podcast is in German, there is, as always, a short summary in English here.
The current episode is about S/4HANA, which SAP customers have to switch to by 2027. This involves various technical innovations such as the introduction of central business partners, the Virtual Data Model and other exciting topics. From a forms perspective, not that much has changed in my opinion.
In principle, you can continue working with SAPscript and Smart Forms, provided you are not already using Adobe Forms. However, if you are not yet using Adobe Forms, it is worth considering whether you would prefer to switch over to Adobe Forms, implement it together with the S/4HANA introduction, or do it shortly afterwards. In this context, the question then arises whether you want to use the new output management or the classic message control. You have to take one or two aspects into account.
Personally, I see the change to Adobe Forms as inevitable sooner or later. In my opinion, the tried and tested technologies such as SAPscript and Smart Forms are long past their prime and will no longer play a role in cloud topics, for example.
But what weighs more heavily on my mind is that in the foreseeable future, at least in Germany, it will be really complicated to find form experts with SAPscript and Smart Forms expertise.
You mustn’t forget that even form experts, if given the choice between two projects, will probably go for the project with Adobe Forms. I can understand that very well, because nowadays nobody works with an Intel 486 from the 90s and that’s completely fine, socially accepted and not discussed any more.
Those days are over and technology has moved on. So you might want to think about switching to Adobe Forms. Incidentally, this dates back to the 2000s and is therefore still the technology recommended by SAP despite its age.
Enjoy listening
Michael